Journal #38

My job shadowing experience was very helpful.  I learned that it is positively what I want to do when I am older.  However, I job shadowed a Speech-Language Pathologist who mostly worked on patients who were older and some were dying.  I know that now I would like to work in a school or in a hospital pediatrics section.  I observed an x-ray of a swallowing exercise to see if the patient was aspirating any liquids or substances.  I also observed a shock therapy method used on a patient while she ate her lunch.  This method is apparently very controversial, but it has helped the patient.  The shock did not hurt her, but it did work her throat muscles while she ate to re-train her abilities to swallow and to talk.  I know this is what I want to do because Speech Language Pathologists truly help people. While they are not really known, they help patients relearn how to eat and to talk.  You never will know how much they really help until you cannot eat your favorite food due to a swallowing disability.  I did get a taste of the reality of the job though.  Many of the patients were old and close to their end.  The Speech Pathologist had to be honest with them and recommend a diet according to whether they wanted to fight to stay alive or just eat whatever they wanted in their last days.  This was a very sad and depressing part of the job.  Also, a gross part of the job is that you deal with a lot of nasty mouths.  You have to help clean mouths of those who cannot do it themselves in order to check their swallowing.  This was the next worst part second to the sad parts.  There was also a boring part.  The lady I was shadowing had to file a lot of "notes" after a visit with a patient so their doctor could observe what she had done.  My job shadowing was overall good though.