Notes from INTRO: a Guide to Communication Sciences and Disorders (Pages 34-36)

Qualities of Audiologists and Speech-Language Pathologists

People skills: work with people of all ages and backgrounds; ability to relate to a wide range of clients with various disorders and backgrounds
Practical demonstrations of effectiveness: testing hearing in older adults; promoting language development in a young nonverbal child
Not physically demanding, but emotionally and intellectually challenging
Must approach problems objectively and provide support to clients and families
Many disorders are complex and not fully understood; professionals should tolerate challenge and uncertainty
Progress may be slow; require patience and compassion
Sharp listening skills and exceptional observational skills
Able to effectively communicate test results and possible treatment options to clients and families in an understandable manner
Overall implication: these qualities contribute to successful practice in both audiology and speech-language pathology

Professional Work Settings

Education

By far the largest employers of speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are public and private schools, and specialized schools such as those designated for hard of hearing and deaf children
SLP work in education may involve employment at a single school or itinerant work traveling between many schools with a caseload in each school
Some audiologists are employed in deaf education centers or in public school systems where they perform routine audiological assessments on students
Higher education settings employ audiologists and speech-language pathologists as lecturers and professors to educate students pursuing careers in communication disorders
Workforce distribution in education: approximately 50\% of the speech-language pathology workforce and 10\% of the audiology workforce can be found in educational settings

Medical

Approximately 40\% of speech-language pathologists and 60\% of audiologists are employed in health care settings, including hospitals and residential or nonresidential health care facilities
Two primary medical settings: acute care and rehabilitation care
Acute care hospital: patient has recently been admitted due to planned surgery or an accident or trauma
In acute settings, SLPs may work with patients who have had laryngectomy due to throat cancer or who recently experienced a stroke or motor vehicle accident
SLPs typically visit the patient in the hospital bed shortly after the medical condition has been treated; they diagnose whether a communication disorder exists and assess swallowing function
Patients may transfer from an acute care hospital to a rehabilitation hospital for longer-term management; SLPs provide treatment to assist with discharge and transition to communicating in another environment
After discharge, individuals may still have communication disorders and receive services in residential (eg, nursing home) or nonresidential facilities
Telehealth option exists: delivery of speech and language services via telecommunications (eg, phone, Internet)
Audiologists in hospital settings may conduct newborn hearing screenings; they may also be found in operating rooms monitoring a patient’s hearing during delicate operations

Private Practice, Research, Industry

Private Practice

Approximately 5\% of the speech-language pathology workforce and 20\% of the audiology workforce are engaged in private practice
SLP private practitioners typically see clients not in medically acute conditions, such as children with mild communication disorders or individuals requiring specialized services (eg, voice problems or English as a second language with reducing foreign accents)
Audiologists may work independently or with other private practitioners such as ENT physicians; a major aspect is prescription and fitting of hearing aids
Some audiologists may hold full-time employment in another setting but also engage in private practice at a minimum level

Research

A small percentage, approximately 5\%, of speech-language pathologists and audiologists work exclusively in research settings rather than clinical practice or education
Research institutions: Boys Town National Research Hospital in Omaha, Nebraska, focusing on childhood deafness, visual impairment, and related communication disorders
Bionics Institute in Melbourne, Australia, is a well-known hearing research laboratory

Industry

A niche setting unique to audiologists is the hearing aid industry; around 5\% of audiologists work in industry and may serve as sales representatives for large hearing aid companies
These professionals are experts on current hearing aid devices on the market and provide consultation to practicing audiologists on the latest product advancements

Workforce demographics and global context

There is a severe shortage of audiologists and speech-language pathologists worldwide, including university-level lecturers and professors
In addition to the overall shortage, less than 25\% of the workforce is male
The gender imbalance is also observed in other allied health professions such as nursing, physiotherapy, and occupational therapy

Professional Ethics

Being a professional involves behaving with dignity and in an ethical manner, in a way that people trust your judgment
Ethical behavior means doing the right thing and encompasses honesty, respect, and responsibility
Honesty involves truthfulness and refraining from lying and cheating
Respect involves tolerance and openness toward others regardless of personal or cultural differences
Responsibility means taking professional duties seriously and accepting accountability for decisions
Many professional organizations have established a code of ethics, which provides behavioral guidelines governing day-to-day professional activities