Name: Sarah Almaguer School: Vanderbilt University Program: MS-SLP Year: 2nd year Clinical Interests: Medical SLP – Primarily Acute Care and Voice What do you enjoy most about Vanderbilt’s program? Vanderbilt’s program has been so amazing – it’s so hard to pick my favorite part! One aspect that really sets Vanderbilt apart from other schools is the clinical experience. The program ensures a 1:1 student to supervisor pairing every semester. In other words, instead of having to split time between supervising many different students each semester, supervisors are able to devote all of their time to providing one student the feedback and support they need. I really felt that with this structure, I was able to receive a much more personal clinical experience, and supervisors were always available to provide me with whatever I needed, whether it be more experience in a particular area or further information or resources. I also felt that I received the same support and attention from other faculty members within the department. Small class sizes (our class has only 17 students) likely played a huge part in this individualized attention. Everyone really seemed to care about us as students, and professors and other faculty members were always very amenable to providing us with extra support both during class and outside of class. All in all, I feel like I’ve received a phenomenal education from Vanderbilt – both academically and clinically. What clinical experiences does Vanderbilt have to offer? Vanderbilt offers pretty much any clinical experience you could possibly want. Most placements are available within Vanderbilt Medical Center. Our department is housed within one building, and this building is also home to different clinics such as an outpatient pediatric clinic, an outpatient adult rehabilitation clinic, an elementary school for the deaf, a world-renowned voice center, and various research labs. Within a block of this building, other placements are also available such as inpatient acute placements in the adult hospital or the children’s hospital, an inpatient rehabilitation hospital, and a VA hospital. If you are interested, school placements within Nashville are also available, as well as other placements such as in skilled nursing facilities or early intervention programs. Vanderbilt is really great about accommodating any clinical interest you may have and tailoring your experience to meet your individual needs. How prepared did you feel going into grad school? I felt VERY prepared for Vanderbilt’s program. The CSD major at UF provided me with a solid foundation for all of my graduate classes. Vanderbilt’s program has both students with a background (who majored or took post-baccalaureate classes in CSD) and non-backgrounds, and I felt like one of the most prepared students in my program, even among the background students. How do you feel your grades, GRE scores, letters of recommendation, resume, etc. affected you during the application process? Vanderbilt focuses very heavily on GPA, GRE scores, and letters of recommendation. I got the impression that the resume and cover letter weren’t weighted as heavily as the other three, but obviously they are still important. Any tips for the application process? Apply to a bunch of different places. I’d recommend including some out of state options, even if you’re not sure you want to leave Florida. I liked being able to keep my options open with places in different places and with different focuses. I also found it really useful to visit the schools I was applying to during the application process itself. This might be a matter of personal preference, but it just made each school less of an abstract entity to me, and I was better able to describe specific clinics or research labs that I was interested in in my personal statement. I also really liked being able to meet faculty members at each of the schools (something you can also slip in to your personal statement) to ask them questions and get a better idea if that school would be a good fit for you. What do you wear to class and clinic? Clinic attire is business casual, unless you are in a setting where you can wear scrubs. As a result of my clinical interests, I was in settings where I could wear scrubs most semesters, but in other settings I tended to wear dresses with cardigans or pants and a nice top. For class, we can wear whatever we want – much like undergrad. Our building has one floor that we stay on for classes and another that houses most of the research labs and faculty offices. As long as we are on one of those floors, there is no dress code; however if we need to go on any of the clinic floors for any reason we need to be dressed in clinic-appropriate attire. What’s life like in Nashville? Nashville is SUCH an awesome city! It feels like the perfect size for me – it’s a city, but it doesn’t seem too big. There is always something fun going on (oftentimes with live music!) and there are a lot of different parts of the city that have their own personalities. There are a lot of really great restaurants and food trucks all around the city – I haven’t even tried all of the ones on my list after a year and a half! And the weather is really great, too (for the most part…summer is pretty grueling)! Coming from Florida, it was a really nice change to actually have seasons! In case you couldn’t tell, I’m a little obsessed with Nashville – it’s such a cool city! Any last tips or comments? Try not to stress too much during this process – everything will work out in the end! Each school has a lot of different opportunities; no matter where you end up, make sure to explore these opportunities and take advantage of them!
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UF NSSLHA decided to give back to boys and girls all over the world this year through Operation Christmas Child. We packed 19 shoe boxes full of toys, candy, school supplies, hygiene products, and personal notes. For a lot of kids in needy countries, these shoe boxes will be the only presents they receive all year. We had so much fun putting the boxes together and love knowing that we gave to such a great cause. If you'd like to learn more about Operation Christmas Child or fill a shoe box to donate, visit the Samaritan's Purse website. Watch the video below to catch a glimpse of how many lives OCC touches each Christmas season! |
AuthorNSSLHA at UF Archives
February 2018
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