Pros
Not a lot, but from my personal experience it was the coworkers turned into trauma-bonded besties and the families/patients that made me happy I became a SLPA.
Cons
Where do I start… 1. Management/Leadership: Don’t expect much from them in terms of support in the long run. It’s all talk and barely any action. It’s “let me get back to you on that” and “I’ll investigate this” when in reality you won’t hear back or if you do it’s way beyond the time that you actually needed it. Management stays locked up in the fishbowl with their backs turned, constantly in “meetings,” and is barely on the floor with the therapists to provide actual support/feedback. There are even days when management is yet to be found, leaving therapists to fend for themselves. Don’t get me started on not having a front desk staff and also having the therapists do jobs that are not within their role as a therapist. 2. Productivity: You’re going to be booked at 100% capacity all day every day. NO time for documentation and still expected to have it done within 24 hours, and if not then you’re constantly bombarded with messages on your personal number about getting it done. You will end up working from home with no compensation. There is NO work/life balance whatsoever. If you happen to be below 80%, then you will be told to complete front desk duties to bring it back up. 3. Communication: More like lack thereof. Most updates get emailed out or announced mid-day and therapists are expected to implement new procedures the same day without time to process. One therapist may be told one thing about how to handle a situation and another therapist will be told something different, creating confusion and massive miscommunication. 4. Favoritism: You might be management's favorite or you won’t. There is no in between. If you aren’t, it will be known. If you do what you're told, you might be their favorite, but they are so quick to turn on you. 5. Scheduling: Most of the time, families can’t even get a hold of the scheduling department to figure out future appointments and are left just as frustrated. 6. Generalization: Therapists are forced to provide generalization to every patient, regardless if it is therapeutically beneficial for the patient at that time. If it is not documented in the SOAP note, you will get messages or even verbally told to do it. 7. Therapeutic classes: Classes are great for introducing structure and getting kids ready for preschool if not already attending one. HOWEVER. 7-8 kids for 1 therapist is completely unacceptable even if there is a TA present. Then to be told that you don’t have to document for generalization/home management because you’re treating so many kids at once completely contradicts their Tree Three model - which is also shoved down your throats every day. 8. Resignation: Be prepared to have your PTO revoked after having it approved for over 6 months just because you put in your resignation. Some therapists will be able to keep their PTO within their resignation period, whereas other therapists will have it taken away - hmm favoritism? Picking and choosing who the policies apply to? 9. Spanish-Speaking: Non-bilingual therapists had to treat Spanish only speaking kids. Rather than have these kids be placed on hold to wait for an opening with a bilingual therapist, they were put with non-bilingual therapists so they can still make money. Talk about unethical. 10. Some honorable mentions: Paper checks for months. No team bonding activities - therapists will have to take initiative to do this. Burnout within the first year, first 6 months if you’re lucky. Switching documentation systems with barely any preparation in which the therapist had to complete conversion notes during the sessions, then switching back to the original documentation system 6 months later because of financial reasons. No time to use the bathroom. TA’s are forced to see kids (for speech, feeding, or occupational therapy) alone while the therapist is on Google Meets at another clinic location. You will be told to find your own coverage if you don’t have PTO. There is no training done at all before a therapist conducts a feeding therapy session. Oh wait, does observing another session count? At the Burning Tree it does. And finally, the cherry on top. Unethical, illegal, unprofessional, and most certainly fraudulent behavior will be seen if you work here. Your license will be on the line, so be careful! Take notes, document everything, make sure you get everything in writing, know the resignation procedure in detail prior to resigning. High turnover rate. Ultimately, I would absolutely not recommend working at this company to anyone.