Swallow Your Pride Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Fewer Resources, Higher Stakes: What It Actually Takes to Be a Post-Acute SLP | Ep 399 May 25, 2026

Show notes

On this episode of Swallow Your Pride Podcast, Theresa sits down with Dr. Sonal Pathak to talk about something that's been simmering in the field for a long time: the perception gap between acute care and post-acute SLPs. Dr. Pathak brings 16+ years of clinical experience across both settings and makes the case that SNF clinicians aren't "step-down" anything. They're managing medically complex patients with fewer resources, less backup, and often zero SLP colleagues in the building. The two dig into discharge planning gaps, the fight for a seat at the interdisciplinary table, how to advocate for your caseload when your DOR is a PT, and why continuity of care across settings should be the standard, not the exception. Dr. Pathak also shares her doctoral research on spontaneous swallowing frequency and how it could change bedside outcome measurement for SLPs everywhere.

Visit the show page: https://syppodcast.com/399

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398 – From Glasgow Coma Score of 2 to Certified Brain Injury Specialist: An SLPs Journey from Patient to Clinician May 18, 2026

Show notes

On this episode of The Swallow Your Pride Podcast, I sit down with Laura Morgan was halfway through her clinical fellowship in speech-language pathology when a motor vehicle accident left her with a moderate-severe traumatic brain injury, a fractured jaw, and broken C1 and C2 vertebrae. She spent 72 days inpatient, had to retake the Praxis, redo her CF, and fight her way back into the field she'd just entered. Laura shares what she learned about brain injury rehabilitation from the patient's perspective: why your office decorations matter more than you think, how cognitive progress and grief can show up at the same time, what errorless learning looks like in everyday life, and why recognizing a patient's lost coping mechanisms should come before any clinical label. Laura now works at Metro Therapy Center in Gaithersburg, MD and has given over 50 multimedia presentations on her experience as both a provider and a recipient of speech pathology services.

Learn more at www.soundmindinsights.com and follow her on Instagram @slp_tbi and @soundmindinsights.

See the show page at: https://syppodcast.com/398

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397 – SLP to SLPD: What the Clinical Doctorate Actually Looks Like from the Inside May 11, 2026

Show notes

On this episode of Swallow Your Pride, we are talking about what SLPD is the SLPD, and who is it actually for? Theresa sits down with four speech-language pathologists who pursued the clinical doctorate while working full time, raising families, and staying deeply rooted in patient care. Dr. Erin McCarthy (D'Youville University / Northwestern), Dr. Irene Brettman (Mass General / MGH Institute), Dr. D'Anna Nowack (Baylor University / Nova Southeastern), and Dr. Courtney V. Moore (Rocky Mountain University) share why they chose the SLPD over the PhD or EdD, what the programs actually cover (hint: way more than you'd expect), and how the degree changed their career trajectories in ways they didn't see coming. They also break down the recent elimination of the CAA's 51% faculty rule and what that means for clinician-educators across the country. Whether you're considering an advanced degree or just curious about what the SLPD brings to the table, this one's worth your time.

Visit the show page: https://syppodcast.com/397

The post 397 – SLP to SLPD: What the Clinical Doctorate Actually Looks Like from the Inside appeared first on Swallow Your Pride Podcast.

396 – From NPO to Full Diet: Why Patients Are Dilating Their Own Esophagus May 04, 2026

Show notes

On this episode, we're joined by a head and neck surgeon and a speech-language pathologist from the University of South Florida and Tampa General Hospital who have built a self-dilation program that is changing lives for head and neck cancer patients with recurrent esophageal strictures. Their program currently has 20 patients self-dilating, and the outcomes are remarkable: 80% of patients who came in with feeding tubes have had them removed. We talk about how their multidisciplinary clinic model works (surgeon and SLP evaluating patients together, in the same room), how they identify good candidates for self-dilation, what the training process looks like, the role of the infinity balloon in initial dilation, how they navigated the cost barrier of a $3,400 dilator, and patient stories that show what's possible when you keep the esophagus open long enough for therapy to actually work. If you work with head and neck cancer patients dealing with recurrent strictures, this episode is a must-listen.

Get the show notes: https://syppodcast.com/396

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395 – When Pureed Food Tastes Better Than Your Dinner: Inside Mama Gourmet’s Mission to Change the Game Apr 27, 2026

Show notes

On this episode of the Swallow Your Pride podcast, Theresa sits down with Kelly Kalseth, founder and CEO of Momma Gourmet, a company that is changing what pureed meals look and taste like for people with swallowing disorders.

Kelly's journey started in 2015 when her son Caleb was born premature at 30 weeks and was later diagnosed with Tracheal Malacia. After navigating thickened liquids, swallow studies, and surgeries as a first-time mom, Kelly saw a massive gap in the food options available to people on modified diets. When she toured a Meals on Wheels kitchen and saw the shelf-stable brown purees being served to clients, she knew she could do better.

