“Students interested in speech-language pathology are seeking a life dedicated to the covenant of service,” says Leah Fullman, dean of the School of Speech-Language Pathology at 佩珀代因大学’s 华体会体育. “They are students who are willing to put aside their self-interest, put their patients’ interest first, and do everything they can to bring healing to those who are in need.”

With this 华体会体育ment, Fullman describes the type of future leaders 佩珀代因大学’s sixth college—the 华体会体育—is seeking to equip. Announced in 2024, the speech-language pathology program, along with two additional degree paths, has been in development for more than a year, preparing to educate students interested in pursuing a career in the healthcare field. Now, in just a few short months, Fullman is prepared to welcome the first speech-language pathology cohort and introduce them to a unique curriculum that blends the best clinical practices with a faith-forward mission.

信仰与医疗保健

In American life, faith and healthcare are often siloed into separate sectors and not allowed to interact. However, Pepperdine’s 语言病理学学院 takes a different approach. Rather than isolating these two crucial components of a person’s life, the University ties them inextricably together.

“宗教和医疗不能分开，”富勒曼说。 “They are inextricably linked at the crossroads of human suffering. Some of life's deepest moments of suffering are the direct result of healthcare crises.”

According to Fullman, health science programs are invariably built upon a three-pronged mission of didactic education, clinical experience, and research. The goal is to train future professionals who are knowledgeable about the field, skilled in their practice, and prepared to engage in the next generation of research. However, faith-based institutions such as Pepperdine weave a fourth strand into that three-part mission. At Pepperdine the incorporation of faith is not merely for internal operational purposes but for greater societal implications.

病人接受照顾

“The integration of faith into health science programs at Pepperdine grounds didactic education in truth,” says Fullman. “It promotes the ethical and moral exercise of research and fosters a holistic clinical practice by upholding spiritual health and physical health as equal contributors to wellness.”

Fullman explains that traditional medical models are reactive and responsive to physical illness, but they don’t account for patients’ long-term overall health. Accordingly, she advocates a different approach to healthcare—one where providers promote wellness by proactively seeking solutions, preventing disease, and promoting human flourishing. 这个由三个部分组成的过程从医患关系开始。

在许多临床环境中，预约从病人的故事开始。 As an active participant in clients’ healthcare journey, a healthcare professional must be able to listen well and engage in conversation with their patients. These interpersonal skills are crucial as a provider attempts to discern salient information and arrive at a correct diagnosis and treatment plan. When observed through a Christian lens, Fullman views this relational approach as an extension of Jesus’ healing ministry.

“Jesus sat with people, he listened to them, and he had compassion for them,” she says. “耶稣知道宇宙中所有事情的答案。 He could have spoken at people, but he didn't, even though he had all the power of the universe at his fingertips. 他也不只是治愈了人们然后继续生活。 他关心别人。 这就是治愈事工的意义所在。”

人际关系

Fullman’s own path toward speech-language pathology began as a concerned parent in need of a thoughtful, caring medical professional.

With a liberal arts undergraduate degree, she was introduced to the importance of the field when her firstborn son was born prematurely with a cleft lip. After undergoing surgery as an infant, her little boy needed the help of a speech-language pathologist to learn basic human functions such as drinking liquids and speaking clearly.

在富勒曼的第二个儿子出生后，另一个具有挑战性的医疗状况出现了。 这名婴儿出生时肺部萎陷，需要立即进行挽救生命的手术。 Caught once again in a 华体会体育 of parental crisis, she and her husband were eager for any information or intervention healthcare professionals could provide.

医生操作医疗设备

Throughout both of these experiences, Fullman recalls relying on healthcare providers who connected with her as a mom, empathetically met the needs of her children, and prescribed a path toward healing. Ultimately, both of her children successfully completed treatment; but Fullman’s experiences inspired her to join the health profession as a speech-language pathologist specializing in pediatric feeding and swallowing disorders

“It’s been an honor to help countless children learn how to eat and drink by mouth, to wean them off of feeding tubes, and to learn to speak with a trach in place,” Fullman explains.

After serving families for years as a professional speech-language pathologist, Fullman began to dedicate herself to the academic side of the field in an effort to expand her reach. As a renowned scholar, talented educator, and experienced administrator, she views her work in higher education as an opportunity to further help the medically fragile.

“Since transitioning from clinical practice into academia, I've had the privilege of training hundreds of students to become speech-language pathologists, and now those students will treat thousands of patients.”

战术训练

Using Pepperdine’s holistic healthcare model, healthcare practitioners view patients as whole people in need of physical, emotional, and spiritual health. As founding dean of Pepperdine’s speech-language pathology school, Fullman has helped design an educational experience aimed at equipping students to put this approach into practice.

As an online master of science in Speech-Language Pathology, candidates can enroll as full- or part-time participants, which determines if they will complete the coursework in eight or five trimesters. Both routes, however, provide students with the same level of breadth and depth, as Pepperdine’s curriculum pulls students beyond the classroom into the research field and practitioner’s office.

Speech-language pathology faculty members at Pepperdine are engaged in impactful research projects that are furthering the potentially healing scholarship of speech-language pathology practice. Students are invited and encouraged to play an active role in this process by contributing directly to the ongoing research studies of faculty, as well as pursuing their own scholarly interests. In this supportive environment, candidates have the chance to not just study trusted medical literature but add their own important voice and tested findings to it.

Similarly, the speech-language pathology curriculum integrates students into the clinical field throughout the degree program. Candidates will complete four separate clinical rotations throughout the course of their studies in diverse medical institutions, such as hospitals, pediatric clinics, private practices, or even nursing homes. By completing clinical hours in a number of settings, Pepperdine’s students are equipped to handle a wide variety of real-world speech-language pathology scenarios.

所有这些实践经验都被课程的课堂内容所强化。 Founded in faith and rooted in scientific data, the required curriculum intentionally invites students of all backgrounds to consider the professional values of advocacy, patience, and compassion throughout course assignments and discussions. The rich dialogue fostered in these classes prepares students to be strong speech-language pathologists, as well as capable and compassionate healthcare practitioners.

“Without compassion, we might just choose to fulfill our minimum obligation—treat the physical health issue and move on to the next patient,” says Fullman. “But the virtue of compassion compels us to go the extra mile, to advocate for the needs of the underserved. 这就是佩珀代因大学的健康科学教育与众不同的地方。”