I think it is important to identify why I initially wanted to pursue this degree and how I changed over the course of the program.
When I applied for the program, my goal was to save the world. I had observed the frustration and difficulty that arose from being a patient recovering from neurological trauma/disorder and the rare and extreme things that injury to the brain can do. I wanted to advocate for the parents, for the patients, and for the best care possible, and I felt that having the knowledge and perspective of the coursework would be the best avenue to do so.
In short, I was looking to change the world with a thousand “big picture” ideas. I probably traumatized my Academic Committee with my constantly expanding group of ideas when they were trying to get me to dial it down a little (a lot – it was a lot). Through a lot of frustration (for everyone), through tears, screaming into the void, resolve to quit and resolve not to quit, excitement and finally a culmination of all of my hard work, I developed clarity.
The purpose of this doctorate is to develop higher level clinical critical thinking skills. I was a diamond in the rough when I started and as we worked to pare down my focus and get to the heart of what I wanted to see, I could identify that I had grown tremendously as a clinician, as a researcher, and as a person. While having the SLPD impact my income or my job title, it impacts the kind of therapist I am for the people who need services. I am immensely proud of that and I could not have guessed how the privilege of working through this program was going to grow me.
A synapse is the moment in the brain where two neurons connect and pass messages to each other. We create these as we learn and grow throughout our lifetimes. These synapses create the thoughts, the movements, and actions that we need to complete basic life functions.