Carrie Axt, MA, CCC-SLP, a speech-language pathologist with more than 20 years of clinical experience, is now working on her Doctor of Education in Health Professions Education (Ed.D.) degree at Logan University. Carrie’s journey began at the University of North Dakota, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in communication sciences and disorders in 2001. Drawn to the medical side of speech-language pathology, she continued her education at the University of Northern Iowa, earning her master’s degree in speech pathology in 2003.
“From the start, my goal was to provide direct patient care,” she said. “I wanted to work closely with individuals to improve their communication, cognition and swallowing abilities.”
Carrie’s clinical experience is wide-ranging, covering birth to three years old in-home services, school settings, and her primary passion: the medical setting. Throughout most of her career, she worked in Bismarck, North Dakota, in hospitals, short-term rehabilitation facilities, and skilled nursing environments. Her clinical expertise covers the entire lifespan, from infancy to end-of-life care, with a particular focus on adult neurogenic cognitive disorders.
After two decades of working full-time with patients, Carrie felt called to take on a new role as an educator. Her desire to train and inspire the next generation of speech-language pathologists led her to the University of Mary in Bismarck, where she has been teaching for more than two years.
“I felt confident in my clinical abilities, but I wanted to take the next step to enhance my teaching skills to better serve my students,” she said. “I began looking into online Ed.D. programs, and Logan’s program quickly rose to the top of the list.”
She began the program in the summer of 2023 and plans to complete it in the summer of 2025.
Reflecting on her journey through the Ed.D. program, Carrie notes the coursework has greatly influenced her teaching methods. Two standout courses were an assessment-focused class and a clinical outcomes development course, which transformed her approach to student evaluation. By making changes to her curriculum, Carrie observed an improvement in her students’ ability to apply their knowledge and clinical skills in real-world scenarios.
In addition to her work with graduate students teaching neurogenic communication disorder, dysphagia and voice courses, Carrie also currently teaches one undergraduate course in communication sciences and disorders. Her broad teaching portfolio allows her to introduce students at multiple levels to the field of speech-language pathology, fostering a deep understanding of both theoretical and practical knowledge.
For professionals considering an Ed.D. at Logan, Carrie highly recommends connecting with program directors to understand the commitment involved. Balancing full-time work, family and advanced studies can be challenging yet rewarding, thanks in large part to the support from Logan’s faculty and her fellow students.
“Even though the program is fully online, we created a close-knit virtual community, allowing us to share knowledge and support each other through this process, which has been invaluable,” she said.