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We are discussing the biggest challenges that are currently holding back the field of speech-language pathology. We present the issues with facts and invite you to be a part of joining our movement to make things better, one conversation at a time. Let's fix SLP!
Hosted by Jeanette Benigas, PhD, SLP
Jeanette Benigas 0:00
Hey fixers. I'm Dr. Jeanette Benigas, one of the cofounders of fix SLP. Our platform exists to discuss the biggest challenges that are currently holding back the field of speech language pathology. We present the issues with facts and invite you to be a part of joining this movement to make things better one conversation at a time. So let's fix SLP.
Preston Lewis 0:19
Hey everybody, welcome back. I'm with Jeanette. This is Preston. And we decided to reverse things up a little bit today because Jeanette got a comment the other day, wanting to know more about Jeanette and so I think this is actually a very opportune kind of day here and fix SLP kingdom, which is a chaotic day. You've already had a child with a fever at the emergency room. You're back home, you're drinking coffee. This is Friday, Friday afternoon as we record this, it is a maelstrom Genet. Is this like a typical day being the Queen fixer? What's it like?
Jeanette Benigas 1:14
Well, oddly, I actually showered today. Because you know, when your kid needs to go to the hospital, the first thing you do is shower, just in case you end up there for a week. But yeah, it this does feel like a day in the life because at this point, as a mom with kids, I've met sandwich generation young kids who need me, a mom who is getting cancer treatment. Who needs me because my dad passed over a decade ago. It's like, work, husband, all the things
Preston Lewis 1:51
Did you have wholesale clients today as well that you had to call off.
Jeanette Benigas 1:54
I did, I had go cancel four patients. Wow. So I stand firm. Like, I'm PRN. But I don't owe them my life. So the company would have loved for me to make up those sessions tomorrow. And I won't be doing that.
Preston Lewis 2:17
Because you have obligations.
Jeanette Benigas 2:19
I have a family and a life that yeah, I'm sorry, I never call off. Yeah. Today was the day.
Preston Lewis 2:25
You know, I was gonna ask this question later in the pod. But I think I'll skip ahead now. So from my own experience, back in 2018, I went through a divorce, and suddenly realize that, yes, it's it's challenging to be an SLP and a parent. But then I was kind of like a single parent. On the weeks that I had my daughter and realized, wow, this is even more intense. So as much as you put into everything, there's a husband here, who's a pretty awesome guy, and he's doing a lot of the heavy lifting. And so tell us a little bit about your spouse.
Jeanette Benigas 3:02
I've been married to Jon for 12 years in September. We met three weeks after I'd moved from my hometown to go get my PhD. We met online when dating online wasn't cool. Like you couldn't swipe. It was like, legitimately matched who was my first match,
Preston Lewis 3:27
Did you check out his MySpace account?
Jeanette Benigas 3:30
MySpace was gone by then I'm not that old Preston, thank you. But I did stalk him on Facebook. He wasn't a paying member. So I couldn't contact him. So back then.
Preston Lewis 3:42
Paying, no, no wait, what do you mean a paying member of Facebook?
Jeanette Benigas 3:45
No, he wasn't a paying member of the online platform that night. Oh, okay. Okay. I don't know if you have to pay these days or if they're all free, but back then you had to pay. So he was the free version where you could get matched but you put you had to pay to talk to the people.
Preston Lewis 3:59
Okay.
Jeanette Benigas 4:00
So yeah, we matched. I found them on Facebook because it was way easier to stalk people in 2009 and found them on there. We had a mutual friend checked him out with a mutual friend got the girl. And here we are.
Preston Lewis 4:19
He has an interesting occupation. You told me that a while back.
Jeanette Benigas 4:23
Yeah, he's a billboard manager for a nationwide billboard company. And he's he's like a little dolphin. He's committed for life like he be unlike speech pathologists. He doesn't change jobs. He interned there for a paid internship in college and then worked there when he graduated and worked his way up into management. And then when we moved from my first teaching job, he was going to switch like, offices, but ended up interviewing with the competitor and the manager there had been a manager for the company he's with now for a long Time. So that was like, close enough of the same. So he he changed companies but still worked for like old school management. And then we actually moved back to Ohio after my daughter was born because they called him and asked him to come manage this office that he's out at now, which is like 15 minutes from where I grew up. So where we are.
Preston Lewis 5:22
I'm sure he wasn't that surprised when you started? Fix SLP and then going back to some of the earlier advocacy, to see what a Hellraiser you are. That came as no shock to him.
Jeanette Benigas 5:33
No. When he asked my dad, if we could get married my dad, according to Jon, my dad's response was, Are you sure?
Preston Lewis 5:44
One more chance to?
Jeanette Benigas 5:46
Are you sure? He's having second thoughts now.
Preston Lewis 5:52
So it's a good opportunity to segue into this something else I had on my list of things to ask you about which, when I first got to know you, Jeanette, I mean, one word that I would use to describe you, right out of the gate is grit. And after finding out a little bit about your past, one of the things that I don't know if it's come up on the pod before you are a preacher's daughter.
Jeanette Benigas 6:17
I don't know if it has, but yeah. Uh-huh.
Preston Lewis 6:19
Then something you and I have in common is that we're also the children of a coach. So he was both a preacher and a coach. And I wonder just how much of that grit came from that?
