Current Status of SLP Employment in Health Care Settings

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]

According to 2006 ASHA membership counts, 35% of certified Speech-Language Pathologists (SLP) are employed in health care settings. The distribution across settings is as follows:

Employment Conditions in Health Care Facilities

Data from the 2002, 2005, 2007, and 2009 ASHA SLP Health Care Surveys are reported below. Wherever possible, recent data from 2009 replace data from previous health care surveys. 

In the 2009 ASHA SLP Health Care Survey Report, 35% of respondents reported being salaried employees, 56% were hourly employees, and 9% reported they were paid per home health visit. The largest percentages of salaried employees were found in pediatric (52%) and rehabilitation hospital (49%) settings. The lowest percentages of salaried employees were found in skilled nursing facilities (20%) and home health (25%). 

The largest percentages of hourly employees were found in skilled nursing facilities (80%) and general medical hospitals (64%). The smallest percentages were found in home health (28%) and pediatric hospitals (48%). 

In 2009, 61% of respondents reported being employed full-time, and 34% reported being employed part-time. The highest percentages of full-time employees were found in skilled nursing facilities (71%). The lowest percentage of full-time employees was found in pediatric hospitals (56%). For part-time employees, the highest percentages were found in pediatric hospitals (44%), and the lowest percentages were found in skilled nursing facilities (29%).

Benefits

According to the 2002 ASHA SLP Health Care Survey, the largest percentages of respondents reporting paid vacation, paid sick leave, and health insurance benefits were found in the following settings: general medical hospitals, rehabilitations, and pediatric hospitals. Lesser percentages were reported for home health and outpatient clinics or speech/hearing clinics. 

Skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies, and outpatient clinics or speech/hearing clinics were more likely to provide ASHA dues, state association dues, and licensure fees than were those employed in hospital settings.

Hospital settings were more likely to provide both on-site and external continuing education than were the other settings. Rehabilitation and general medical hospitals were the most likely to provide pension or other retirement plans while skilled nursing facilities were the least likely to provide this benefit.

Vacancies and Recruitment in Health Care Facilities

In 2002, the average percentage of funded unfilled positions in health care was 25%. This number rose to 41% in 2005 and dropped slightly to 38% in 2007. It dropped again in 2009 to 26% of respondents indicating they had an open position. While not yet indicative of a trend, this drop in the number of funded, unfilled positions overall is promising.

The 2009 ASHA SLP Health Care Survey reported that the largest percentages of unfilled positions were found in home health and pediatric hospitals, where 36% and 32% of respondents, respectively, indicated that they had unfilled speech-language pathology positions.

Overall, 47% of the respondents to the 2009 survey stated that job openings were more numerous than job seekers. This is a drop from 59% in 2007. By facility, between 31% (pediatric hospitals) and 61% (home health agency or client's home) selected this response.

In 2002, the majority of respondents from all practice settings reported having difficulty hiring qualified SLPs. This ranged from a low of 63% for respondents from general hospitals to a high of 79% from respondents from skilled nursing facilities. The most frequently cited reasons for difficulty in hiring were: a lack of qualified SLPs, non-competitive salary and benefits, undesirable working conditions, and undesirable geographic location. Respondents from skilled nursing facilities appeared to have the greatest difficulty hiring qualified SLPs. Write-in comments confirmed the reasons cited above and added concerns such as: (a)location was not close to a university, (b) inefficient recruiting, and (c) unavailability of bilingual SLPs.

Overall, the majority of respondents reported that recruiting was conducted using local advertising and networking with professional contacts. A majority of respondents from pediatric hospitals reported they also use national advertising, while skilled nursing facilities were the largest users of professional recruiters.