Working

• At various points in your program, you will be engaged in full-time clinical activities (practicum) that require you to work with a practicing SLP in the community for their regular working hours (~40 hours per week). You also may have evening coursework during this time. While in practicum, it can be difficult to also balance an outside work responsibility. 

• Many students have reported that the best jobs while in graduate school are those with semester-to-semester flexibility. Your schedule can vastly change from semester to semester, including when you have classes, clinic, and other responsibilities. 

• Many students find that Graduate Assistantships are a great opportunity for work while in graduate school. Graduate assistantships are part-time jobs in campus departments. The jobs provide both financial support and valuable experience to graduate students. Graduate students support faculty/staff in research, special projects, and with administrative duties, in exchange for a partial tuition waiver applicable to that semester. 

• Heath and Human Services Policy: Off-campus job opportunities for undergraduate and graduate HHS students can provide valuable experience in interacting with children and adults, as well as in the development of professionalism.  Sometimes, however, students may be asked to perform job functions or engage in activities that fall within professional scopes of practice, which require professional credentials/licensure they do not have. For example, a student in communication sciences & disorders might be working as a nanny and be asked to address articulation or language issues while doing childcare. HHS faculty often get requests to publicize jobs or recruit HHS students as employees that presuppose students will have special skills by virtue of their education and clinical experience to date. 

Using clinical/therapeutic skills in situations where students have not yet obtained the appropriate credentials and are not supervised by certified and licensed professionals can have negative consequences for students, employers, and/or Nazareth College. Because students are still obtaining the knowledge, skills and abilities associated with their discipline, they should not be put in a position that requires them to determine what is a legitimate activity/task. 

It is the Nazareth Univerity Health and Human Services Policy that students may not perform professional activities or act in professional roles in off-campus employment where they are not credentialed, certified, or licensed. HHS departments will not directly promote employment of students in off-campus jobs not related to their major/program prior to graduation, but will refer prospective employers to the CFLW’s Handshake website or recommend postings on campus bulletin boards. If students have questions about the appropriateness of a job or employment situation, they should consult their department chair and/or program director.