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Professional development (PD) and lifelong learning are two factors that go hand in hand in the development of becoming a successful speech pathologist. For new graduates, it is important that they start their path of lifelong learning and PD early in their career, to ensure they are constantly achieving the best practice for their clients. In a profession that bases assessment and intervention around evidence based practice, it is crucial that we undertake continuous lifelong learning and PD, to ensure that the treatment being provided is effective and up to date.
One area of PD that may be effected, is the availability of supervision/mentoring opportunities. Under the private workforce sector, it is often up to the new graduates to join Speech Pathology Australia (SPA) and seek support. When support is not available this can result in several negative effects to their learning and clinical provision. This is a problem for clients/patients who are receiving speech pathology management from these clinicians, as research suggests a lack of supervision can lead to a higher attrition rate and less effective therapy (Health Workforce Australia, 2014). It is also a problem for the speech pathology profession as a whole as it does not comply with the code of ethics, which aims to ensure that clinical practice is always of the highest standard of professional competence.
A lack of funding for new graduate speech pathology positions in the public workforce, is resulting in reduced PD opportunities and lifelong learning (Health Workforce Australia, 2014). New graduates who are seeking employment have a much lower chance of finding a job in the public sector, and it was noted that in 2016 new graduates will need to find employment in other sectors of the workforce. These sectors may include a private sector, where there is known to be less job security and fewer professional supports and opportunities (Health Workforce Australia, 2014). One of the issues as a result of this, is that more new graduates may encounter difficulties accessing PD and continuing with lifelong learning.
Throughout studies at university, students are taught the importance and benefits of PD and lifelong learning, with the intention that the skills that have been learned on clinical placements will generalise when they become new graduates. As with all professions, there are many issues, challenges and opportunities facing speech pathology new graduates in relation to lifelong learning and PD. This presentation will discuss some of these issues, challenges and opportunities and the implications that these have for new graduate speech pathologists.
Courses and workshops are valuable learning tools for all practising speech pathologists, meaning new graduates should be attending to continue their lifelong learning. Studies presented by Bellolio & Stead (2009), describe how educational conferences and interactive workshops can improve both professional practice and healthcare outcomes. Without the opportunity to participate in courses and workshops, new graduates will miss out important parts of the ongoing learning process which continues over the course of a career. This may include adjusting to changes, adapting to more professional areas, learning new information and being more aware of client/patient needs. This can then assist with the overall competency and relevance of evidence that is used in practice, which in turn benefits all individuals who require speech pathology services (Bellolio & Stead, 2009).
Speech pathology graduates experience a large cultural shift as they begin to navigate themselves around the working world beyond university, essentially moving more towards an independent learning style. There are considerable challenges that must be addressed in order for graduates to successfully engage in lifelong learning and improve standards of speech pathology care.
Memberships to Speech Pathology Australia (SPA) is highly recommended for graduate speech pathologists as it provides many benefits, such as access to an ongoing Continuing Professional Development (CPD) program. However the first year of membership and CPD can be a challenge to graduates, as SPA requires its member to independently plan their professional development, monitor their own progress, collect evidence and submit points each year to the ‘Professional Services Review’, which is a new and daunting experience. Another challenge that is significant is the yearly cost to maintain a SPA membership. Depending on the type of practice the individual is categorised by e.g. student membership, the cost can be several hundred dollars.
Speech Pathology graduates are further challenged by whether their place of employment supports engaging in professional development courses each year as recognised in contractual agreement. A notable work constraint to CPD relates whether the graduate is allowed time off to engage in CPD. In some work situations, new graduates may be sole practitioners or work in an environment with limited staff and hence there is a significant challenge to find staff to cover them while they take study leave (Beeston, Rastall, & Hoare, 1998).
Additionally it should be considered whether the workplace will pay for the graduate to complete the CPD course, or allow paid study leave for the time it is required to undertake the CPD course. Without either of these embellishments the new graduate will be challenged by costs to pay for the expensive CPD programs and consequently due to due to days missing work without paid study leave, a loss of earnings may be the result (Bolton, 2002). Geographical availability of CPD is another challenge to consider for health professionals (Austin & Graber 2007). A study by Stagnitti and colleagues found that allied health professionals in remote areas desired participating in CBD however it was met with some barriers. Speech Pathologists working in rural and remote areas may have added costs of travel, accommodation, and information technology access when engaging in CPD programs (Stagnitti, Schoo, Reid & Dunbar, 2005).
