By Sarah Kim
Hello! My name is Sarah, and I am currently a second-year Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) student. This is a day in my life on a Thursday!
6:00 am
On Thursdays, my day starts bright and early at 6:00 in the morning. After going on social media for 10-15 minutes to wake myself up, I go through my morning routine. Because I have to wake up extra early Tuesday through Thursday for my externship in Park Slope, Brooklyn, my morning routine is simpler than when I have more time. I always start with brushing my teeth, followed by washing my face. Then I change into my scrubs, take my medications, and fill up my water bottle. My make-up routine these mornings consists of eyebrow gel, sunscreen, and concealer. It’s all about doing the bare minimum to help me out the door quickly.
6:40 am
I like to leave my apartment in Bancroft Hall at this time so I can get to my placement as quickly as I can. I find that if I leave any later, I have to wait much longer for the downtown train, and consequently, my commute runs into morning traffic. My commute to Park Slope involves taking the 1 train to 96th Street, transferring to the 2 or 3 express trains to Bergen Street, and then taking the B67 bus to NYP Brooklyn Methodist.
7:50 am
I generally arrive at my final bus stop around this time. The bus is usually pretty crowded around this time because I am riding it with many middle school and high school students who are also on their morning commute.
7:55 am
I am stationed in the rehab unit as a student speech-language pathology clinician in the medical/hospital setting. That is the very top floor of this hospital! By 7:55 am, I usually put my stuff in the PT/OT/SLP breakroom and hop onto a computer to chart review/triage my patients. I am a student clinician specifically in the in-patient acute setting. I receive consult orders for patients who are at risk of aspiration, need a communication evaluation, or would benefit from a speaking valve. Other roles I have are following up with patients I have seen already, conducting videofluoroscopic swallow studies (VFSS) within the radiology suite, and communicating with interdisciplinary roles within the hospital. I absolutely love what I do at the hospital, especially my interactions with my patients!
8:00 am-8:50 am
Because of HIPAA, I can’t share too much on specifics. However, I can share some general information on my schedule at my placement. I chart review/triage my patients. I determine who is a high priority to see and in what order to see my patients.
8:50 am-8:55 am
When I conduct a clinical swallow evaluation, I need to try different consistencies of diets to determine my safest recommendation as a speech-language pathologist. That’s why before I head out to see my patients, I need to gather the goods that will help me do so — applesauce, which acts as a puree consistency diet; graham crackers, which act as a regular solid diet; endless spoons and straws. I tend to get fresh water and ice chips before seeing each patient.
8:55 am-10:20 am
This is when I see my morning patients and write my SOAP (Subjective, Objective, Assessment, and Plans) notes. Going to rounds typically begins around 9:30, but I did not do rounds this Thursday.
10:30 am-12:00 pm
After seeing all the patients I need to see in the morning, I head to Radiology to conduct VFSS assessments. This is when we place patients in front of an X-ray and have them consume different consistencies of barium. The barium allows us to see what and how things are going down when someone swallows. To protect myself from radiation, I wear something called a lead suit. I usually see three patients for VFSSs; however, some days, I have seen up to six in-patient and out-patient assessments within this small time frame. Those days usually cut into my lunch a bit. Today was one of those days, but SO worth it because I get more hands-on experience with instrumental studies!
12:19 pm
Because VFSS studies ran late, I decided to get lunch at the hospital’s cafeteria. I thought hospital cafeteria food would be terrible, but NYP’s menu is pretty good! Plus, it helps that I get a student discount when I flash my ID. Today was a ‘build-your-own-salad’ kind of day for me and, of course, a Diet Coke to keep my energy up. If I am not dining at the cafeteria, I can be found at La Bagel, Five Guys, or Just Salads. Park Slope has many amazing places to eat, so I highly recommend visiting!
12:30 pm
By now, I finished my lunch, and I am running back to the 8th floor to find an available computer to finish my in-patient notes and start my VFSS notes.
2:00 pm
After I am finished with morning and VFSS notes, I am off to see my afternoon patients.
3:30 pm
After seeing all my patients, I now take the time to write more SOAP notes! One for each patient because documentation is very important and essential.
5:00 pm
Generally, I finish my day around 4:00, however this week I stayed until 5:00. Now that I am done with my day, I can start my commute back home to Morningside Heights! It was an extra long day, so I was a tad bit grumpy on my commute back. Ideally, I would first catch the B67 all the way to Bergen St, but the next B67 was not coming for a while, so today, I caught the B69. If I take the B69, I get off at an early stop and walk the remaining distance to Bergen St station. Then, I just reverse my morning commute.
6:00 pm
I get off at 116th Street station, tired, hungry, and grumpy. Because of this, I like to treat myself on Thursdays. I was really feeling pad thai from the Thai food truck right in front of the main campus, so that was my treat of choice for the night.
9:45 pm
Thursdays mean I can afford to push myself to stay up later than usual because work at the Admission office on Fridays starts at 10:00 am for me. But because of my extra long day, I fell asleep pretty early.
Take this schedule and repeat it on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays! That is generally what the majority of my week looks like as a second-year CSD student. These are definitely long days, but my patients make it all worth it, and I absolutely LOVE what I do, working primarily with swallowing dysfunction.