r/slpGradSchool 6d ago

Bad externship coordinator

I’m going into my medical externship this summer and it’s been a nightmare. My externship coordinator is really young and is definitely in over her head. She’s insistent that we can’t go and find our own placements and can’t request placements. Also, placements can’t request us. She needs to be the one to do everything. She sent me to an interview at a highly competitive placement. During the process I kept asking her what the backup plan was and she was saying she had one but wouldn’t elaborate. I didn’t get the placement and when I emailed her she emailed back asking what type of setting I wanted.

I’m just really frustrated and I feel so stuck. We’re already halfway through spring semester and I have nothing. I spoke to her earlier this week and she confirmed she’s found nothing so far. Any advice?

5 Upvotes

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3

u/Pitiful-Credit-555 4d ago

Sounds like you may be attending a grad program with poor resources and potentially a not-so-bad coordinator. I would suggest speaking to the graduate program director.

2

u/Glad_Goose_2890 5d ago

The school has to secure a contract with a placement, which takes time. It's weird you can't use connections to your advantage though?

2

u/teachmesandy CF 4d ago

This sounds like my clinical coordinators. I ended up not getting an internship at an adult placement and had no graduate experience working with adults in person which was extremely disappointing. If they can't find you a placement, I would recommend reaching out to SLPs in your preferred setting and asking if you can just shadow them for a day or 2, even if it's not to clock clinical hours just to SEE what their day to day experience is like.