Jeanette Benigas 6:32
Oh, I'd say it comes from like my whole Italian side, because my family came over from Italy. Both of my grandparents were born in the US, but all of their older brothers and sisters were born in Italy. So everybody came over my dad. And his brother shared a bed until my dad was 16 years old, in the same room as his parents in the same house as his grandparents. So they came over here for a better life for a better education for a better just, you know, for more opportunity. And they worked hard. I mean, they all not that you have to go to college, but they all went to school. And at least my dad's generation, like they all went to college, a lot of them became teachers. Because education is so important. And something that like, as I have reflected on my life, I am a product of that education was so important to my family. And again, one big reason why they came to America. I am the first one to get a PhD. So I am the result of their like, their dream. And in fact, when my dad's uncle found out that I was getting a PhD, this still makes me so emotional. He sent me $100 Like, the guy didn't have two pennies to rub together. But he was born in Italy. He was part of like, this is why we came here. And he sent me that check, because he was so proud of me. And it's all he could do. But yeah, I my dad has, you know, has multiple had I lost my dad in 2013. But you know, he had multiple degrees and yeah, he, I'm a daddy's girl.
Preston Lewis 8:28
Along with that Italian heritage. Sometimes I think that I don't mean to sort of throw shade on our generation. But a lot of us grew up in, you know, pretty WD we're in this field, a lot of us came from middle class kind of circumstances where we did have some privilege. But you look back to some of these earlier generations that really just had to slog it out in their professions to define themselves. I kind of wonder how much of what you have put together kind of goes back to that generational aspect. It's from another time, or maybe just describing yourself as an old soul who's just saying, Hey, I'm gonna go out and stake my claim. Do you think there's some of that?
Jeanette Benigas 9:10
Yeah. And I think it's like, I don't know. I think there's a lot I think I've made up of a lot of things. I think there's the the stubborn Italian fire that is like, you're not going to tell me what to do. So when I see you and I feel as though I've been being told what to do, I open my mouth, and I am not always the most appropriate. So I think there's a little of that, but I think too, even though he totally respect all p all faiths, all walks of life, all religions and beliefs. I do think too, that there's this a little bit of a calling to like, leave the world better than I left it if that makes sense. I can identify with that. And then I mean, my mom will occasionally listen to the podcast, so we can't leave her out either. But I am the power of attorney of my great aunt, who like legit probably used to burn bras like, in my former podcast, my former podcast, other SLPs pockets. My mom did listen to all of that. And she's like, you know, your Aunt Elena would have been just so proud of all of this work. I mean, the woman went back to school, and an older age to get a master's degree and as total women's live. Liberal as hell complete opposite of my like, conservative Italian. I don't know, I think there's a good mix, if that makes sense.
Preston Lewis 10:44
I think that calling you speak of it reminds me going back to my days when I was a city councilman. And I would have people asked me, Well, who do you represent, you know, what special interest group or you know, who are the people you're trying to make better within our community. And I'd always say, the people that I'm representing, are people my daughter's age, or maybe even not yet born. And I look back to like my grandfather's generation and some of the things that they did disestablish communities and build infrastructure within a community. And so I think there's a lot of that within you Genet where you want to leave it better than how you found it.
Jeanette Benigas 11:21
Yeah, and help people. I mean, ultimately, if we help this profession, we're also helping the people we serve. And obviously, the way I'm helping is a little bit unconventional, and also very unplanned. It's not like I set out to do this, it still blows my mind, when I think about all of this happening, it hasn't even been a year. But the other thing is, I always knew just the way that my career path has gone, I thought I was going to be a speech pathologist who treated children with autism. And I believe that everything happens for a reason, again, like I'm a person of faith. So obviously, I believe that's coming from somewhere specific. But as I have watched my path unfold, I've kind of always known there's going to be more for me in this field, other than treating or other than teaching. And I've always struggled with what exactly that is, but I've always had a sense that it might be a contribution that's a little bit bigger. And once I got the offer to go get a PhD, I was like, Oh, this is definitely like my research is very unique. Nobody else is doing this. This is definitely I'm going to be traveling to conferences, nationally, maybe internationally, doing this whole line of research and educating and helping people with dementia and swallowing issues. And then I kind of learned I don't think that's going to be it. I think that there's more so me finding myself in this position isn't surprising. And I, I have been saying, If this isn't the thing that I'm supposed to be doing. If there's something bigger I don't want to know right now, because this is exhausting for me, and I am enjoying it. Don't get me wrong, but I can't even imagine that there would be something more than this. That would be bigger. We'll just take this for now.
Preston Lewis 13:12
Do you miss teaching?
Jeanette Benigas 13:14
Do I miss teaching he formaly in the classroom? Yes. For a university again, for a group of people who are telling me what to do? No, I don't again, I don't like working for the man. So working for an organized institution where I have to prove my worth. Not my thing. This has not been formerly announced on fixed LP, but I am no longer professor at a university. I can't get into all the reasons why and everything that went down, but use your imagination and maybe someday we'll get to talk about it on the podcast just can't right now. Yeah, but I can. I can educate. I love educating people who want to be educated. And so that I had to come to terms with to that doesn't mean it has to be in a classroom because let's be honest, not every student wants to be educated by me. I'm rough. I say it like it is I demand excellence. I make sure my students know their shit. I am not the easiest professor to learn from. But on a bigger scale, like teaching for medbridge You know, I have a whole catalog of courses on medbridge speaking at conferences, I've traveled all over the United States teaching that kind of teaching teaching through my my company where I'm teaching other SLPs in my community, the things that I know who are appreciative and want to learn. I think that's more my niche.
