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ACQuiring knowledge in sp eech, language and hearing, Volume 11, Number 1 2009 35
MULTICULTURALISM AND DYSPHAGIA
Sim, J. (1997). Ethical decision making in therapy practice.
Oxford: Butterworth Heinemann.
Speech Pathology Australia. (2000). Code of ethics. Mel­
bourne: Author.
Speech Pathology Australia. (2003). Scope of practice.
Melbourne: Author.
Speech Pathology Australia. (2005a). Dysphagia: Modified
barium swallow . Melbourne: Author.
Speech Pathology Australia. (2005b). Tracheostomy manage­
ment . Melbourne: Author.
Speech Pathology Australia. (2007a). Fibreoptic endoscopic
evaluation of swallowing. Melbourne: Author.
Speech Pathology Australia. (2007b). Parameters of practice:
Guidelines for delegation, collaboration and teamwork in speech
pathology practice. Melbourne: Author.
Stanberry, B. (2000). Telemedicine: barriers and op­
portunities in the 21st century. Journal of Internal Medicine, 247,
615–628.
Theodoros, D. (2008). Telerehabilitation for service delivery
in speech-language pathology. Journal of telemedicine and
Telecare, 14, 221–224.
United Nations. (1989). Convention on the rights of the child.
Geneva: Office of the United Nations Commissioner for
Human Rights.
United Nations. (2006). Convention on the rights of persons
with disabilities . Geneva: Office of the United Nations
Commissioner for Human Rights.
One workshop participant gave the example of an adult client
requesting and successfully managing scotch thickened to
accommodate his dysphagia, only to have this decision
overturned by a risk-averse management. A “one-size-fits-all”
approach to services is not working to ensure access and
equity for all actual and potential speech pathology clients.
Concluding comments
Our workplaces will continue to experience significant
societal, systemic and technological change, and in turn
influence our practice. We will not be able to anticipate,
prepare for, shield or pre-empt the impact of all these changes
on ethical provision of our services. Consequently we need to
stay vigilant, scanning the environment for trends and
changes that may influence our practice, discussing their
potential impacts on our services and engaging in CPD about
ethics. As McAllister (2006) has previously discussed, we
need to be ethically aware and think about ethics as a part of
our daily planning, delivery and evaluation of services, not
just as something that is called on when confronted with
“dilemmas” pertinent to individual clients.
References
Australian Government Productivity Commission. (2005).
Australia’s health workforce. Productivity Commission Research
Report. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia.
Beauchamp, T., & Childress, J. (2009). Principles of biomedical
ethics (6th ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Body, R. & McAllister, L. (in press). Ethics in speech language
therapy. London: Wiley & Sons.
Chetney, R. (2002). Interactive home telehealth: moving
from cost savings to reimbursement. Creative, proactive
strategies help agencies turn telehealth into a revenue
generator. Telemed Today, 9(3), 19–20.
Cornford, T. & Klecun-Dabrowska, E. (2001). Ethical
perspectives in evaluation of telehealth. Cambridge Quarterly
of Healthcare Ethics, 10, 161–169.
Cross, R., Leitão, S. & McAllister, L. (2008). Think big, act
locally: responding to ethical dilemmas. ACQ 10(2) 39–41.
Eadie, P. & Atherton, M. (2008). Ethical conversations. ACQ
10(3), 92–94.
McAllister, L. (2006) Ethics in the workplace: More than just
using ethical decision making protocols. ACQuiring Knowledge
in Speech, Language and Hearing, 8(2), 76–80.
Reed, G., McLaughlin, C. & Milholland, K. (2000). Ten
interdisciplinary principles for professional practice in
telehealth: Implications for psychology. Professional Psychology:
Research and Practice, 31(2) 170–178.
Marie Atherton is the Senior Advisor Professional Issues
at Speech Pathology Australia National Office in Mel­
bourne. In her current role Marie supports the manage­
ment of ethical complaints to the Association and
provides professional and clinical knowledge input to a
variety of project and policy activities.
Lindy McAllister is a Senior Council Appointed
Member of the Ethics Board of Speech Pathology
Australia. She is currently Deputy Head (Teaching and
Learning) of the Mayne Medical School at the University
of Queensland. Lindy has a long history in teaching and
writing about ethics in speech pathology.
Correspondence to:
Marie Atherton
Senior Advisor Professional Issues
Speech Pathology Australia
Level 2, 11–19 Bank Place,
Melbourne VIC 3000
email:
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