6 Things

Things have been quiet on the blog but that is because work had been crazy! Training is over and I am officially seeing clients all on my... full-time! It is an amazing feeling to be out on your own but also scary! There is a lot I have learned in the two weeks of flying solo and I thought I would share some of them with all of you!

Here it goes...

1. It's OK to not know! Many times a day a client or family member will ask me a question that I don't know the answer to... be cool! Respond with, "Ya know, I'm not sure but I will look into that for you" or "I'm still thinking of how to best address that". No one has the answers to everything. Just make sure if you tell someone you will look into it, that you actually look into it! 

2. You will make mistakes. I have already made a few and it's only been a couple weeks. Just remember, you learn from your mistakes! Figure out what went wrong and how you can avoid making the same mistake again. 

3. "I don't know what I'm doing". In grad school, I often had this feeling but always had a supervisor close by to fall back on! What I have learned so far is that feeling hasn't gone away, and I'm not expecting it to any time soon! Embrace it! Trust your gut and show people you are confident in what you are doing (even if you aren't!). 

4. Stay organized! I know I just did a whole post on this, but it really does make your life easier! I keep all my important dates and client information in one place. At the beginning of each week, I get all the client's folders for the week organized by day and make sure I have enough notes printed out to do all my paperwork. This doesn't take very long and it is tremendously helpful! 

5. Don't be afraid to ask questions! When you aren't sure or don't know something, ask! You may feel like you are annoying those around you, but it's better to ask for clarification than continue doing the wrong thing! Remember, everyone was new once and "an expert at anything was once a beginner" (Helen Hayes). 

6. Don't take it personally! There may be clients that you run into that are difficult to work with, don't trust you as a therapist, are not confident because you are new, or whatever. Don't take it as a personal insult. There will always be clients that are challenging in many different ways. It is not you! Let it roll off your back and move on. Dwelling on it will only stress you out more! Just know, it happens to everyone! 

So that is what I have learned in my two weeks of doing solo therapy as a CF-SLP. I know there are many lessons to learn throughout my CF and the rest of my career as an SLP. School may be out but we never stop learning! I hope you at least take some comfort that you are not alone in this stressful and exciting time as a clinical fellow! 

Adventure Awaits!