Preston Lewis 14:48
You miss the students?
Jeanette Benigas 14:51
I miss the ones who missed me. And those ones have stayed in touch. I just got I was thinking about how to post this today, but I'm just gonna read I just got a text message this morning as I was rushing my daughter to the hospital, and one of my students messaged and said, she's at her medical externship, and her supervisor has affixed SLP t shirt. What? Amazing. She's like, Hey, I wanted to let you know my supervisor has a fix SLP t shirt. That's amazing. So yeah, I mean, I, I tend to stay friendly with my students after they graduate. Whatever I've taught, whenever my students have graduated, I send them an email that says, Hey, first, like, this is my most favorite thing to send. Call me, Jeanette, we're colleagues. Now I've prepared you for me to feel comfortable doing PRN for you. So we're colleagues. So you call me Jeanette. You don't call me Dr. Benigas. A mentor for life. I'm here if you need me. And so plenty of students take me up on that.
Preston Lewis 15:57
Always seems like that's such a big gulf to jump from being a treating SLP into academia. I mean, for me, it just sounds like a nightmare. I don't know just scares the absolute hell out of me. So if you were trying to convince someone like myself or another SLP that's listening out there about going into academia? What do you tell them?
Jeanette Benigas 16:22
Well, first of all, I never left being a treating SLP Oh, yeah, no, absolutely. I know that. Yeah. And so there's a lot of ways you can do that you can do it through adjunct teaching to get your feet wet. Last year, I did a whole a whole series of state convention talks on adjunct thing with my colleague, Pam Smith, we did a whole talk on that on things to look out for and ways to negotiate and our adjuncts aren't really treated the best. And we don't make a ton of money. When we do that. It's not always worth it. But at least it's a chance to try. But I would say, stick to who you are, and what you know, no matter what. So for example, our listeners, if they followed along, I don't always have the best thoughts about academia, I think there's a lot of problems with our educational system for our field. And I think one of those issues is that we want our stuff down. We don't make it challenging enough when and that's why some of our, our students aren't prepared when they leave grad school is because they haven't gotten a rigorous education. And at one of my jobs, I had gotten some, not the best student reviews because my class was taught was difficult. And, and I was told, make it make your class easy. So everyone gets A's until you're tenured and then do what you want. And I was like, I will never do that. I will never do that. Because I know that people struggle when they get out of school. So students can hate me all day long. But at least I know that when a patient is in their hands, I did my part to prepare them. And hopefully someday they realize that. Yeah, so I just say if you're making that transition, you just stay, you've been working in the field long enough to know what the problems are, know where people need better education, and hopefully you're teaching in that area. So you know, stick to it. I was asked at another university to remove MBS imp from my course, my dysphasia course because the students complained that it was too hard. Again, no, no, absolutely not. Asha says if we're following what acid says, if we're doing the CA guidelines, people need to know how to assess in a dysphasia course. And you're not giving me any tools to teach that. So no, it's the only tool I have that same university the next year asked me to remove my entire pediatric unit from my syllabus. Because, again, my class was too hard. And I and it was respectfully we ask that you remove this and I wrote back and I was like, respectfully, what does the CIA say about teaching pediatric dysphasia? Will you be adding it in somewhere else? So no. So you just have to like, stick to your guns, and it's hard. And sometimes you make enemies that way too. Because if you don't stand fall in line, you don't do what they say you don't play the game. You're suddenly in the enemy.
Preston Lewis 19:40
A lot like the rehab world.
Jeanette Benigas 19:42
Oh, yeah. Yeah. And when even in faculty meetings, if you speak up, we talk about that supervision. I've worked places where there are supervisors who have not kept up either in the pediatric world or the adult world and then their supervising clients in the clinic. And they're not giving good supervision. They're not. They're not supervising in a way that's consistent with what students are learning in class. And I'm not even meet saying my class. I just know this goes on across the board. And then you speak up in a faculty meeting about maybe not bringing that person back. But because she's so nice. Oh my god, she's so nice. What Why would we do that to hurt? Well, how about we prioritize our students over the niceness and the feelings of a supervisor who hasn't kept up? You just have to stick to your guns and speak up. That's the biggest thing. And it's hard. It's hard to be that person. But at the end of the day, I can I can go to sleep knowing I did my best to advocate for my students and what I knew to be true in my world, at least,
Preston Lewis 20:48
you became an SLP in what year ?
Jeanette Benigas 20:52
2006. Old. Back when a hashtag meant pound.
Preston Lewis 20:58
Yeah. Right and a tweet with something a bird made.
Jeanette Benigas 21:03
My graduating class from undergrad was the last class to go through college. Without Facebook. Facebook was created my first semester of grad schoool.
Preston Lewis 21:18
Wow. I remember? So in 2006, you become an SLP. And I'm curious, because a lot of us are busy. And I know it took me a few years to get to that moment where it's like that old movie network and you just want to go out and scream, I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore. Did you just come out like that? Are you already just guns blazing from day one? And 2006? Or was there kind of this quiet sort of let me feel my way into the water period?
