004 - Nannette Crawford M.A., CCC-SLP - Is this waiver worth the paper it’s written on? Ethical decision making, the importance of having a mentor, and to never stop learning.

Summary: Nannette is an SLP with over 45 years of experience who wears many, many hats, and wears all of them very, very well. Her speciality is cognition, brain injury, and post concussive symptoms, but she works in an outpatient clinic where she also treats patients with dysphagia. Knowing that she did not have a solid background in dysphagia, Nannette took it upon herself to enroll in Dr. Jim Coyle’s dysphagia class at the Univ. of Pittsburgh a few years back. Nannette is extremely passionate about patients rights and ethics, and has also been educated by Dr. Paula Leslie who has written extensively about this topic. She brings an entire human element to treating our patients with dysphagia, and I could only hope that if myself or a family member was struggling with dysphagia, that they would be treated by an SLP that believes in and supports patient’s rights as much as Nannette does. In this episode, we’ll cover the ever popular topic of waivers and why they should or should not be used, how to present treatment options to our patients, and how to advocate for our patients as part of interdisciplinary team. Nannette also discusses the importance of having mentors and support from others in the field, and you’re never too old to learn new tricks. Check out the show notes for this episode at www.swallowyourpridepodcast.com.