Episode 278: The Pediatric Feeding Certification with Hallie Bulkin

Hi and welcome to episode 278 of the Untethered Podcast. It is your host, Hallie Balkan and today we're going to dive into the CPFT Certified Pediatric Feeding Therapist certification. So let's dive in. Quick Disclaimer all information, content and material of this podcast are the opinions of the speakers and is for the informational purpose only and not intended to serve as a substitute for the consultation, diagnosis and or medical treatment of a qualified healthcare provider. Foreign welcome to the Untethered Podcast. I am your host, Holly Balkan. I'm a certified myofunctional therapist, feeding specialist, podcaster, business owner and mentor. This podcast is all about getting your questions answered and collaborating with colleagues to bring you the most up to date information in the Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy, airway, tethered Oral tissue and Pediatric Feeding Therapy space. If you're new here, I challenge you to keep an open mind and join my mission to spread this message far and wide. If you've been around since June 2019, thanks for being a loyal listener. As we jump in in today's episode, remember to listen with correct coral rest posture, Tongue up, lips closed, teeth apart, breathe through your nose. Let's get started. All right, so what is a Certified Pediatric Feeding Therapist? We're going to talk about that today. We're going to talk about how to apply, we're going to talk about what a CPFT is seeking and what we're going to offer. And then we're going to talk about ultimately the path to certification. I'm not going to go into all the nuances because when you go through the application process, if you are approved, then you do move forward and you have a call with actually me right now. I'm doing all the calls and we talk about your journey, we talk about what you're looking to do, what your goals are because we want to make sure this is the right next step step for you. So before I jump in any further, one thing that I do want to share and we haven't really advertised this publicly because it's not something we have in place yet and it's something that takes a couple years to actually go through and get put like put in place and that is getting accredited through a third party like the ice, right? Like the Institute for Credentialing Excellence. So while these corporations courses that we are creating, all these intermediate to advanced courses that will do, will offer, not do, but that will offer to those going through certification. While Those will be Asha and AOTA approved CEUs, we are taking this one step further because we want this to be a recognized certification that really demonstrates your. Your advanced clinical skills as a pediatric feeding therapist. Why are we doing this? This doesn't exist. There is absolutely nothing on the market that actually speaks to a certified. Being certified in pediatric feeding. And we really think that understanding pediatric feeding and swallowing, while it's a vast area, right, it is a niche area, but it's vast. We really need to uplevel the standards. We need to look at what type of coursework individuals are taking, what type of mentorship they're receiving, and how we can best help our pediatric patients move through therapy. Right? Help them achieve their goals and help, you know, in order to do that, we do need to help each other. We need to be able to link arms with others who have the experience with others who are on the same path, the same journey as us. And so that is what we are seeking to do with the certified pediatric feeding therapist certification. So who is it for? It's really. It's an advanced training, right? Intermediate to advanced CEUs for pediatric feeding therapists who are ready to build their competence even further, take that deep dive. They want to build their confidence even further. They want to create an impact, and they ultimately want some recognition as well. So in our first cohort, we're only taking 50 individuals, and we already have filled a few spots. We just released this within the past, like, week and a half at the time of me recording this. And I've done maybe 10 calls so far because I've only had personally at summertime, I've actually only had some very small windows to set up calls with individuals who applied. So while we have a lot more applications than I've been able to hold calls, and I'm headed out of the office again for a week and a half, we will be doing a lot more calls in the beginning of August. And so that is why we're putting this episode out now, so that you can become. You're made aware. That said, if you're someone who is interested in this and you don't qualify for it this time, that's okay. We will run this again. It will be probably 10 to 12 months before we do it again. We haven't set the schedule for next year, but we're only going to be running this one at a time, and they are eight months long. So let me just break it down to some of the nitty gritty, right? We do have steps to certification. Very simply put, currently, for the first cohort, step one does require you to have taken the Feed the Peds intro course in the future. We are looking at how we can open this up to others who have not taken Feed the peds, but it is going to require quite a significant level