Inside SLP

Megan Berg
  • 5.0 (19)
  • Careers
  • Weekly Series

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.

  1. Episode 1

    21: The Oregon Workaround

    For the first 20 episodes of Inside SLP, we explored the history of speech-language pathology and the systems that shape our profession today. We looked at how licensure, certification, clinical training, and professional identity evolved over time, and how decisions made decades ago continue to influence clinicians, students, employers, and patients. As we begin this next chapter of the podcast, we're turning our attention to a recent controversy in Oregon that sparked questions far beyond a single state licensing board. At first glance, it looked like a debate about the CFY. But as I dug deeper, it became clear that the conversation was really about something much larger: Where clinical training happens, who is responsible for it, and what assumptions we've inherited about how new clinicians become competent practitioners. This isn't a call to action, and it isn't an attempt to tell you what to think. It's an invitation to better understand the systems we're all participating in, and to consider what role each of us plays in what comes next. We explore: The CFY, the CCC, and licensure: Why so many clinicians struggle to untangle where one system ends and another begins.The hidden training model: How the profession came to rely on employers and workplace mentorship to help complete the transition from student to clinician.The CFY lottery: Why two clinicians can have dramatically different fellowship experiences while meeting the same requirements.Beyond Oregon: How a proposed workaround to a Medicare billing problem uncovered deeper questions about training, competency, and professional responsibility.Guests: Kerry Mandulak, PhD, CCC-SLP, immediate Past President of the Oregon Speech-Language & Hearing Association (OSHA) and Professor and Chair of the Graduate Admissions Committee at Pacific University in the school of Communication Sciences and DisordersJordan Tinsley, PhD, CCC-SLP, current President of OSHA and Clinical Assistant Professor at Pacific University in the school of Communication Sciences and DisordersTeigan Beck, MS, CCC-SLP, VP of Legislative Affairs for OSHAConnect: Contact Megan: therapyinsights.com/insideslpPACT Survey: pactsurvey.com

  2. Episode 2

    22: Who Gets to Decide?

    In this episode of Inside SLP, Megan looks beyond speech-language pathology to ask how professions decide where authority should live. From AOTA’s decision to separate certification from its professional association to decades of antitrust challenges involving ASHA and other professions, this episode explores what happens when certification, advocacy, accreditation, and professional representation overlap. Who gets to speak for a profession? What makes that authority legitimate? And what mechanisms exist to challenge it when practitioners want something different? Sources: Bogus v. American Speech & Hearing Association, 582 F.2d 277 (3d Cir. 1978).National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy, Inc. v. American Occupational Therapy Association, 24 F. Supp. 2d 494 (D. Md. 1998).Palazzi et al. v. National Court Reporters Association, No. 2:25-cv-00077 (D.N.J. filed Jan. 3, 2025).Connect: Contact Megan: therapyinsights.com/insideslpPACT Survey: pactsurvey.com

  3. Episode 3

    23: What Happened to “Within”?

    What does it actually mean to “work within the system”? Megan traces the history of member voice and decision-making within ASHA, from Richard Adler’s 1990 address to the Legislative Council to the governance changes that eventually eliminated it. Along the way, she asks what happens when a profession gets better at questioning authority without necessarily building better ways to disagree, deliberate, and act together. What would it take to build a profession that can hear disagreement without needing to eliminate it? Sources: Moore, M. (2007). Step by Step, ASHA Begins Governance Change.Moore, M. (2007). New Governance Structure Adopted: Legislative Council Also Approves Preferred Practice Patterns in Audiology.ASHA Archives: Early ConventionsMalone, R. (1999). The first 75 years: An oral history of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.Connect: Contact Megan: therapyinsights.com/insideslpPACT Survey: pactsurvey.com

  4. Episode 4

    24: Have You Tried Writing a Letter?

    What happens when a profession outgrows the structures designed to represent it? Megan traces the evolution of ASHA’s governance from its 150-member Legislative Council to today’s smaller Board of Directors, and compares that history with APTA’s still-active House of Delegates. She talks with former ASHA Legislative Council member Sherry Sancibrian and APTA House Speaker Bill McGeehy about the messy reality of trying to govern a large profession. The episode also examines grassroots organizing and social media, including Megan’s own experience becoming an informal voice for thousands of SLPs. If large representative bodies can become painfully slow, but small governing bodies can’t possibly hold the full complexity of a profession, what might representative governance look like now? Thank you to this episode's guests: Sherry Sancibrian, MS, CCC-SLP, BCS-CL, F-ASHABill McGehee, PT, PhDSources: Rodgers, T. (2020). Reframed Thinking on ASHA Governance.Moore, M. (2007). New Governance Structure Adopted: Legislative Council Also Approves Preferred Practice Patterns in Audiology.ASHA Archives: Early ConventionsASHA, 2013: Ad Hoc Committee on Committee, Board and Council Structure Review. Final Report: Review and Evaluation of ASHA’s Current Committee, Board, and Council Structures and Processes and Recommendations for Enhancing These Structures and ProcessesMalone, R. (1999). The first 75 years: An oral history of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.October 2022 ASHA Board of Directors ReportFebruary 2023 ASHA Board of Directors ReportJuly 2023 ASHA Board of Directors ReportPhysical therapy: APTA House of DelegatesOccupational therapy: AOTA Representative AssemblyNursing: ANA Membership AssemblyPsychology: APA Council of RepresentativesMedicine: AMA House of DelegatesDentistry: ADA House of DelegatesPhysician associates: AAPA House of DelegatesRespiratory therapy: AARC House of DelegatesNutrition and dietetics: AND House of DelegatesConnect: Contact Megan: therapyinsights.com/insideslpPACT Survey: pactsurvey.com

  • 1 Trailer
    3 Episodes

Trailer

5
out of 5
19 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.

Information

  • Creator
    Megan Berg
  • Episodes
    26
  • Seasons
    2
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Megan Berg
  • Show Website
    Inside SLP

You Might Also Like