Jeanette Benigas 21:49
No, I'm a quiet Lurker until recently, until a couple years ago, a very quiet lurker. No, I left grad school that knowing what the hell I was doing. And if, again, if anyone has followed this podcast, I have talked about this before, but I was an awful student. So your CF year is already hard enough. But because I used to sleep through class or skip class, I had no idea what I was doing. And people are afraid to fail the practice. Let's talk about the failing the practice. Again, because I didn't pay attention in class. I did not get serious until I went for my PhD. So it my CF was way harder than it needed to be because I had to look everything up. And even though yes, the internet did exist in the stone age's, we were still very heavily reliant on textbooks. So you know, you would have to like look stuff up and pull out your notes and figure out what means what it it was a very, very hard year for me both personally and professionally. And I was working in a private practice for kids and I, I didn't know yet that I didn't like kids, because I also didn't really have a good adult experience. In grad school. I didn't have any in house adults at all. I only treated pediatrics. And then I was in a preschool. And then I was in an outpatient hospital setting with someone who was older and talk about not keeping up, man, we used to flip over playing cards to treat memory. I mean, the treatments looking back, I'm like, Oh, my gosh, I can't believe I was being taught that stuff. So it wasn't really a good experience. I didn't really get to see what adult therapy looked like, because it wasn't exactly the right. Yeah. So I didn't know yet that I loved adults and didn't like kids. And so it was still figuring that out. Now, and then, that took a couple years now, I didn't really start speaking up on the internet until maybe two or three years ago.
Preston Lewis 23:58
I have a feeling it wasn'tjust limited to the internet, though. There are other channels, too, though.
Jeanette Benigas 24:04
Oh, yeah. So I have really bad imposter syndrome. So that's something I've had to like overcome as part of fix SLP what I have to say, is valuable and it might not always be right and I can be corrected. But man, I have a lot to share and a lot to give. And if I direct it in the right way I can make a big difference. So, you know, I didn't like my first faculty position. I didn't speak up a lot in faculty meetings because I felt like I didn't have any right to be there, I guess. So it even took a long time for me to find my way in the academic world to where I really do know what I'm doing. And I really I really can do this. It took me because I've been teaching. I got my PhD in 2013 while my dad was dying, so yeah, you know I've it took it took a long Time for me to find my comfort zone and open my mouth. And that again in academia to that was probably around COVID.
Preston Lewis 25:07
So when was the moment where you decided that? You know what, I'm going to form a firm or I'm going to put together an organization? And I'm not going to shut up? I'm going to spread this word. You know, was it was it fixed? SLP? Was it going back a little bit before that? What was that moment when this genesis came together?
Jeanette Benigas 25:29
This was a long - years in the making. I had a friend and we've called it out before on this podcast, but she wasn't a friend of mine. Yet. At that point, she was just a colleague who had mentored me a little bit for dysphasia class. And at the time, probably didn't mean No, no, me from Sam. But Inessa, Humbert had some issues with Asha. And I was watching all of this unfold online, and her friends were doing a great job like with this letter writing campaign, and I was like, man, it would be really amazing if we had some kind of centralized system, or like central place to put all this stuff out from because people were posting and friends were pushing, but they didn't necessarily have a big platform. And I just thought the medical SLP world could really use something like that. With that impostor syndrome. I was like, well, it's not going to be me. But it would be a great idea. So that's my bed SLP advocate or the idea of it was formed. And then, I don't know a year or so later, maybe a year and a half later, I don't know in the timeline, an SLP it in the medical SLP space, serve some cease and desist letters to our professions best in my opinion. And I didn't know any of them. But I was watching again, online. I knew one of them professionally, but I was watching online as they're telling what happened to them. And like, how is this fair, I don't like the man telling you what to do. And even though this was a woman, I'm watching someone tell them to sit down and shut up. And their businesses and their livelihoods be threatened. And I was like, This is not fair. And I will not stand for this, even though I'm nobody. Somebody needs to help them. And so I volunteered to have a fundraiser so they could hire lawyers, and fight if they wanted to. And they didn't all take me up on it. But I very quickly did some fundraising. And I raised over $7,000, and formed what's called the med SLP Advocacy Fund. And I'm not an idiot, because I was like, Well, I guess med SLP advocates bore now because if I'm going to do this, people are going to need a place to go. So I might as well start building my platform now. And so we ran it through that there was money leftover and I protected the money and took some steps to make sure it was safe and just got contacted by I got a referral from one of those ladies and said, This person is going to need money and just got an invoice. So I'm still, you know, helping people out with that money. But it's all private. And you know, I don't announce that it's personal for those people. And then in that process, I met the co founder of fix SLP. And we kind of went on this journey together of what are the issues in the field and we came together which are bought with a bunch of other professionals and did the SLP Data Initiative, I have the account, I manage the account now just because fix SLP kind of sprung out of it and and so it made sense that I continue to check in on that account since I'm online every day anyway. But we ran a survey that over 7000 people responded to not 7000 didn't do it to completion that was just over 5001 of the biggest surveys in the field completed to date. So you can look at what your colleagues thought are strengths and weaknesses in the field. That's all it I think we just decided to shut down the website. But the Instagram account is still there. SLP data initiative, we said that we're gonna have real solutions as part of this project. And one thing led to another and we as we were trying to figure it out, we had other SLPs pockets, which is a limited series podcast about negotiating for better pay in the field. And then we kind of landed on fixed SLPs it was just this years years of just a little seed of an idea that we kind of need a place to push stuff out of out from when there's problems and and if you look back at my med SLP advocate account, I kind of manifested everything that fixed SLP is doing like one of my first posts is who is the med SLP advocate and what can you expect for this account? And I think just about everything I said I was going to do through that account is happening through fixed SLP on a much larger scale. So again, that's wild to me because it It's like, these are the things I want to do for this profession. And now I'm doing them way more than I could have ever imagined. And as things were happening, it's not like I was looking at that list, I kind of abandoned that account because I can only run so many things. But one day, I went back to post a picture and say, like, Hey, if you're looking for me, this is where you'll find me. And so I was looking at what was pinned, and I was like, Oh, my gosh, I'm doing all of this. It came true. So, you know, there's there's power and manifesting what you want for your future. I think there's something to that.