of continuing ed to have been completed along the same number of continuing education credits that we as we offer in Feed the Peed so that everybody is coming in with similar background and foundation. You know, we call it a foundational and intro course, but truly Feed the Peas is more intermediate, if you will already in terms of the type of content and how deep we go into some of the content. And so we need to make sure that everybody's on an equal playing field when you enter the certification so that everybody can proceed forward together on a similar path and similar, you know, journey, if you will. So what have we done so far? We have created 82 hours of intermediate to advanced trainings as of right now. And we're still creating some of the CEUs, but as of right now, I believe 75% of them are actually advanced CEUs, with 25% of them being intermediate. We may have a few more intermediate added and then that will obviously shift the the percentage there. But we were going for nothing less than a 5050 split between intermediate and advanced CEUs. Just so that everybody's aware it will be at least 5050, if not more advanced than intermediate. Why is that? Well, we basically went back to our graduates from Feed the Peeds and we, we did surveys, we did some market research and this has been going on now for over a year and a half. And we said, hey, what are you looking for? What are you seeking? What you know, what is it you feel like is missing? What does not exist out there? And with that we were able to create additional surveys to do further market research to find out. Okay, here's what you all are telling us. These are the courses that you're saying you want. Can you please rank them? Can you please tell us like in what order is this most importance to you? Or do you feel like you need the most further knowledge or more intermediate to advanced coursework in these topic areas? And so that is how we built out our curriculum. And if you go to feedthepedes.com cpft-certification you can actually see a list of the different course topics. Right. So we broke them down under assessment and diagnostics and then under treatment planning. So what I will tell you though is that many of the courses cover both assessment and treatment. So it's not as clear cut as we made it Here on our beautiful webpage. However, just for purposes of simplifying it, to kind of break it down for you all, we wanted to make sure that, you know, it was just clearly listed and visually pleasing, if nothing else, to get an idea of the topics that we are covering so. Well, let me give you a few examples. Right under assessment and diagnostics, we have breastfeeding and lactation complex diagnoses, a Deeper dive into MBSs, VFS, VFSs and Fees. Deeper dive into TOTS cases. Different differential diagnosis between ARFID, OMD, TOTS, sensory or motor. Sensory, oral motor, pediatric dysphagia dilemmas. Actually, sorry, pediatric dysphagia dilemmas are another. That's a separate course that got linked with one, so we'll fix that. Pediatric nutrition. So sample evaluations, the gut and how it affects feeding. And then under treatment planning, we have adjusting a feeding therapy approach for G tube feedings and weaning. We have so many requests for that bottle feeding and supplemental feeding aids, creating a treatment plan. And really that's a deeper dive into that because, you know, if you've gone through feed the piece, you know how to create a treatment plan. But we're talking about more nuanced treatment plans, more involved cases, more medically complex kiddos. Deeper dive into the NICU and feeding after the nicu. And we actually have some bonus courses we're working on having created that aren't even listed here, related to NICU and the transition from the NICU and programs that have been created to assist with that transition and support, you know, families and caregivers. Then there's the flexible framework for feeding therapy. We have kitchen strategies, which is a food variety and texture expanse expansion technique course for children with pediatric feeding disorders and selective eating patterns, supporting complex sensory feeders and then swallow dysfunction and treatment, which dives into oral versus pharyngeal versus offage phase and thickening feeds. And so that's the basic framework. We do have additional courses we are creating, as I mentioned, that are not listed here, but those will be bonuses to those of you who go through the first cohort. As we are still building some of those out, they will not be required. For those who go through the next eight months with us, you won't be required to finish those, but. But everyone who goes through the certification now will have lifetime access to all of the courses and all the bonuses included. Everybody gets two mentor and accountability group calls per month. And you're going to be matched with a mentor, that is and colleagues who are on the same path. As you and a mentor who has experienced what it is you seek in a mentor. Right. So when we have these conversations with you, one on one, we're trying to find out what are you looking for, what is your goal and helping you figure out, like, we're trying to help map your path, if you will. We do another onboarding questionnaire once you enroll, and then we further confirm the correct mentor for you. We are