The mission of the Medical Speech-Language Pathology program is to train postdoctoral fellows to establish competency in independent practice. You develop competency in diagnosing and treating neurologic communication disorders across the care continuum.
Training builds proficiency in differentiating acquired speech, language, and cognitive impairments. You apply scientific study principles to support evidence-based care and intra- and interprofessional collaboration across medical settings.

Mayo Clinic's mission is:

• Inspiring hope and promoting health through integrated clinical practice, education and research.

The program’s mission reflects the broader mission of Mayo Clinic and promotes hope and health. It emphasizes integrated practice, education, and research in neurological systems and pathology related to communication. Training explores communication domains, including speech, language, and cognition

The Medical Speech-Language Pathology program supports its training mission through key program features:

• The Division of Speech Pathology provides a unique work environment embedded within the Department of Neurology. To our knowledge, such an environment does not exist in any other medical facility in the country.
• The majority of patients encountered in the practice have a known neurological diagnosis, suspicion for an underlying neurological diagnosis, or a need to clarify communication/cognitive symptomatology to guide diagnosis.
• Upon receiving a unifying diagnosis for their symptoms, patients with a neurological diagnosis will benefit from treatment and management.
• Suggestions to optimize speech
• Methods for enhancing language abilities
• Strategies for managing cognitive impairment
• The Medical Speech-Language Pathology program encompasses service delivery across a scope of patient care, from acute care to outpatient practice.

During the program, you will receive a variety of knowledge and experiences.

• A focused clinical experience that facilitates development of expertise in differential diagnosis of a wide variety of communication disorders
• Training that develops your abilities to evaluate, describe, diagnose and formulate management recommendations for speech and language disorders in adults and children, with an emphasis on neurologic speech and language disorders
• Experience that hones your skills in communicating evaluation results and recommendations to physicians and other health care professionals, as well as patients and their significant others
• Clinical working knowledge of a wide variety of medical conditions, particularly those that frequently cause speech, voice, language, and other communication disorders

• Fellows achieve and demonstrate proficiency in diagnosing neurological speech, language, and cognitive-communication impairments.
• Fellows design and implement treatment programs for individuals with neurological speech-language and cognitive-communication impairments based on evaluation findings.
• Fellows incorporate scientific study principles and evidence-based practice when providing services. Training focuses on individuals with neurological impairments in speech, language, and cognitive-communication.
• Fellows exemplify Mayo Clinic's collaborative care model when serving individuals with neurological speech, language, and cognitive-communication impairments.

Key indicators are utilized to determine program effectiveness, and include:

• Fellows who are employed in clinical positions requiring expertise in the diagnosis and management of individuals with neurological cognitive-communication impairments.
• Fellows in academic centers requiring expertise for training graduate students in diagnosis and management of individuals with neurological cognitive-communication impairments. 
• Fellows actively participate in research and disseminate findings through presentations and publications on neurological communication and cognitive impairments.
• Fellows who were awarded board certification (BC-ANCDS).