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16 Speak Out June 2017
In practice
FORMER SPEECH PATHOLOGY AUSTRALIA
DIRECTOR ROBYN STEPHEN (PICTURED) RECENTLY
CELEBRATED A CAREER MILESTONE AND SHARES HER
EXPERIENCES OF 20 YEARS IN PRACTICE.
The more
you give, the
more you get
“Recently my fantastic staff surprised me with balloons, a
plaque and morning tea as unbeknown to me, it was the 20-
year anniversary of Robyn Stephen and Associates Speech
Pathology. This did stop me in my tracks and indeed was
cause for reflection. More than 50 speech pathologists and 30
administration staff have worked with me in this time. Our goal
has always been to provide the highest standard of evidence-
based speech pathology service for children and their families.
This has involved painstaking attention to our business processes
especially our financial records to support the complexity of the
work of speech pathologists.
“In 1997 it was a terrifying leap to give up my reliably paid
employment to start working as a private practitioner. I didn’t even
contemplate that by default I was actually starting a business. I
had worked with professional and committed heath practitioner
teams and teachers in publicly funded services for 15–years;
however, I felt that at times the organisational priorities often
lacked a client-centred approach. Could I do better without the
bureaucratic restrictions? I have a partner who drip fed his belief
that I could create a business to serve families who wanted to
choose a high quality speech pathology service. I am grateful and
indebted to his ongoing support and to several pioneers in private
practice; Rhonda Elms and Alison Lee who were very generous in
sharing their experiences and advice in my early days.
“These were the first of many mentors and consultants I have
sourced over the past 20 years. Others included colleagues,
business courses, business coaches, employment specialists,
lawyers, accountants and recently a futures specialist to stimulate
our next three-year strategic plan. I have learnt so much about
running a business because I have made so many mistakes
but fortunately have mostly learnt from those mistakes. The
professional and government obligations of running a health
practice can be overwhelming; however, we are all very fortunate
in 2017 that Speech Pathology Australia now has a wealth of
resources for private practitioners thanks to the hard work of
Christine Lyons and her forerunner Tristan Nickless. I highly
recommend their resources but also encourage people to seek
resources within their communities such as training in business
management.
“The practice grew from a suite in my home to various dedicated
commercial properties and finally to our own purpose-renovated
accessible building. During this time we have worked hard to
build our personal brand to associate with the business brand
while we developed an extensive network of referral agents.
Recently, with a view to the future, and taking on board client
feedback, we have rebranded the business to Melbourne Child
Development extending into a multidiscipline practice.
“Private practice requires consistent energetic attention to
maintain quality standards. This attention to detail results in client
confidence, clear client expectations, positive client relationships
and a sustainable business. Our professional development has
to be linked to market needs and preferences – for example, our
clinicians are highly trained in autism assessment and intervention
and we are now seeking to upskill in the areas required by NDIS
participants.
“The old adage of ‘The more you give the more you get’ has
certainly been true in terms of gaining invaluable insights of
benefit to the business. I was president of the fledgling Speech
Pathologists in Private Practice Victoria for six years early in my
private practice and served on many SPA reference and task
groups and I am just completing my final term as Director on the
board of Speech Pathology Australia after six years. There are
many opportunities to contribute and much learning to be gained