Preston Lewis 30:34
I had someone approached me recently, and they said, Aren't you nervous? Or Aren't you scared about this role that you've taken and being outspoken? And I said, you know, I've been doing this for several years. I feel like I'm trying to do this for all the positive reasons. If I'm scared, then maybe I'm in the wrong field. And so but that fear is there. We've talked about fear before on other pod episodes and came up with Tiffany recently on a previous episode. I don't ever since fear from you, Jeanette. You are indeed, I think the fearless fixer definition. Do you ever feel scared?
Jeanette Benigas 31:16
No, not in this field. In other things? Sure. Shoot. My daughter has a rash over 90% of her body this morning. And we're waiting for testers. Well, was I afraid then? Yes. But calmly afraid if these results come back? Some kind of crazy disease? We'll deal with it. You know, so there's fear there, but I am not. I am so much more than just a speech language pathologist. My identity is not in that in my identity is not in having been a professor. I am so many other things. So if this went away today, I would be okay. What I miss it what I miss fix SLP. Yeah, because I really do enjoy this. If I stopped being a speech pathologist. Would my life continue on? Absolutely. I'm innovative. Like you said, I'm gritty, I would figure it out. And I'm not doing anything, by the way that couldn't make me lose my state license. If anything, someone could file a complaint. And I could have my C's revoked. But guess what, unless the lawyer that I meet with next week tells me otherwise. Because the last one said keep them for like lawsuit purposes, if that's where we're headed. I'm not in academia anymore. I am not supervising in a university clinic. It was the number one reason why I still had those seats. Because when fix SLP started, I was a full time professor. Okay, take my seats, I'm giving them up anyway, go for it. And by the way to file something like that, you have to put your name on it. So now I'm going to know who you are. And everybody else is going to know who you are too. You won't just be afraid of me.
Preston Lewis 33:02
It won't just be some mysterious cease and desist letter from you know, the law firm of x, y and Zed right?
Jeanette Benigas 33:09
Yeah, yeah. No, I mean, no, because my life is gonna go on if I have my CS or not. I wish that was a place that all speech pathologists could get to because we are so rooted in fear. I get messages all the time, I am still inundated with messages I can't keep up. And by the way, everyone, I can only find time to check emails once a week if that this week, I didn't get to them. My consistent responses, Asha continues to bank on this fear to keep them funded. It is the fear of the what if that keeps people paying for the CCC. Period.
Preston Lewis 33:51
Which just , and fear and habit, just the way things have always been. I know that. You know, it's interesting going back several years this the whole Asha thing to me has always seemed, again, like something that I didn't feel very welcome in. It was just kind of this ivory tower that, you know, it just, I was not there guy. And that's fine. I don't check all those boxes. But I look back to when I started working in a sniff several years ago. And I was with a couple other speech therapist, I always noticed our name tags were different. Because I just wanted mine to say speech therapy on it with my name. And I didn't have the MS. CCC SLP. All that and but for a lot of people, there's that identity there. And if people are proud of it, because they worked hard to attain it. That's great. But for me, it was kind of liberating just to say, Yeah, I'm the speech therapist. This is my name. You know. And if you want to know my credentials, here they are. I used to get I don't know if you ever encountered this. Did you ever work in a sniff where they wanted to put the license up on the bill early on? get bored, and I would get so pissed off. Because people would say, well, we need your license up there. And I'd say, show me the rule in Arkansas DHS, they're gonna, we're that stated that we have to have it up there. And they say, Well, you just have to say, No, I want my license up there. Now, you know, I had, like, pardon me?
Jeanette Benigas 35:21
Every place I've worked.
Preston Lewis 35:24
I've never seen that written. Now, it may be in other states, it was not in Arkansas. And I always just thought it kind of looked ridiculous. To be honest. I don't know, that's just me. I, you know, if I always thought somebody's going to come along and steal my license or something, and it always seemed like a way to kind of give something up. Now, if somebody wants my credentials, here they are, I'm happy to show them. But I never felt like I had to walk around with a badge on. So I think for some therapists, again, just kind of identifying yourself over that credential. And having that confidence, because there are so many good ones out there that don't need those letters to define who they are.
Jeanette Benigas 36:03
And if you know what you're doing your skills going to shine through no matter what letters are after your name, what and your patients. One of my mentors, Jennifer brush, does not have a PhD. She's moving towards retirement, but has had a very successful career of authoring books, and traveling all over the world worldwide, teaching on Montessori and dementia. And she was a Fulbright scholar and all of these things. And more than once she was pursued by for a PhD, and she was like, why would I do that? I'm so successful. Why would I give my life again? Like, basically, why would I give my life to the man like, why would I? Why would I pursue tenure? Why would I have to defend a dissertation and over and over and over again, to prove my worth, when I'm already doing it. And I think that's so I so respected her for that just, she's amazing. She's amazing. And she gets grants, and she does all of it without the PhD. You talk. And you know, what she's doing is talking about. And so if you have the knowledge and the skill, and you've honed your craft and become very good at something, people don't need to know your credentials.
