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| Vanessa Espinoza, MA CCC-SLP |
Our speaker was Vanessa
Espinoza, a 2008 CSULA graduate of the master’s program, who currently works at
Rancho Los Amigos, a nationally recognized and highly ranked rehabilitation hospital in Downey, CA.
· Vanessa originally wanted to be a teacher, but her job
as a bilingual aide in a SELPA office (Special Education Local Plan Area)
opened her eyes to the more tangible impact she could make on children and
families as an SLP
·
Had an amazing mentor at her 11-week hospital
internship at Rancho Los Amigos
o Was
in the Peds unit in the hospital, which primarily consisted of teenagers age
13-21
·
After completing her CFY in a school, she went
to work at Rancho
·
She also currently works per diem Downey
Regional, an acute hospital
o An
acute hospital takes the patients immediately after their accident or crisis
o Once
patients are stabilized and are appropriate candidates for rehab, they get sent
to a rehab hospital
o Has
treated stroke patients for the past 3 years
·
Rancho has 19 speech therapists (in- and
out-patient staff) compared to 2 speech therapists at Downey Regional
o There
are different units that SLPs specialize in, including brain injury patients,
peds patients, and spinal cord injury patients
o You
may also work with the potentially life-threatening dysphagia and tracheostomy
tube, mainly at Downey Regional
o Wonderful
to be able to collaborate with many specialists under the same roof
·
Advice for undergrads
o Get
your foot in the door by volunteering at
hospitals or outside clinics
· The most important thing she learned at school and the hospital: the
best therapists are the ones that can develop the rapport with your clients,
not necessarily the A+ students
·
Perks of working at a hospital:
o B/C of HIPAA, you can’t take work home.
o The
bulk of the workday is spent treating patients, so 6 full hours
o 1
hour a day is dedicated solely to evaluation for new admissions
o Average
caseload varies with the census; can be anywhere from 1 patient to 10 patients
(when things get really hectic)
§
When you have 10, you have to get creative, such
as grouping two patients with similar deficits in one session
·
Some short-term goals for patients, from an
interdisciplinary team perspective:
o PT
and OT – how patient can move around home safely; what kind of equipment they
need for daily living activities, like showering, changing, meal prep, etc.
o Speech
therapy – maximizing their communication given the problem
§
Look at what level they’re at and what do they
need. If they have a hard time communicating, what improves their communication
§ Developing functional expression and training family on what is the best for patient to communicate, such as through yes/no questions or writing or pointing, etc.
We really appreciate Vanessa for taking the time to speak to us. See you next time!
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| NSSLHA at work |
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| Q&A following the meeting |
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| NSSLHA 2013 with Vanessa Espinoza |
