I am a young Saudi Arabian woman with a great passion for my work as a speech language pathologist and feeding clinician at King Fasial Specialist Hospital and Research Center in Riyadh Saudi Arabia. I now have a total of six years of experience including the year spent completing my internship. During this period, I have had the pleasure of being trained and supervised by many accomplished and highly professional, certified speech language pathologists with master's degrees, some with a PHD.
I have enjoyed immensely having the opportunity to apply my knowledge and skills in several different medical settings that have included intensive care units and both in-patient and out-patient settings. I have also practiced in a variety of different areas including pediatric and adult language delay and disorders, speech motor disorders, voice disorders, and dysphagia assessment and intervention.
A graduate of King Saud University, I completed my four-year bachelor's degree in communication science and Audiology, then subspecialized in Speech Language Pathology. I also have extensive professional experience providing in-service lectures to other health care professionals about the role of speech language pathologists and the process of assessment and intervention for those patients with communication and swallowing difficulties, preparing assessment and treatment materials, and updating available clinic items and tests.
I was designated as the first official representative of the Speech Language Pathology Department and an active member of the tracheotomy care workshop being held every month for the nurses in our center to improve the quality of the health care services that we provide.
Throughout the course of my experience practicing in several different areas of speech language pathology, I have developed an especially keen interest in swallowing. As a result, perfecting the art of assessment and treatment in this area has become my central long-term goal. I wish to be one of the pioneers in this area in Saudi Arabia and to help clinics and centers to advance their treatment services for the broad range of our population that suffer from dysphagia and/or voice disorders. For both areas, we are in desperate need of developing standardized tests for the KSA to improve outcomes of both assessment and subsequent treatment.
Both the study and treatment of swallowing disorders are in their infancy in the Middle East. In fact, there is a shortage of professionals and centers in the broader field of speech language pathology, throughout in the Middle East; as a result, it is impossible for us to provide adequate care to those who are in desperate need of rehabilitation services.
The lack of highly trained faculty in our area has made it all but impossible to establish Doctoral or even master's programs in our field. Thus, I am very serious and passionate about my field because we have so much work that needs to be done in our part of the world. I am determined to do everything that I can to help establish well-structured speech & language rehabilitation programs throughout the region.
The University of XXXX is my first choice for graduate study because of my profound admiration for the structure and design of your program and the unique way that it integrates, theoretical and methodological educational activities, on the one hand, with direct clinical contact on the other. I also very much appreciate the way that your program is recognized as a leader in the science of communication disorders.
Finally, I am drawn to the research being conducted by several of your faculty members and feel very confident that the academic thrust of your program is precisely what I need to inspire me to engage in cutting edge research in the areas of swallowing after strokes and cancer related dysphagia.
My central long-term goal after completing your program will be to establish specialized swallowing centers that cater to oncology and neurologically based disorders. I would also like to be a part of the educational process in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia and pass on the knowledge and experience that I hope to gain in your prestigious institute to students and junior speech language pathologists.
My colleagues encourage me to pursue admission to your program based on my intense dedication to our work, enthusiasm, and perseverance. My work experience with King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center has allowed me to gain a clearer vision of what it is that I want for myself and the many patients that I plan to serve over the course of many decades to come. I ask for the opportunity to show you what I am capable of as a speech language pathologist. I keenly look forward to a most culturally enriching experience in your program, sharing the best of what we have learned with many other graduate students from all over the world, learning from each other through our unique case histories.
Thank you for considering my application to your program.
SLP Personal Purpose Speech Language Pathology