I realize that as a clinician, I often think like a scientist. I test hypotheses about how a specific approach may work for a client. As a scientist, my best (read: most interesting, not necessarily most executable) questions are informed by my clinical experiences. This works for me because I am interested in both ways of engaging in our field. I wonder though, how can clinicians and researchers better speak the same language? Or at least see that although their daily practices are quite distinct, the critical thinking they do is quite similar. Would this get clinicians more invested in research (a noble task)?
The intersection between research and clinical practice is critical. As I consider these two arenas, I realize though, that intersection is perhaps a misnomer. An intersection is a static, clearly defined space. However, I think the basic and applied research that drives Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences (as a field) and the daily practice of speech and language pathology interact dynamically in a space that includes education, psychology, social work, and other rehabilitative sciences. I am excited to keep thinking in this space and hope to find others who inhabit it.