Today, Momma Gourmet provides chef-crafted, flash-frozen pureed meals made with real ingredients like red beets, cauliflower, lentils, quinoa, and Greek yogurt. Every meal packs at least 28 grams of protein and ships nationwide on dry ice. Kelly talks about the emotional experience of eating, why food presentation matters even on a pureed diet, how she's expanded into halal meal options, and her goal of getting nutritious purees into senior living centers and hospice programs. She also shares a client testimonial from a caregiver whose 99-year-old mother eats every single bite.

If you work with patients on modified diets (or love someone who's on one), this episode is going to make you rethink what's possible.

Episode Page: https://syppodcast.com/395
🔗 Learn more or set up delivery at https://MommaGourmet.com

The post 395 – When Pureed Food Tastes Better Than Your Dinner: Inside Mama Gourmet’s Mission to Change the Game appeared first on Swallow Your Pride Podcast.

394 – Pressure, Pumps, and the UES:The Case for Pharyngeal Manometry in Clinical Practice Apr 20, 2026

Show notes

On this episode, Theresa sits down with Dr. Diane Longnecker, Assistant Professor at Baylor University and clinical researcher at Baylor Scott and White, and Jamie Anderson, medical SLP and clinical instructor at the University of South Florida, to talk about something a lot of clinicians have heard of but aren't quite sure what to do with: pharyngeal manometry. Jamie starts with a confession most of us can probably relate to — she rolled her eyes at it when she first heard about it. Now she can't imagine practicing without it. Dr. Longnecker walks us through why she started using it clinically back in 2019, what her very first case taught her about the limits of visual interpretation, and why she no longer sends a patient for UES management without it. They break down what pharyngeal manometry actually tells you that your modified barium swallow study and FEES simply can't, which patients belong in the referral pool, what the barriers to starting a program actually look like (reimbursement, analysis time, catheter placement), and why someone in this field needs to take ownership of the UES. If you've been curious about this tool but didn't know where to start, this conversation is a genuinely helpful place to begin.

Get the show notes and references: https://syppodcast.com/394

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393 – Clinks, Clunks, and Clinical Confidence: Rethinking Cervical Auscultation – Julie Cichero BA, BSpThy(Hons), PhD Apr 13, 2026

Show notes

On this episode, Theresa sits down with Dr. Julie Cichero, a clinician, researcher, and one of the foremost experts in dysphagia with over 30 years of experience, to talk about something that has had a complicated reputation in our field: cervical auscultation. If you trained in the 90s, you probably learned it. If you trained more recently, you might have been told to ignore it. The truth, as it turns out, is a lot more nuanced than either camp wants to admit.

Dr. Cichero breaks down what the evidence actually shows, including sensitivities of around 91% and negative predictive values that should genuinely change how we think about using this tool at the bedside. She explains why it's not really about the "clink and clunk" sounds at all, and why the breathing pattern after the swallow is where the real clinical information lives. She also shares what proper training looks like, how cervical auscultation fits alongside instrumental assessment (not instead of it), and two clinical stories involving pharyngeal pouches that are honestly pretty wild.

Get the show notes and references here: https://syppodcast.com/393

The post 393 – Clinks, Clunks, and Clinical Confidence: Rethinking Cervical Auscultation – Julie Cichero BA, BSpThy(Hons), PhD appeared first on Swallow Your Pride Podcast.

392 – The Surprising Truth About Thickened Liquids: What Patients Really Want with Naturally Nectar Mar 29, 2026

Show notes

On this episode of Swallow Your Pride, Theresa sits down with Ally Roberts, M.S., CCC-SLP, to talk about dysphagia management, patient-centered care, and the story behind Naturally Nectar. Ally shares what years in acute care, inpatient rehab, and outpatient swallow studies taught her about thickened liquids, clinical nuance, and the importance of listening to what patients actually want. They also get into the process of building a product for people with dysphagia that prioritizes dignity, nutrition, and real-world usability.

Get the references here: https://syppodcast.com/392
Website: https://naturallynectar.org

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391 – From Exercise Science to Swallowing Success: A New Approach to Dysphagia Rehabilitation Mar 15, 2026

Show notes

In this episode, Theresa interviews Dr. Yvette McCoy, Assistant Professor at Moravian University, about her research on the connection between physical performance and swallowing function in older adults. Dr. McCoy discusses her dissertation, which found that upper body power strongly predicts swallowing-related measures, highlighting the value of integrating exercise science principles into dysphagia rehabilitation. The […]

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390 – SLP Billing Changes: Breaking Down the 92507 Proposal Mar 09, 2026

Show notes

The proposed changes to CPT code 92507 have sparked a lot of discussion across the SLP community. Many clinicians are seeing numbers circulating online and understandably feeling worried about what this might mean for reimbursement and clinical practice. In this episode, Theresa sits down with Lysa Johnson, speech-language pathologist and regulatory compliance expert, to unpack […]

The post 390 – SLP Billing Changes: Breaking Down the 92507 Proposal appeared first on Swallow Your Pride Podcast.

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