Preston Lewis 37:20
You really like to being FEES certified, don't you?
Jeanette Benigas 37:25
I love being FEES certified.
Preston Lewis 37:27
It's awesome. I that's one thing I've never done that I wish I had/
Jeanette Benigas 37:31
I lose that, that's when I'm gonna go downhill. This is so sad. But I will intermittently go to therapy because I think it is so good for you. And you know, I'm under a lot of stress all the time. So sometimes it's just good for me to go talk somewhere other than on a podcast. And my therapist said once, you know, I don't I see no greater joy out of you than when you're talking about your business. Just like that's because I love sticking cameras in someone's nose. So we I said, Should we explore this more is this? Do I have some kind of illness.
Preston Lewis 38:09
But there's a huge amount of advocacy just beyond our behind the speech therapists that do these because I had to fight like hell to get these performed in some of the facilities that I was in. Because, again, we go back to the way things have always been we have to do a modified barium swallow? And I'd say no, no, I you know, you send them out. You don't know what they present, like when they go to the hospital. You may not know the speech therapist that's doing it what the circumstances were did they have to wait a long time? You know, what was the consistency of what was given to them? When fees happens? You're there, you're on site, even if you're not the SLP that's doing the fees. You're still there with your patient. And you know how they presented you know, that everything was above board.
Jeanette Benigas 38:51
I just got into it with the home health company I'm working for. Because in this area. Our clinicians rarely test than liquids and modified barium swallow studies. I don't always have the knowledge I need to provide the standard of care. And I had a family ask I've been seeing him for off and on for a while. And so they asked if they could hire me to scope the patient. And I said, Yeah, I've got a lawyer. I've got ABN. I've got all the things and they hired my company to scope the patient. And recently, his services were denied. And not only were they denied, but the 10 previous sessions that I had given him were also denied. And I said to the company I said well, he said I have pictures of material from a few weeks ago in his airway, showing that he is aspirating without Signs and symptoms and has the inability to clear it. I said I have video of applesauce in his airway and then water in his airway, tripling down his airway with no cough. With with with nothing. I said, are we able to transfer any of that over as part of the appeal, because I'm going to appeal this, this guy needs therapy. He's 99, he can't leave his home. And he he's dedicated as the most dedicated patient, I make his thickened liquids. For him, I'm using a protocol that requires some thickened liquids during the exercises, but he's drinking thin per my request and keeping his mouth clean and stuff. I prepare them so he doesn't have to do them himself. And I show up for my weekly visits, and they're gone. So he was he's not pouring them out. So they're like, where did you get those pictures? I said, Well, I said, the family hired me to do a swallow study through my company, checkmate. I get a call from the Vice President. Not only am I not allowed to scope their patients, I'm also not allowed to scope their patients after they've been discharged. And I said, Oh, really, is that how does that play into this new non compete law that just that right? Well, well, you can you can scope patient two or three months after they've been with our company, but not like two or three days? Do you see what I mean? And I think yeah, I see what you mean. And in my head, I'm like, I'm not. I'm not listening to you. i This is not how this is gonna go. I didn't say that. But I was like, Okay. And in my head, they own a business, they get to do whatever they want. I was like, Dude, can I ask why? And then this is how you know that they don't understand what they're talking about. Well, if they aspirate and die, because of your test, we could be held liable. And I said, No, I don't think so. I said, I have my own liability, it was very clear that I wasn't there as and I could see how they'd be worried about that. But I said, furthermore, me providing these treatments, without the information I need puts your company at a higher risk than us not having this study done. And she said, Well, they can just go out to the hospital to get that information. I said, actually, they can't because our hospitals don't follow the standard of care. And I am building an entire business undoing their recommendations, because they put peg tubes and everybody and they put everybody who's penetrating on a putting thick liquid, I'm building an entire business. This is why you have so many speech referrals, because the hospital is pushing people out like this. And we don't have the information we need to to support them. And she's like, oh, yeah, that's too bad. She's like, they're just in such a hurry. I said, No, it has nothing to do with nothing to do with it has everything to do with them not following the standard of care.
Preston Lewis 43:04
Right, and not being informed about what's best practice here.
Jeanette Benigas 43:08
Yeah. And I just I knew at that point, I wasn't going to win. So I was like, okay, and guess what if I get fired from that job, so be it. Because if my patient needs a swallow study, and they want to hire me, the premium, I'm going to give them as well as study, I can do it legally. They're not the boss of me. I mean, they kind of are because they're my employer. But do you know how many people need speech therapists? A lot. I'll just go work for another company. Or hey, guess what, I have my own a company that I'm continuing to build. I'll just keep doing that. I just, I can't I don't play like that.
Preston Lewis 43:44
That sounds like patient centered care. What you're doing. It's patient centered. So yeah, kudos to you. Going back to fix SLP? What do you think you like most about it? You personally, what do you like?
Jeanette Benigas 44:02
That's a good question.
Preston Lewis 44:04
What kind of drives that tuning fork?
