Recruitment and Retention of SLPs in Health Care

A Guide for Administrators, Program Directors, and Recruiters

Introduction | Current Status of SLP Employment | Retention vs. Recruitment | SLPs' Prioritization of Job Satisfaction Factors | Recruitment and Retention Strategies | Home Care Recruitment and Retention | Hospital Considerations | Outpatient Facility Considerations | Skilled Nursing Facility Considerations | Appendix

Reward Yourself with a Career in Health Care Powerpoint presentation [PDF]

Introduction

Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are essential professionals in every health care setting-acute care, rehabilitation, pediatric, and psychiatric hospitals; long term care; outpatient facilities; and home health. Their expertise provides invaluable benefit to patients and other staff in managing problems (swallowing, communication, and cognitive-linguistic disorders) that affect patients' overall health, well-being, and ability to benefit from other medical or rehabilitation interventions. The qualifications and expertise of SLPs in health care settings cannot be duplicated by members of other professions. The following information has been developed to assist program directors and administrators in recruiting and retaining a highly qualified SLP staff.

Competition for employing SLPs is anticipated to grow as the demand for SLPs increases due to national demographic and health factors. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the employment rate of SLPs is expected to experience "about average growth" through the year 2016. The BLS monitors the supply and demand for more than 700 occupations. According to the BLS, more than 12,000 additional SLPs will be needed to fill the demand between 2006 and 2016, an 11% increase in job openings.

BLS data retrieved from http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos099.htm on June 10, 2008.