Speak Out February 2019

From the President

2019 has well and truly launched-with record temperatures recorded over the southern mainland and into central Australia, bushfires in Tasmania, and severe flooding in the north of Queensland, January and early February has been full of warnings. I hope that any members affected by these events have been safe. For those of you who may have been involved in any community recovery efforts-thank you. For any of you impacted by the events please know our thoughts are with you, and if there is anything that we can do to support you professionally please do not hesitate to call national office. As I was reading through the draft edition of this Speak Out in preparation for writing this introduction, it struck me that we had a theme emerging for the year “reflection” or “reflective practice”. On the world stage many of this year’s big events seem to have been decided in haste without reflection (at this stage, Brexit is looking a great deal like that!) Nationally I couldn’t help thinking that the recent controversy between Kerri- Anne Keneally and Yumi Stymes could have played out differently if a reflective rather than defensive response had been used. Within our little corner of the world this year we are continuing with our review of the CBOS, commencing a review of the Code of Ethics, finalising our first Reconciliation Action Plan (reflect), preparing a response to the Aged Care Royal Commission and preparing a new strategic plan. There’s a great article in this edition of Speak Out talking about how to use the Code of Ethics as a reflective tool for you to use in those day-to-day ethical dilemmas that arise. For those states and territories that have not yet had the Cultural Responsiveness Training, I encourage you to take advantage of the opportunity to take a day that guides your reflection on your practice and how you may be better able to meet the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients. And of course, our continuing professional development program allows you to continue to reflect on your professional practice-including the Journal of Clinical Practice in Speech Pathology , the International Journal of Speech Language Pathology. Conference is a great time to hear world- class national and international speakers, and to meet colleagues from across the country, this year many colleagues from “over the ditch” as we are co-hosting our conferences and other international colleagues. Conference registration opens on Wednesday 13 February and the early bird rate closes on 17 April. Brisbane is a fabulous city to hold a conference (OK I may be biased), I look forward to meeting you here. While you are reflecting take the opportunity to think about the speech pathologists who may have shaped your practice and consider nominating them for an award. Award nominations for the 2019 awards are open and will close on 28 March. More information about the awards can be found on page 5 Enjoy taking some time to read about Association activities this month. Until April

Gaenor Dixon

Gaenor Dixon National President

3

February 2019 www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au

Speak Out