Jeanette Benigas 44:06
I like... I love getting the messages where people have been empowered to do something because of the information we've put out. And whether or not they got a good response. That doesn't make a difference. Of course, it's like really fun when we get those big, those big wins, right? But just how helping to get people the truth, and then getting the messages that are like, Hey, I saw this, and I did X, Y and Z. And thank you. And so I think that's what I liked the most. And I think that's why it was so important to me, when we we started going viral from the beginning but we really hit a big influx when Asha raise their rates. We had Hundreds and hundreds are at one point, there were 800 emails in our account. And it was so important to me to respond to every single person. Because if people are taking the time to reach out to us, I wanted them to know that there was a human on the other end reading and listening and paying attention and validating what they had to say. And so I do think it's that like, personal connection. And I'm an introvert, I was very surprised when I learned that in college, I always thought I was an extrovert. But the person who gave me the test, I talked about it, and I was like, Are you sure this is right? And what he said was, do you thrive on one on one relationships? Or do you thrive in like, a party with a bunch of acquaintances? And I'm like, I don't want to go to a party like that. No, thank you. It's, it's like the coffee or the the phone call, or the one one on one. And I think that's kind of what that is. That's, that's just the thing about me is, yeah, those those personal relationships that, you know, we're building with people is I think what I like the most, like, we've got a great team going right now, you and me and our Michigan girls and Elizabeth. That's what that's what I thrive off of is those like, little communications and relationships. And I think that's what I liked the most.
Preston Lewis 46:21
I was thinking about it earlier, as you described it as almost like a triad between sorority fraternity, professional organization, and sort of labor organization relations. And it's kind of that mix of those three, because it has that personal quality, it has the, you know, the professional aspect of it, and then there's just kind of that ready to kick ass kind of quality. And I think, you know, I certainly liked that when I saw that.
Jeanette Benigas 46:48
Yeah I like that too. I like getting fired up, I like having a place to direct my fire.
Preston Lewis 46:56
So, as we look forward, we're still waiting on some good news that will announce hopefully, in a pod soon, we're trying to get an interview setup that's coming. The work continues state to state, we found that some of the state legislatures are starting to kind of shut down their season and going into elections, which it's a great time, if you're in any of the states where you're ready to advocate as an SLP. Get to know your state legislator, because they may be either up for reelection, or it could be an open seat. And it's a good time to go to a town hall, it's a good time to get a coffee and meet somebody. And when you come back for their next session after they win, you can say hi, remember me, I'm the speech therapist. And I would like to talk to you about something you can do at your next legislative session. So that's something I want everybody to keep in mind.
Jeanette Benigas 47:44
Especially our clinicians in Minnesota, we've been asking you guys to contact us if you want to take action in your state. And we have now have enough people in Minnesota to form a team. So if that's, if that's you, if you're interested, if you're licensed in Minnesota, and you want to help make some changes I had planned on maybe emailing today, but that did not happen. And it's 710 here tonight, or now. And I'm done. When this podcast is over, I'm done.
Preston Lewis 48:16
It's a lot of work to sometimes just go back and read the text threads between all the Michigan SLPs and you Jeanette and it's great. I mean, it is absolute divine to read some of the brilliance and just hilarious highjinks. But wow, you guys are intense.
Jeanette Benigas 48:32
You know Preston, there's a message without you.
Oh, I'm not yes, of course. Sans
There is a different - I'll just say who's in it. It's Jordan from Fighting for my voice and that's a completely different vibe. And if you think you are missing... you don't... you would not keep up.
Preston Lewis 48:51
So I'm getting the PG version. Is that what you're saying?
Jeanette Benigas 48:54
Yes. In a group with a bunch of women. In that message Jordan's a man, but he likes sequins and glitter and he will send you Taylor Swift. The other day I forget. I forget what what came up but I knew I could do this in that group. So I do have a skill. I I can throw down an old school 90s rap like it's nobody's business. So I went ahead, I was in my pajamas. I was a hot mess and I sat here in front of my computer and I played the music and I wrapped a whole two minute wrap for them and sent it Like, this is my safe space. I need to show you this skill.
Preston Lewis 49:38
Is that going to be on the outtake?
Taking requests.
Is that going to be on the outtake for this pod? I'm curious.
Jeanette Benigas 49:43
No, but listen, the very first time I ever I was asked to do a Medbridge course. So I met with I don't know if it was the pre producer or was someone from Medbridge who I had to work with a lot. We met At an ASHA Connect, which is like a smaller ASHA convention. And so that's where we met. And that's where we did some pre planning. Well, my husband was with me on that trip. I was speaking at the convention. And so after I spoke, we went out and it was in New Orleans. So you know, what I was doing in New Orleans. I was feeling myself. So I...
Preston Lewis 50:24
Getting a lot of beads.
Jeanette Benigas 50:26
I wasn't getting going that far. Pastor's daughter save that for different spots. No, I mean, I so we were at a dueling Piano Bar, and I put down a $20 bill. And I was like, I want TLC Waterfalls with the rap. And the girl was like, "we're gonna do this". And she was honest, she's like, "I don't know the rap. So I have a feeling whoever asked for it knows it. You want to come on up?" And I sure did get on that stage at the dueling Piano Bar and did the rap and who's in the front? But the Medbridge producer,
Preston Lewis 51:05
Oh yeah, they get a front row seat.
Jeanette Benigas 51:08
Afterwards, I was like, do I still have a job?
Preston Lewis 51:12
Were you're presenting the next day?
Jeanette Benigas 51:14
No, no, no, I had already presented for ASHA Connect. But I was going to be like writing for and recording for Medbridge that year was like, I swear I'm professional.
