Speech Language Pathologist

The purpose of this position is to function as a member of the Awake Craniotomy program between Neurosurgery and Neurology. This position may include weekend shift.

Key Responsibilities & Performance Standards

1. Provides a safe therapeutic environment

-Ensures the safety and welfare of patients and fellow employees

-Utilizes proper posture sound body mechanics and principles for safe patient handling

-Considers the needs of patients employees medical staff volunteers vendors and members of the community in an informative courteous and compassionate manner

-Maintains general good physical and mental health and self-care in order not to jeopardize the health and safety of self and others in the hospital

2. Professionalism

-Maintains current knowledge of professional practice responsibilities and relevant national and state laws and issues which affect their practice

-Models ethical appropriate behavior professional standards compliance and personal integrity

-Identifies and pursues continuing education opportunities; applies and shares new knowledge

-Participates in departmental staff meetings daily huddle and in-service education programs

-Takes responsibility for special projects and assignments and additional caseload when needed

-Displays mature empathetic and effective professional relationships by exhibiting compassion integrity and concern for others

-Conducts oneself in an ethical and legal manner upholding the ASHA Code of Ethics OHSU federal privacy policies and state statues/OARs specific to discipline

-Adapts to changing and demanding environments

3. Clinical Duties

The CT conducts evaluations with patients scheduled for an awake craniotomy for tissue resection due to left and right-hemisphere brain tumors (e.g. neoplasms low-grade and high-grade gliomas) or medically intractable epilepsy. This team has developed protocols for both English and Spanish-speaking patients.

Preoperative Evaluations

The CT conducts a pre-operative neuropsychological evaluation 1-4 days before the surgical procedure to:

• Establish patients baseline cognitive functioning which is compared to intraoperative cognitive functioning.
• Assess patients mental health status and risk factors associated with failed awake craniotomies.
• Administer intraoperative testing paradigms to increase patients familiarity with instructions and expectations.
• Elicit patients preferred stress management techniques and discuss patients priorities for post-procedure outcomes.
• Establish therapeutic rapport. Pre-operative support from the CT has been shown to increase surgerys overall success by increasing compliance and reducing fear.
• Provide a summary of the evaluation results to the surgical team which is used to: (1) guide the surgical teams decision to move forward with an awake vs. asleep craniotomy (2) inform anesthesia management and (3) apprise the surgical team of significant individual differences that may affect the success of the procedure.

Intraoperative Neuropsychological Evaluations

The CT works with the surgical team to conduct a series of multimodality mapping techniques including:

• SSEP N20/P20 phase reversal to identify the central sulcus
• Cognitive testing during passive gamma mapping to identify motor and language brain regions using the CortiQ mapping system
• Cognitive testing during active stimulation mapping using directelectrical stimulation (DES). DES mimics a transient lesion by disrupting a neural subcircuit for a few seconds. During this stimulation the CT conducts cognitive testing to assess for associated disruption in function to localize function to predict potential deficits that might result from resection of the stimulated area.

• Masters degree in Speech Language Pathology and possess a valid Oregon State license in Speech Language Pathology; OR
• Specifically when the position is for a Clinical Fellowship Year (CFY) meet educational requirements have an OR state conditional license and be in the process of accumulating the supervised experience required for licensure (completion of Clinical Fellowship year). An Oregon State License must be obtained within one year of appointment or employment will be terminated.
• Requires knowledge of acute complex medical conditions to appropriately evaluate establish and implement a plan of care.
• Must have knowledge of inpatient medical environments and equipment such as ventilators
• Must be experienced with video fluoroscopy
• Exhibit the ability to respond quickly and appropriately to medical situations that may arise
• Current American Heart Healthcare Provider BLS certification
• Current State of Oregon Speech Language Pathology License
• ASHA CCCs (Certificate of Clinical Competence)

• Awake Craniotomy experience

Ability to lift 25 lbs repeatedly carry equipment weighing more than 5 lbs and walk extensively on hard and soft surfaces. Frequent bending and reaching to navigate medical equipment or perform treatment is required.