Job Description

The Children with Special Needs (CCSN) at Tufts Medicine Pediatrics seeks a speech-language pathologist to help fulfill the clinical and educational mission of the Tufts Medicine Pediatrics, and the Center for Children with Special Needs (CCSN). The successful candidate will participate in diagnostic assessment and in making treatment recommendations for children and youth with diverse disabilities, many of whom have co-existent mental health conditions.

DESCRIPTION OF OUR CENTER

The CCSN is a large outpatient clinic operating within Tufts Medicine. It is one of the larger clinics of its size in the Boston area. It serves a population of culturally and linguistically diverse children and youth with neurodevelopmental disabilities and their families.

The Tufts Medicine Pediatrics was created in 2022 and is dedicated to the improving the quality of health outcomes at the community level. We are excited to be part of this new Pediatric academic venture and are actively seeking professionals to help fulfill the Tufts Medicine mission.

PRINCIPAL DUTIES AND ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS: 

• Assessment. Participate in individualized assessment of patients with diverse disabilities. The successful candidate will be comfortable making individualized and targeted recommendations for children and youth who need speech/language services as part of their care, and who may also be receiving a variety of services and interventions from other health care professionals.
•   Report-writing obligations. Generate reports in timely fashion that summarize key findings and recommendations and that are written with the target audience (family, school team, community providers) in mind
• Communication. Communication to professionals inside and outside Tufts Pediatrics, as outlined in the ‘Qualifications’ Section
• Workweek obligations. 40 hours/week Monday-Friday; hybrid schedule (remote/clinic) will be considered.
• Location: Position would be based exclusively at the Boston Tufts Medical Center main campus location.
• Administrative obligations. Participation in Division-level meetings and team meetings for both clinical and administrative purposes. Maintain an up-to-date library of SLP materials and resources.
• Performs other job related duties, as required or requested.

Qualifications

JOB KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS:

• Master's Degree in Speech Pathology required and Certificate of Clinical Competence from the American Speech and Hearing Associations or eligibility (CFY).
• One to two years' experience with head injured patients.
• Experience and special interest in working with children who have diverse developmental disabilities (i.e. ADHD, Learning Disabilities, Autism, and Intellectual Disabilities) and their families. The successful candidate will be comfortable in the assessment and treatment of both formal (primary) language impairments as well as pragmatic (social communication) impairments, in the context of varied neurodevelopmental conditions and in a culturally and linguistically diverse population
• Strong analytic and critical thinking skills; effective communication skills; commitment to inter-professional communication and collaboration;
• Communications skills, oral and written.

Additional Information

HIGHLY DESIRED SKILLS: The successful candidate will develop many or most of the skills and interests below:

· Fluency or familiarity with a second language. Spanish, Portuguese, Cantonese and Mandarin are especially desirable

· Subspecialty areas of clinical expertise, such as AAC, Apraxia, Dyslexia

· Experience with and interest in developing inter-professional skills. The successful candidate will interface with diverse professionals working inside and outside the CCSN. These include professionals working at the CCSN, such as neuropsychology, speech pathology, education, social work, physician assistants, medical assistants, and physicians. In addition, the successful candidate will interface with a range of professionals outside the CCSN. These include diverse providers in schools (special education team; counselors) and in the community (Early Intervention), as examples. The purpose of inter-agency communication and collaboration is to assure best outcomes at the community level.

· Experience or interest in Education and professional development The CCSN speech pathologist commonly offers formal and informal educational experiences for one or more of the following: patients, families, speech pathologists-in-training; other professionals in training, the inter-professional team at the CCSN, and community professionals-in-practice. Teaching and training may include delivery of formal didactics/ seminars, case-based discussion, and/or guidance related to specific cases. Participation in research projects is encouraged.

AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES STATEMENT:

Must be able to perform all essential functions of this position with reasonable accommodation if disabled.

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed. They are not intended to be construed, as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required of personnel so classified. Tufts Medical Center reserves the right to modify position duties at any time, to reflect process improvements and business necessity.

COVID-19 POLICY:

Please note that effective October 1, 2021, as a condition of employment at Tufts Medical Center, all employees and new hires must have received their complete dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, unless they have been granted an exemption.