SpeakOut_December2014_FINAL_eCopy

BRANCH news new south wales

Using the ‘Sister City’ model in speech pathology

Sister city relationships provide a forum for educational interchange between communities with a focus on encouraging friendship, co-operation and understanding. They can be used to promote professional links, provide support to clinicians, and as a forum for sharing resources and knowledge. For the past eight years Royal Rehab and Ballina Rehabilitation Unit have maintained a sister city relationship. How the arrangement works Royal Rehab holds monthly clinical discussion meetings as a forum for staff to problem solve challenging cases. Rural speech pathologists at Ballina Rehabilitation Unit link in to these meetings via teleconference, facilitating collaborative discussion. A Memorandum of Understanding was developed between the two services outlining costs and roles shared between the services. Benefits of the arrangement The collaborative clinical discussion meeting provides an opportunity for speech pathologists involved to: • Share clinical ideas and treatment approaches • Receive and/or provide support and feedback to clinical peers • Share resources, current research or professional development • Discuss challenging or unusual clinical scenarios • Receive professional development • Discuss issues related to work contexts e.g. metropolitan versus rural service models, sole therapist versus team approaches to client management • Network with peers. For rural clinicians, the forum provides an opportunity to ask questions, receive support and maintain links with a range of experienced clinicians who work in a variety of specialised services. Clinicians are able access a range of professional support, and in doing so reduce the isolation of working within a rural setting. For metropolitan clinicians there is an opportunity to think critically about the challenges faced by their rural counterparts

Clockwise from top left: Ballina District Hospital; Ballina speech pathologists Casandra and Annabelle; and Royal Rehab.

and problem solve around how models of care can be provided with variations in staffing, service delivery and resources. Associated costs • Teleconferencing equipment – video or telephone • The cost of the phone call or teleconferencing call • The clinicians’ time to participate in the discussions. How can your department establish a sister city arrangement? These types of arrangements are cost effective and easy to establish if incorporated into already established service routines. Larger services often have regular professional development meetings and clinical discussions within their department’s monthly calendar. Larger teams can extend an invitation or include isolated/rural clinicians via teleconference in these meetings. It’s important to match teams and clinicians of a similar service type (e.g. acute teams pairing with similar rural acute therapists). Once services have been paired, a Memorandum of Understanding can be developed between the two services outlining the shared responsibilities of both parties. Casandra Tibika Speech Pathologist, Ballina Rehabilitation Unit

Speak Out December 2014

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www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au