Position Summary / Career Interest:

The Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) is part of a team of nurses, advanced practice providers and physicians committed to treating a range of complex adult voice, swallowing, and upper airway disorders in an outpatient medical setting. The SLP is integrated into the Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery (OTO-HNS) clinic and has a hands-on role in the clinical and instrumental evaluation of patients. The SLP frequently works in tandem with fellowship-trained Laryngologist and Head & Neck Oncologic Surgeons. Engages in collaborative and longitudinal care of patients with voice/swallow/airway disorders, providing comprehensive therapy while promoting best-practices in patient care. Plays a role in advancing the field of speech language pathology through teaching (graduate students from the KU SLP program and OTO-HNS residents) and opportunities to participate in clinical research.

Responsibilities:

•  Evaluate and treat patients referred to laryngology services for voice/swallow/airway concerns. This includes:
  a.    Obtaining a detailed case history. 
  b.    Obtaining objective measures and psychoacoustic judgments of phonatory ability.
  c.    Administering and interpreting acoustic analysis for documentation of vocal parameters.
  d.    Administering and interpreting videolaryngostroboscopic, videonasoendoscopic, FEES and modified barium video swallow evaluations
  e.    Utilizes electromyography machine in accordance with laryngologist for various therapeutic tasks
• Provide pre-treatment evaluation and counseling and post-treatment care for patients undergoing treatment for head and neck cancer.  This includes:
  a.    Provide pre- and post-treatment swallowing evaluation for patients undergoing surgical or medical treatment (chemoradiation) of head and neck cancer.
  b.    Provide post-treatment dysphagia therapy for patients requiring rehabilitation after treatment for head and neck cancer.
  c.    Provide pre-operative education and counseling for patients undergoing laryngectomy and establish a plan of care for post-operative alaryngeal speech restoration, to include use of electrolarynx, esophageal speech and tracheoesophageal prosthesis (TEP).
  d.    Evaluate, manage and replace TEP voice prostheses 
• Advocate for patients undergoing treatment for rehabilitation of voice/swallow/airway disorders and interact on the patient’s behalf with physicians, nurses, employers, etc
  a.    Interpret evaluation results for patients, their families and medical staff and make appropriate recommendations for management and treatment.
  b.    Develop appropriate goals for each patient, and design and execute a therapeutic program to meet these goals. 
  c.    When appropriate, makes referrals for medical evaluation, audiology services or follow up by other medical professionals.
• Maintain documentation and certifications required for patient care
  a.    Maintain documentation of patient contact according to JCAHO procedures and standards. 
  b.    Ensure documentation is clear and concise, and in compliance with departmental KSHA and ASHA guidelines, and regulatory requirements from third party payers.    
  c.    Meet all state requirements for continuing education with the Kansas Board of Healing Arts.
• Participate in departmental education and research efforts
  a.    May provide educational programs through in-services to the rehab services department or interdisciplinary colleagues, and teaching labs to the Speech students.
  b.    May provide student supervision for Level II students, utilizing a wide variety of supervisory styles to enhance student learning.
  c.     May assist to develop, collect, and analyze performance improvement data.
• Must be able to perform the professional, clinical and or technical competencies of the assigned unit or department.  
  a.    Follow all departmental policies, procedures, and standards
  b.    Complete other assignments as requested by the physicians and/or Speech Supervisor to assist in the efficient operation/function of the clinic

JOB REQUIREMENTS

Required:

1.    Master's Degree in Communication Disorders/Speech and Hearing Science
2.    Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC) from the American Speech Language and Hearing Association (ASHA)
3.    Valid license from the state of Kansas to practice as an SLP.
4.    Eligible for licensure to practice as an SLP in the state of Missouri
5.    Demonstrates prior experience in the independent evaluation and treatment of laryngeal, phonatory, swallowing and upper airway disorders.
6.    Interpersonal skills necessary to work effectively with a wide variety of individuals.     

We are an equal employment opportunity employer without regard to a person’s race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity and sexual orientation), national origin, ancestry, age (40 or older), disability, veteran status or genetic information.