In our tradition of honoring a clinician each month who exemplifies one of the core values of our organization, we have chosen to recognize Sarah Hawkins for demonstrating our core value of “Putting Kids First”.
Sarah impressed us last spring by the efforts she had taken to prepare for her transition from adult acute and outpatient care to school-based services, including volunteering at an elementary school and working at Camp Yakety Yak. Little did she know that she would be pushed even further outside of her ‘comfort zone’ when she took a contract 3 days/week with a local ESD serving the birth-5 population! We know that many Hello clinicians are confident risk-takers, always looking for the next challenge, but Sarah has further modeled our value of Putting Kids First in her ongoing efforts to educate herself for the benefit of her students and clients. She has shadowed SLPs, asked plenty of questions, and is currently attending parent trainings led by a co-worker to further improve her skills. All the while she has been up front and honest with folks about her skills, her experience, and her desire to learn. “If I fumble,” she said, “everyone has been warned! At some point, you just have to dive in!”
Thank you, Sarah, for putting kids first! Congratulations on being our February 2014 THF Clinician of the Month!