Preston Lewis 51:25
Yeah, this is the person we're putting on the brochure. Oh, gosh.
Jeanette Benigas 51:29
And here I am 11 ccourses later and it's all good.
Preston Lewis 51:34
Did you do your Asha survey this past week?
Jeanette Benigas 51:37
Hell No,
Preston Lewis 51:39
You didn't?
Jeanette Benigas 51:40
I don't think I'm gonna do it. Okay, I'm leaving. I don't care what they do. I'm out.
Preston Lewis 51:46
I was shocked that I could still do it. Because see, I'm not a member. I'm just a certificate holder right now.
Jeanette Benigas 51:51
Oh, I bet you weren't allowed to do it.
Preston Lewis 51:54
They actually had a certain column. I think that they wanted to put all the troublemakers into certain areas. So they could say, what the? Yeah.
Jeanette Benigas 52:02
The Fearless Fixers and the non Fearless Fixers.
Preston Lewis 52:06
I think like four or five of the open responses, I just put Fix SLP on there.
Jeanette Benigas 52:11
A lot of people have asked us to talk about it. And I have mixed feelings because I'm kind of committed to not advertising ASHA and their work. Right? But they only emailed it to like, 1500 clinicians. So what are the chances that all of our followers got it? Slim.
Preston Lewis 52:30
I didn't get the email.
Jeanette Benigas 52:31
I didn't either.
Preston Lewis 52:32
You know, I heard about it. And then I decided to participate. And you know, I kind of looked at maybe as a potential exit interview.
Jeanette Benigas 52:40
Maybe I will do it. By I don't care. I don't I don't care. Do what you want. You are your own business. Just like my company can say this is our policy. Fine. Have your policies. I'm out. I live in a state where I don't need it. None of my companies require it. Although, although I do have I just this just occurred to me just now live on the air. I occasionally will give teletherapy up in Michigan for a nursing home. And I would need it to bill Medicaid. I guess I just don't see their Medicaid patients. I don't know
Preston Lewis 53:18
Well not for much longer.
Jeanette Benigas 53:19
No. I mean, yeah
Preston Lewis 53:21
That's why we're working on this.
Jeanette Benigas 53:23
Oh, yeah. That Alright, girls. Get to it.
Preston Lewis 53:26
There you go. So it will be done. I'm still holding out hope that there'll be a policy change. But the legislation is going to go forward. Regardless.
Jeanette Benigas 53:35
Yeah, it's just going to take longer than we wanted, but it's happening.
Preston Lewis 53:39
Okay. Anything else?
Jeanette Benigas 53:42
I don't think so. I don't know my brain. I can't believe we've talked this long. My brain is fried.
Preston Lewis 53:47
I told you I was going to just get on this thing and ride it ride out into the sunset. So
Jeanette Benigas 53:53
iSadie has had this. It's we don't know what it is. There's more questions than there are answers. But her body has been covered in rash for days. And so she's not sleeping and she's very uncomfortable. And I'd say this is I know that there are kids out there with much worse issues than the issues my kids have. But as a mother, this was probably the most trying medical event simply because I could not give her comfort. Yeah, like there was nothing that was helping her and the doctor said today. He said, You've tried everything I said, I have tried everything because we were trying to ride this out like um, sometimes a crunchy mom, like don't give me the drugs. But we did. We literally did everything and he said, none of that was going to help her because this is systemic. He's like, I could give you a steroid cream with all the steroids and it wouldn't help her. He's like, That's why nothing was happening. And I was like, Well, I'm glad it wasn't just me Mom failing, but it's so hard to see your kids uncomfortable and sick but like at least when they're puking, they puke. They fall asleep. It's over. She couldn't sleep. I mean, she just was a mess. But thank God for those IV roids baby. We went for a Mexican after we had ice cream and she came up. She She didn't see the light of day for three days we come home she's like, Mom, let's take a walk. And first of all, do you know who your mother is? I don't take walks, but Okay, fine. So we took a walk. She's that soccer, like...
Preston Lewis 55:23
She's going to eat you out of the house and home. I bet her appetite is gonna go 250% over the next the next three days.
Jeanette Benigas 55:28
I know because they gave her - she was on steroids already, but it wasn't it wasn't doing anything. She wasn't eating at all. But these steroids baby, they're, it's the good stuff now. Got the good stuff. So,
Preston Lewis 55:39
Jeanette, I really enjoyed getting to know even more about you today.
Jeanette Benigas 55:44
Thanks anytime. I'm my favorite subject.
Preston Lewis 55:48
Goodness gracious. Well, you are the queen fixer. So you're doing a great job. And it's it's a lot of fun. Because really, you know, you sent that little picture to me the other night of Batman looking up in the sky with a bat symbol and it's great because I never know how many different ways Jeanette is going to send me a message and when I kid you not Sunday, there may be a skywriter outside. And all you have to do is look up in the sky and it's gonna say call Jeanette in ascended Jerome. Perfect. All right, we'll have to fix SLP drone in the sky. So that's it for this week. And thanks for fixing it, everybody.
Jeanette Benigas 56:24
Wait, no, that's my line. Thanks for fixing it!
Preston Lewis 56:29
Perfect. You can you can have it.
Jeanette Benigas 56:36
Also, side note, I don't think you will be surprised to find out that I was in a sorority for a year and then
Preston Lewis 56:43
You told me you were the fundraiser
Jeanette Benigas 56:45
and then I got put on probation. And so I quit.