It does indeed suck being stuck at home, not being able to go to school, accumulate your clinical hours and most of you have been laid off of your jobs due to Covid 19.  But all is not lost! Be resilient and take this opportunity to put your time to good use so when we all do come out of this pandemic, you will ready to rock and roll, picking up where you left off!

1.  Pick up a Praxis study guide and start reviewing now.  Take the time and research places that offer study guides and practice tests.  Look behind the door and see how these sites are rated and get involved in an online SLP student community where you can review what has worked for students that have already taken the test.  If you want to lay out a timeline for studying, this is a great time!

1. My favorite idea here!  Look into podcasts and subscribe to a few that you really connect with!  Podcasts are released on a regular basis so you can follow a few and it’s a great way to stay up-to-date and all that’s important! Listen in the car, listen when you are doing chores, or listen when you are meal prepping.  Listen anytime! My top podcasts are:
   1. Aphasiaaccess.libsyn.com – conversations that bring you the latest in aphasia resources, tips including aphasia group treatment ideas and communication access strategies.
   2. The Missing Link for SLPs – the missing link for SLP student awesomeness!  Get clinical wisdom, pep talks, tips for success, inspirational quotes and so much more related to speech-language pathology!  This podcast keeps you Fresh and connected with what you know and how to use it to master more and stress less! * This podcast is brand new (2 episodes old – so subscribe and be part of a fantastic start.  It will be featuring “Post-It Notes to my Professor”.
   3. Down the Hatch “is an unscripted podcast focused on hot topics relevant to swallowing clinicians throughout the world.”
   4. SLP Coffee Talk – a podcast to motivate and inspire school-based SLPs and touches on tips, strategies, and low prep therapy ideas.
   5. SLP Happy Hour – a podcast for caring SLPs who want more calm and less chaos in their workday.
   6. SLP Money – is a podcast that focuses on career growth and financial empowerment for SLPs and private practice owners.  
   7. SLP Trivia Fun – trivia and fun with SLPs.
   8. Swallow Your Pride – “created with the purpose of diving deeper into the issues that speech-language pathologists face when working with patients with swallowing disorders.”

1. Look into online resources that are offering free courses and deeply discounted courses or memberships.  
   1. FreshSLP is very new to the online scene, working hard developing services and products specifically for the SLP student. Website is re-launching 03/20/20!
   2. Medbridgeeducation.com offers an all-in-one online educational platform with unlimited CEUs and patient engagement tools for expanding your skillset for one price.
   3. Medslpcollective.com provides the materials, resources, and webinars with a collective mentorship program.
   4. Northernspeech.com offers therapy materials and online courses for pediatric and medical SLPs.
   5. Passy-muir.com offers many free CEU course
   6. Speechpathology.com offers a wide variety of CEUs for one low price, including topics for SLPs and SLPAs. 
   7. Stepcommunity.com offers a subscription-based dysphagia education and training library for $9/month.
   8. Stutteringhelp.org offering courses led by world-renowned experts in the field of stuttering.
   9. Tactustherapy.com offers apps for adults recovering from a stroke.

1. Take specialty courses such as MBSImP, the Modified Barium Swallow Impairment Profile.  Often these “big hitter” courses are offered free of charge to students and you may not get the CE credit for completing the course but you will be able to list it on your resume and this will help you stand out and demonstrate your dedication to your field. On my resume, I have an entire section dedicated to all the educational courses I have taken, visually showing all I have learned and that I continue to be curious, striving to be my best.

1. Subscribe to Simucase where you can accumulate additional clinical hours in a variety with a variety of etiologies.

1. Organize and work on your capstone or thesis, read those articles your professors mentioned that you always wanted to read, create binders and organize your resources and handouts.
2. Self-care needs – last but not least and most importantly, take care of YOURSELF – the soul that you are.  There are so many dimensions to you in addition to being a SLP student. Take care of your mental wellness, your relationships, your health and well-being. 

Resilience is so important at times like this.  It is not enough to “just get through” this but to be able to bounce back from this as well.  

“The oak fought the wind and was broken, the willow bent when it must and survived.” 

This is a time for bending, yet persevering.  Use your time well and you will be better for this!  In fact, it is not out of the realm of possibility that this virus will be mentioned during one of your interviews.  Being able to say you responded with resilience will really bring you confidence! You got this!!