Across health care disciplines there are a number of other challenges to professional development and lifelong learning. These include the professional relevance of the program (Gosling, 1997), disengagement, family constraints, lack of benefits, (Kristjanson & Scanlan, 1989), and time constraints (Gosling, S. (1997). In order to address these challenges to CPD at a professional and departmental level, more flexible and accessible learning programs are required. There are studies to suggest online courses provide similar or slightly better learning outcomes compared to print versions. This suggests training providers should consider online modules into their professional development programs (Slotte & Herbert, 2006).
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References
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Bellolio, M., & Stead, L. (2009). Continuing education meetings and workshops: effects on professional practice and health care outcomes. Annals of Emergency Medicine Journal Club, 53(5), 685-687.
Bolton, J. E. (2002), Chiropractors' attitudes to, and perceptions of, the impact of continuing professional education on clinical practice. Medical Education, 36: 317–324. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2923.2002.01164.x
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Health Workforce Australia. (2014). Australia’s Health Workforce Series – Speech Pathologists in Focus. Retrieved 13/10/2016 from http://industry.gov.au/Office-of-the-Chief-Economist/SkilledOccupationList/Documents/2015Submissions/Speech-Pathology-Australia.pdf
Jackson, S. (2010). Developing capacity in workers: A pre-condition for lifelong learning. In J. McManus (Ed). Innovations in Lifelong Learning (pp. 224-244). Abingdon, NY: Taylor and Francis. Retrieved October 16, from http://www.ebrary.com.ezproxy.newcastle.edu.au
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Speech Pathology Australia. (2016). Professional Development. Retrieved October16,2016from http://www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au/SPAweb/Professional_Development
Stagnitti, K., Schoo, A., Reid, C., & Dunbar, J. (2005). Access and attitude of rural allied health professionals to CPD and training. International journal of therapy and rehabilitation, 12(8), 355-362.
It is important for new graduates to actively seek out lifelong learning and PD to ensure that they are always aiming to improve their skills as a speech pathologist and provide the best possible service for all clients. Starting this early in the career is an important step in ensuring that this skill stays in their speech pathologist persona. It is evident that a new graduate must not only actively seek out their professional development and lifelong learning but also seek out help from workplace mentors if there are any issues that may arise.
In conclusion, through a review of the literature, it is evident that there are many issues and challenges that new graduates face in regards to lifelong learning and PD. However, it can be argued that the opportunities that lifelong learning and PD provide can outweigh the challenges and issues that new graduates may face.
Lifelong learning is a source for personal fulfillment which aids in developing self-awareness for an individual (Jackson, 2010). Jackson (2010), explains four pillars to learning, which support lifelong learning within the twenty first century. The four pillars include ‘learning to know, learning to do, learning to live together and with each other and learning to be’. Jackson (2010), also reported that lifelong learning should allow individuals to produce their own goals based on their core needs for not only themselves, but also for their career, as it is the new graduates understanding of one’s self that will assist them in attaining additional and continual growth through learning. Improvement in life-long learning and PD is achieved through self-preservation. Mentoring, as explained by Kourdi & Lewis (2012) is a useful tool to develop both lifelong learning and PD for new graduates through the use of guidance, advice and self-feedback.
As a new graduate, it’s important to factor opportunities for both individual professional development and lifelong learning into your new career. For a new graduate, it is their own responsibility to remain up to date with research literature and instrument their best practice to their clients (Speech Pathology Australia, 2016). By applying evidence based practice (EBP) to their delivery of services identifies assurance to lifelong learning. In regards to professional development, it is important for a new graduate to utilise both internal evidence from their clinical placements, external evidence from various systematic research and informed client preferences.
Created by
Jodie Reid
Eliza Trigger
Leah Hannigan
Sophie Perceval
Hannah Watson
Cassandra Lingonis
For a new speech pathology graduate, engaging lifelong learning is utilised in supporting the preservation and improvement of professional skills and performance (Speech Pathology Australia, 2016). A new graduate is able to expand their body of knowledge related to their field which is vital as it offers the maximum quality of provision provided to their clients.
When it comes to PD, SPA (Speech Pathology Australia, 2016) supports new graduates. The SPA provides CPD which replicates on the range of clinical extents and service that new speech pathologist’s delver in and also focuses on their scope of practice. The CPD provides a diverse range of information retrieval, including social media pages, recordings of events, online resources and events and face to face workshops, in addition a yearly national conference is held for CPD members and the speech pathology occupation, which provides additional skills and knowledge to speech pathologists which aid in building their network and enabling them to continue to excel in their career (Speech Pathology Australia, 2016).