going to have one roundtable discussion as a large group per month, and then we'll have three other calls per month where we will have additional case studies presented by those of you in the group. We're going to have you present three case studies over the course of eight months. First two will be more informal. The third one will be the one where we are actually, you know, grading it. I don't want to call it a final exam, but that will be part of what we are grading. As far as passing you through certification, that is one of the final steps you will be submitting as well. Assessment reports, treatment plans with recommendations and referrals and all that fun next step stuff on two of your cases. And we have specifics for how to choose which cases from kiddos already on your treatment caseload. And then we will have a telegram app where you're going to have direct access to your mentor and your cohort of, you know, like, let's say there's. There's going to be no more than 10 people. 10, you, including you in a telegram group with your mentor. And the mentor is only going to have one group. And we're doing this because we want to keep it small and intimate again, we want to pair you with people who are on the same path as you. And we want to help you help nurture relationships between you and colleagues that will continue onward following certification. So you might be here in this group going through certification right now. Right. But you know, and right when I say right now, this starts August 19th, but we want you, we want to help forge these relationships. Relationships. I don't know why that's a tongue twister today. So that you have colleagues that you can continue to link arms with and bounce ideas off of and discuss cases with even beyond, you know, the end of the certification with me and my team. So that's a big part of it. What else can I tell you do? Basically, the steps are all on that webpage that I shared. Feedthepedes.com CPFT certification. And again, we are going to be updating some of these details over the course of the next eight Months as we go through it and as we get ready to submit this, because we do have to go through it one time fully before we can submit this to an accredited accreditation program. But we also have a whole procedural document drawn up. This is something that we're sharing with those of you who apply and who submit. You know, submit for a phone call with me to figure out if this is the right next step for you. And we talk more about the timeline and content and our fair grading practices and you know, just other guidelines and nuances as well behind the certification. One of the big questions I've got that I will share with you is what do we need to do to maintain the the certification? Basically you are required to just maintain your professional licensure to maintain your certification. To renew, you do need to submit proof of 15 continuing education hours every three years. So it should be very doable in the areas of feeding, swallowing and or approved like related topics. And so we'll give you all details, but we're only in the beginning and hopefully this covers our costs. But we're only going to be collecting a $50 fee every three years to, you know, assist with the admin side of what we pay somebody to review your submitted completed coursework. Right. And so that you can get your renewal and all that fun stuff. We're really looking to help you step into a higher level with your pediatric feeding skills. And our goal is really to move beyond initial, more introductory type of pediatric feeding therapy coursework and also move beyond just like individual methodologies so that you have a more comprehensive approach to working with various pediatric cases. Everything from a child with tethered oral tissues or airway issues, upper or lower airway. Right. Could be more OMD related or lower airway to kids with all kinds of other medical complexities as well. And so the certification process does include comprehensive coursework, mentorship review. You know, there'll be research reviewed in there as well as passing a multi step exam. But that multi step exam is we are not going to be giving you essays and multiple choice. That is willy nilly. There'll be multiple choice at the end of each course, but nothing else beyond that because we don't feel like that is that functional. We want you to be able to provide present live case studies, submit actual reports for mentorship and feedback. You know, go through the processes of what you're actually going to be doing day in and day out with when working with your patients and then present your cases, be able to discuss your cases because if you can discuss them in front of colleagues. You can also discuss your cases with other medical professionals. You can also discuss those cases with families. And we're going to be supporting you all a lot with that counseling side of things as well. One of our monthly large group calls is what we're calling a roundtable. And those. Those roundtable topics are topics where we have actually had some really great initial conversations. And so we've kind of locked in two of them, but we still have six open. And we're going to be sending out. We have suggestions, but we're going to send out a survey as well to all of you once everybody is enrolled, where we ask you