Many of us have little to no serious development of our didactic (classroom) and clinical education knowledge and skills, and most CEU trainings fail to dive deeply into theory and science to develop a solid foundation.

We typically enter teaching and supervision practices armed with the knowledge of what worked - and didn’t work - for us as learners. Sure, this has “worked” for decades, but does this approach serve all of our learners, advance curricula, and encourage educational innovation?

Would you ever say, “I have never had any coursework covering this particular disorder. I know nothing about the mechanism nor best evidence regarding how to treat, but can you give me some links so I can work with this patient next week?”

When we enter teaching and learning spaces armed only with a syllabus from the prior instructor and our own learning experiences, we do our learners (and potentially those whom they eventually serve) a serious disservice. In fact, there are many ways in which we can do harm.

Here’s the good news. Of all of the many challenges facing SLP and AuD, solving the systemic problem of under-developed CSD educators needs no external changes. There are no requisite changes in Medicaid or Medicare, insurance reimbursements, clinical care models, or the like to make a difference.

That is not to say this change is easy or quick - or doesn’t require fiscal commitments from our organizations. However, to get started, our field simply needs folks dedicated to being the change we want to see.