Speech-

Language

Pathology:

Hospitals

vs.

School Systems

Questions:

What is the difference between a hospital SLP and a school SLP?

Does one have a higher job demand than the other?

How different are the job settings?

What type of work is involved in each job setting?

Are there any special certifications needed to work in a hospital job setting?

Hospital Speech-Language

Pathologists

Job Setting

The job setting of a speech-language

pathologist that works in a hospital includes

the following:

Working at a desk filling out paper work

Occasionally being at a patient’s bedside

and assist in moving patients

Work Involved Working alongside

other medical

practitioners

Keep detailed records

of patients (initial

assessment, progress

made, time of

discharge

Diagnose and treat

speech related

disorders

Create Individualized

Treatment Plans for

each patient

Meet with families to

help recognizing and

eliminate any

behavior patterns that

act as progress

impediments

Swallowing

Test

SLP assisting a

patient with a

snack

Education and Training Master’s Degree

approximately 240 colleges and universities

offered graduate programs for speech-language

pathology accredited by the Council on

Academic Accreditation at Master’s and

Doctoral levels in 2009

Typical Licensing Requirements

Master’s Degree from an accredited program, a

passing score on the Praxis Examination, 300-375

hours of supervised clinical experience, and 9

months of postgraduate professional clinical

experience

Job Outlook and Earnings

The general job outlook for speech-language

pathologists is very good

Median annual earnings for a hospital

speech-language pathologist range from

$60,000 to almost $80,000

Median Annual Earnings

Nursing Care Facilities $79,120

Home Health Care Services $77,030

General Medical and

Surgical Hospitals

$68,430

Offices of Other Health

Practitioners

$67,910

School System

Speech-Language Pathologist

Work Involved

Working with students with reduced speech

intelligibility, as well as students with Down

Syndrome or Autism Spectrum Disorders

Provide speech-language therapy and testing

for students aged 3 thru grade two

Meet with teachers, parents, and

psychologists to discuss the improvement of

the students, including any concerns

Create Individualized Treatment Plans

Education and Training

Master’s Degree

Praxis Exam

300 to 375 hours of supervised

clinical experience, and nine months of postgraduate professional

clinical experience

Job Outlook and Earnings

ASHA-certified school-based speech-language pathologists responded to ASHA’s 2008 School

Survey, and 71 percent of them indicated that there was a shortage of qualified speech-language

pathologists in their school district

In 2006, CareerPlanner.com INC stated that the median annual wage for school speech-language

pathologists was $53,110, while the Bureau of Labor Statistics stated in 2008 that the median annual

wage was $58,140.

Answers

What is the difference between a hospital

speech-language pathologist and a school

system speech-language pathologist?

As far as education, training, and

certifications go, there is really no difference

between a hospital SLP and an SLP that works

in the school system. The only major

difference is that one works in a hospital with

individuals of various ages, and the other

works in a school system with only children.

After researching the differences between the

hospital and school system speech-language

pathologist, the conclusion was made that it really

depends on where you live at. In one place there

may be a higher demand for speech-language

Does on have a

higher job demand

than the other?

pathologists in a school

system, whereas in

another place there may

be a higher demand in a

hospital.

How different are

the job settings?

Hospital

School System

This kind of goes along with the

question of what is the difference

between a hospital SLP and a school

system SLP. The main difference in the

job settings is that the hospital speech-

language pathologist has to be

acquainted with the charts, swallowing

tests, and interacting with people of

various ages, while a school speech-

language pathologist will only need to

be acquainted with working

specifically with children and

interacting with other professional

personnel, such as teachers and

psychologists.

What type of work is involved

in each job setting? Hospital Setting School Setting

work alongside other medical

workers who keep detailed

records of the patient’s

diagnose and treat speech

related disorders such as

those related to language,

speech, voice, swallowing,

cognitive communication,

and fluency

make an individual treatment

plan

meet with the families to help

recognize and eliminate any

behavior patterns that act as

progress impediments

provide speech-language

therapy and testing for students

aged three through grade two

will see students in individual and

small group sessions, or co-lead

full-class language groups with

classroom teachers

attend team meetings every

week with school staff members,

parents, and psychologists to

discuss team evaluations and the

progress of the students, along

with any teachers’ concerns

to write evaluation reports,

progress reports, and

Individualized Education

Programs

Are there any special

certifications needed to work

in a hospital job setting?

No, the only difference of working in a

hospital is that the speech-language

pathologist will work with individuals of

various ages, as well as perform other duties

such as swallowing tests, and assisting in

moving patients if needed to.

Conclusion

If they are interested in working with only

children and don’t mind having a little

bit lower income, they would be more

comfortable working in a school system

If they would like to work with people of

all ages and are looking for a higher

salary than that of a school system

speech-language pathologist, then they

would be comfortable in a hospital

setting