My administrator wants me to train the occupational therapist in my facility to perform dysphagia evaluations and treatment. Should I do this?
ASHA’s technical report, Speech-Language Pathologists Training and Supervising Other Professionals in the Delivery of Services to Individuals With Swallowing and Feeding Disorders, states that “SLPs are primary providers of dysphagia services and that the foundation of their knowledge and skills in swallowing and feeding is not transferable to other professions.” In addition, the document Multiskilled Personnel states that “cross-training of clinical skills is not appropriate at the professional level of practice.” The Code of Ethics states that “individuals shall delegate the provision of clinical services only to persons who are certified or to persons in the education or certification process who are appropriately supervised.” Each profession is different in its academic and clinical preparation; thus, a professional cannot make assumptions about the knowledge base or experience of someone from another discipline. SLPs could be held responsible for a professional in another discipli
Related Questions
- My hospital administrator wants to reduce costs and thinks that reducing dysphagia services will save money. What data is there to show that dysphagia services are cost-effective?
- Why should I hire an occupational therapist to perform a Functional Capacity Evaluation or Cost of Future Care Evaluation?
- Why choose a therapist owned facility providing physical therapy/ occupational therapy?
