If you’ve read any of the “Our Great SLPs” series blog posts, you’ll know one of the greatest advantages of being an independent telepractitioner with PresenceLearning is the flexibility to make your own schedule and work from home.
While these are known benefits, many therapists believe that they must commit to a full-time schedule to be an independent contractor. Getting started with PresenceLearning doesn’t have to be all-or-nothing. In fact, only approximately 30% of clinicians contracting with PresenceLearning work full-time.
The flexibility to work part-time with PresenceLearning gives clinicians who have families, or those who are nearing retirement but aren’t quite ready to stop working, the chance to continue to hone their skills and stay in the industry, all while working minimal hours. It also gives clinicians a chance to earn supplemental income. Around 40% of part-time clinicians count PresenceLearning as their second job.
Clinicians create their own schedules by submitting their availability—specific days of the week or number of hours they want to work—which PresenceLearning then matches with appropriate student therapy opportunities. A typical session with a student is 30 minutes, which translates into a caseload of about sixteen students. It’s also common for some SLPs to conduct small group sessions if a school has several students with similar therapy needs. Groups usually consist of two or three students.
When looking for clinicians, PresenceLearning seeks individuals with excellent case management skills and a strong understanding of the IEP process. Proficiency with technology is also important—clinicians will use online calendars and software suites, like Microsoft Office, in addition to PresenceLearning’s telepractice platform. To help clinicians get up to speed on the platform, PresenceLearning’s Telepractice Institute offers a 4-5 hour self-guided tutorial. During this training, clinicians learn how to use the platform and its vast content library, how to invoice, and more.