to vote on which topics you want to have as roundtable discussions and to submit other ideas. And if there's other ideas and we need to send out another vote, we will. Because everything that we are creating within the certification is meant to be beneficial to you. And so the same can, can be said for bonus resources and things that you'll be giving to patients. We have some things that we're creating initially, a couple of things, but we have a team ready to go, ready to create materials that you can like, resources that you can share with families, that you can share with other professionals to help educate. And we don't know, there may be other resources that we are not aware of at the moment that you all need. And those are things that we plan to create for you that is all included within the certification at no additional charge to everybody that jumps into this first round. This will drive the price up, likely in the future, because there will be a lot more ceus involved and there will be more resources on hand already. And so as that just may be the case down the line right now, we are basically keeping the investment where we need it to be in order to properly pay all of the mentors and creators behind the scenes, because we do pay our. Our mentors, right? We. We pay our therapists at therapy rates. And so, you know, it is still a while. It is a big investment. It is less of an investment than if you were getting all this working one on one with somebody who is mentoring you and that you are paying directly. And that was one of our goals, was to try and make this, you know. Well, we know it's a big investment. We want to make it worth your while, and we want you to walk away from this really feeling very competent and confident that you made the right decision, that this was a really good investment in both your time, money, and energy. And, you know, at the end of the day, this is for you. So we are here for you. We are here to create something that is going to be very beneficial to you and your patients. And I invite you, if you have questions, to email supporteedthepedes.com we can answer your questions if you'd like to apply. That website that I shared at Feed the Peeds, you might have to do www first, but www.feedthepedes.com cpft-certification will take you to the page where you can click to apply. Once you apply, we review your application. If you are accepted in, then you get invited to set up a one on one call. And that is not a call where we're selling you into it. That is a call where I am literally having a discussion with you about what have you done so far? Where are you headed in your journey? Where do you want to be? Right? What is the next best step for you so that we can determine, you know. Well, you're telling me X, but that doesn't really match with what we're doing here. So maybe this is not the right thing for you to do right now. Or you're saying, hey, yeah, I really want to dive deeper into pediatric feeding. This feels like the next best thing for me. And then we can talk about what your goals are, make sure we have the right mentor for you, make sure that our coursework that we've aligned is matching up with your goals and your desires for yourself as a pediatric feeding therapist. And then, you know, then we're able to welcome you in. But our goal is we don't use high sales pressure tactics or anything. So if you're someone who's like, well, I want to do this, but I'm a little bit nervous about having that call. Don't be nervous. I promise you're just chatting with me. It's super laid back. You can ask, I'd say you can ask anybody who's had a call, but that's been about, I don't know, a handful of people at this point. And, and I'm, I don't have a bill, I don't have permission to share their names. So I can't tell you who to reach out to and talk to at this point. But I share that because, you know, I want you all to know that this is something that we are truly creating with you all in mind. Many of you have asked for this and we're super excited to roll it out. We thank you for your patience as this did take us a couple of years to develop and we're just very very excited to get this off the ground. We have some amazing mentors. We have an already an amazing group of therapists who have committed several who have already completed their enrollment and we're excited to get this off the ground and running. So we will be accepting applications through August 15th and then we start on August 19th. So officially at that point you gotta be you're, you're in or you're out, right? So if you're interested Again, go to www.feedthepedes.com CPFT certification or if you have questions like I mentioned before, email supporteedthepedes.com and we look forward to sharing more information with you and hopefully welcoming you into the certification. All right everybody, that is all I have for you today. I hope everybody is enjoying their summer and I look forward to chatting with you soon. Thanks for listening to this podcast. If you found value in this episode and want to hear more of these Myotots, Airway and Feeding related episodes, be sure to leave a review on Apple Podcasts and share this episode on your social media platforms. You can access free resources and all I offer@halliebalkin.com or pop over to Holly Balkan on Instagram to get all the latest updates.