By the end of the first year of the university course, we will have trained fifteen dysphagia clinicians to evaluate and treat patients with swallowing disorders. Furthermore, we will have worked with five participating hospitals and clinics to set up ongoing dysphagia services for their patients
But our work cannot stop there. The need is too great!
Our goal over next three years is to continue our collaboration with the University of Puthisastra and Rotary International to train 40+ new dysphagia clinicians and to introduce dysphagia services into 6-9 Cambodian hospitals, clinics and rehab centers.
Once this critical mass of trained dysphagia clinicians is reached, the reliance on foreign SLP clinical supervisors can be greatly reduced. At that point, more senior Cambodian clinicians can supervise more recent trainees. This is the model for sustainability in countries where the speech pathology profession is more established.
SSTC will continue to support these trained Cambodian dysphagia clinicians and services through continuing education, telepractice guidance and specialized training. SSTC will also work to extend speech and swallowing services to a wider population in Cambodia, including in the provinces.