Inside SLP

Megan Berg

Inside SLP is a limited series podcast that reveals how our profession came to be and why it functions the way it does. Most clinicians work inside a system they were never taught to see, shaped by decades of history, policy, economics, and unspoken assumptions. This show offers lightbulb moments that bring clarity to the structures beneath our everyday work and opens space for thoughtful, grounded understanding of the field we share.

Episodes

  1. EPISODE 7

    07: Why the Degree Never Changed

    Why has the speech-language pathology entry-level degree remained unchanged for over 70 years while the medical world evolved around it? This episode excavates the critical turning points of 1963 and 1983, where the profession repeatedly chose academic purity and economic convenience over clinical readiness.  We dive into the 2020 Ad Hoc Committee Report, a document that effectively pulled the fire alarm on our current training model. We also cover: The Highland Park standoff: Why 1960s leaders feared a vocational degree and institutionalized the workaround we now call the Clinical Fellowship. The 1983 economic pivot: How the profession crunched the numbers and chose a model that favored immediate paychecks over university-owned clinical residencies. The modern crisis: Why 47% of modern graduate programs admit they may not have the capacity to teach the full scope of practice across the lifespan. The subtext of survival: A look at the faculty deserts and the hidden revenue needs that keep our accrediting systems anchored to a 1960s architecture. This episode is about policy and also about removing the shame of the training gap by seeing it as a documented structural failure rather than a personal one. Contact Megan: therapyinsights.com/insideslpPACT Survey: pactsurvey.comSources: Malone, R. (1999). The first 75 years: An oral history of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.Final Report, Ad Hoc Committee on Graduate Education for Speech-Language Pathologists, March 2020Graduate Education in Speech Pathology and Audiology: Report of a National Conference Highland Park, Illinois, April 29 Through May 3, 1963.National Conference on Undergraduate, Graduate, and Continuing Education (1983 : Saint Paul, Minn.); Rees, Norma S.; Snope, Trudy L.

    10 min
  2. EPISODE 9

    09: Audiology Pivots Away

    Audiology and SLP share a common history, but they did not share the same future. This episode traces the critical divorce of the 1980s, starting with a 1987 convention session in New Orleans that changed everything. We look at how audiologists identified the "Competency vs. Certification" trap and decided to rebuild their professional infrastructure from the ground up. The New Orleans spark: How a minority group within ASHA realized they would never achieve autonomy inside the existing majority.Competence vs. revenue: Why audiology had to separate from a "certification-first" model to create the AuD.The 2020 mirror: How the same "bursting seams" found in audiology 30 years ago are now documented facts in the SLP master's degree.This is a story about system literacy in action. Contact Megan: therapyinsights.com/insideslpPACT Survey: pactsurvey.comSources:Special thank you to Dr. Ian Windmill (former President and Fellow of the American Academy of Audiology, former Professor and Director of the Division of Communication Science at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, and former partner in University Surgical Associates) for being a primary source for this podcast series. The Crabby Audiologist Column (published in Hearing Health and Technology Matters) The Crabby Audiologist - Who's Teaching Who, and When?  — October 14, 2014Back to the Beginning - Some History and a Mystery — October 29, 2014Back to the Future of Audiology - Part 2 - The Tumultuous 70's — December 3, 2014Back to the Future - The Contentious 80's — December 31, 2014The 90's Onward:  Fighting the Inevitable, the Mountain Moved and Promises Not Yet Kept — Jan. 21, 2015The Millenium - Crabby Audiologists Learning the Alphabet — February 10 2015With Friends Like These:  A Strange Saga of "Teamwork" — February 24, 2015With Friends Like These:  Continued — March 10, 2015Making a List - Checking It Twice:  Someone's Been Very Naughty — March 31, 2015Commoditization: New/Old Kid on the Block — April 21, 2015Got Soul?  Who Are We — May 5, 2015Our Place In the Sun: Value Added Audiology — May 19, 2015How's the Water or What Sea Are We Swimming In — June 2, 2015One Plus One Equals the Wrong Two - New Math Needed — June 23,2015

    13 min

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Inside SLP is a limited series podcast that reveals how our profession came to be and why it functions the way it does. Most clinicians work inside a system they were never taught to see, shaped by decades of history, policy, economics, and unspoken assumptions. This show offers lightbulb moments that bring clarity to the structures beneath our everyday work and opens space for thoughtful, grounded understanding of the field we share.