Leading Speech Pathology and Audiology Programs 2022

Medical speech pathologists diagnose and treat a wide range of speech, cognitive, language, and swallowing disorders. They might work with patients who have suffered brain damage, seizure, stroke, or cancer, suffer from chronic diseases or who have experienced a trauma.

Speech pathologists typically work in hospitals, outpatient clinics, and rehabilitation facilities, and their day to day activities might vary depending on where they are based – for example those that work in a hospital might be engaged in more counselling, patient education and diagnosis, whereas those that work in a rehabilitation facility might be working with patients on their everyday functioning skills. Professionals in this area can also be found working with school age children, helping them to regain and build their confidence, or even in government or the corporate world.

All medical speech pathologists must complete a bachelor’s degree in communication sciences and disorders (or a closely related field), a graduate degree in speech – language pathology, a post graduate fellowship, and an ASHA (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association) administered licensing exam.

If you are interested in the field, explore the schools below, all of whom offer an excellent educational environment for you to get qualified and to start making a positive change in many people’s lives.

Teachers College, Columbia University was founded in 1887 as the nation’s first and largest graduate school of education, health, and psychology. Today, their pioneering programs, including those focusing on communication sciences and disorders, are renowned for research and best practices that address the connections between well-being and educational outcomes across the lifespan.

Nationally recognized as a leader in the education of speech-language pathologists, they continually strive to strengthen and deepen that reputation by integrating research, clinical training, and academic knowledge. Additionally, they are devoted to meeting the needs of an increasingly diverse and multicultural community, locally and worldwide.

Faulkner University offers numerous Speech Language Pathology options, two of which are:

  • On-ground: Master of Science and Master of Arts in Speech Language Pathology
  • Online: Master of Arts in Speech Language Pathology (planned for Aug 2022)

These programs are designed for students seeking national certification with the American Speech Language Hearing Association (ASHA) and state licensure to practice as a speech language pathologist. Each program has dedicated faculty that work to help students become competent SLPs, as well as compassionate SLPs that see their career as a ministry to each patient they encounter.

Albizu University believes that speech is a fundamental gift we often take for granted. When some lose their ability to speak or have their speech or communication impaired for any number of reasons, they or their loved ones often turn to a professional speech and language pathologist for help.

“To be a professional in the communication disorders field requires knowledge and skills that transcend cultural and linguistic barriers,” explained Lizzette Roman, SLPD, Director of Albizu University’s Speech and Language Pathology Program. “Albizu, with our historic focus on sensitivity to cultural and ethnic issues, teaches our students to become well-informed and clinically competent specialists who can effectively work with children and adults from diverse backgrounds.”

Lewis University is striving to transform the way speech-language pathology is practiced so they can impact their community in the ways they have always dreamed about. Through faculty-led clinical experiences with excellent professors, students are provided with the personalized attention that allows them to learn the art of therapy. At Lewis, they believe that communication is a human right, and that all people should have access to their services. Nearly all student clinical hours will be obtained providing SLP services to people from underserved communities, allowing them to reduce healthcare inequities as they prepare to be an SLP. The school teaches students how to use research evidence to ground their clinical practices, and how to diagnose the causes of communication disorders through the study of neuroscience.

Leading Physician Assistant Programs 2022

Physicians Assistants are, in many ways, at the vanguard of health care for the general public. Many of us have a general practitioner or clinic that we list as our primary source of care, but it is often the PA at that institution that we interact with the most when we visit or consult remotely. We can be confident with the care we will receive be of the highest order because PA’s will have had extensive and comprehensive schooling and training in medicine and care, second only to physicians themselves, with whom they often work hand in hand. A physician assistant typically needs to have obtained a 2 year (plus) full-time postgraduate study master’s degree from an accredited educational program, and all states require physician assistants to be licensed.

In addition to the comprehensive medical knowledge and training that all PAs need, compassion and empathy are important qualities as they facilitate the communication skills needed to get a thorough understanding of a patient’s ailment. Like physicians, PAs need to be detail oriented and have investigative and problem-solving skills, as maladies often don’t reveal themselves easily, and require questioning and deductive powers to be diagnosed properly.

If this sounds like a role you would like to explore, it is paramount to get qualified at a good school, and below are several good choices to explore.

With 2,300 applicants a year, it takes something special to become one of the 20 who secure a position in Florida Gulf Coast University’s Master of Physician Assistant Studies program.

Physician assistants are in big demand nationwide, with U.S. News & World Report ranking it the best job of 2021 for its balance of job responsibility and satisfaction, good salary and the number currently needed.

FGCU’s program, in its fifth year, has seen its graduates scoring above the national average – 95 percent compared to the national average of 93 percent – on certification exams. All of those who have completed the rigorous program have found jobs upon graduation.

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The Daemen College Physician Assistant Program provides its students with the knowledge and skills necessary to deliver the best quality medical care to diverse patient populations.

Known as Western New York’s premier health sciences educator, Daemen prepares its PA graduates to become essential providers in a variety of healthcare settings, including hospitals and specialized facilities. They also play a vital role in surgery, family practice, pediatric medicine, and emergency medicine.

The quality of Daemen’s program is evident through the success of its graduates, who collectively have a 97 percent first-attempt pass rate on the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA).

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Housed in the Graduate School at University of Maryland, Baltimore, the 116-credit Physician Assistant program prepares students to enter the healthcare field as competent, ethical, and compassionate primary care provider. Taught by experienced practitioners, the 25-month master’s program offers students with the breadth of knowledge needed to excel as a certified physician assistant.

Since 2016 the PA program has consistently increased the first-time Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam (PANCE) pass rate from 93% to 100%. Leadership has been intentional in their efforts to better serve the school’s diverse body of PA students by increasing the faculty to student ratio and diversity in faculty’s background, education, and medical specialties. The school is also focused on developing policy and regulatory statues on the local and national front.

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