[Dysphagia] SLP coverage

[mbuckie at dmc.org (Buckie,Marcia)]

Okay, I may be beating a dead horse here...
 
Regarding the concept of SLP being available 365 days a year for dysphagia coverage: I am all for it if there is appropriate compensation and staffing. However, I really think if you are salaried, you have to be careful of how much "extra" you are doing in the name of maintaining your status as a "professional" and devotion to quality of patient care. 
 
I'd like to compare it to our counterparts in nursing. If a nurse is working the day shift, and the afternoon person does not show up, she cannot legally leave if she is the only nurse on duty.Well, if you work in a setting or facility where there are staffing shortages, you could be stuck on a regular basis staying over.   In the course of my 10 years as a SLP, I have seen patient to nurse ratios skyrocket. This causes, among other things, decreased quality of care, increased mistakes, and burnout. Who suffers? The patients. It will only stop when nurses lobby  successfully for regulations on better conditions. 
 
In a similar vein, if teachers don't strike or unionize, they often have to put up with ridiculous classroom sizes, reduced benefits, etc. etc. I know this from years of watching my dad be a union rep as a math teacher. By fighting for his own work conditions, he also fought for the children he served. (He couldn't afford to stay and support his family if he took everything they dished out. He was a great teacher, and that would have been a loss.)
 
So, my point is (and I do have one): when there are financial cutbacks at the hospital , it usually comes in the form of salary cutbacks, staffing reduction, etc. I have attended so may "pep" ralllies by hospital administrators asking us the "hang in there" during the rough times, and lets all join in to take care of the patients...we can do more with less! So, when does it stop?  Does this make me a prima donna? Maybe. I think I may have a touch of Marxist in me as well.
 
Those are my 2 cents 
 
MBuckie