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ACQ
Volume 13, Number 1 2011
ACQ
uiring knowledge in speech, language and hearing
•
Provide a more consistent way of remunerating
different levels of practice:
A structure for recognising
different levels of practice may provide incentive and
formalised means to support appropriate remuneration
for performance that may improve job satisfaction and
workforce retention. For those clinicians working in
private practice, the absence of an industrial award to
provide clearly defined criteria for levels of professional
practice means that there is a great deal of subjectivity,
and potentially unfair pay and conditions imposed on
those working in that sector. A career and professional
development framework could potentially address these
issues, and foster the development of performance-
based recognition of expertise.
•
Provide a more objective method of identifying experts
within the profession:
As with other health professions
without formal career structures, expertise can be self-
proclaimed (Robertson, Oldmeadow, Cromie, & Grant,
2003). A career and professional development framework
could assist in the identification of specialists where there
is consistency in how these individuals are recognised.
•
Enhance the career structure to positively affect career
progression and retention:
It is important for the
profession to develop a strategy for how to effectively
contribute to the challenges faced by contemporary and
future health care demands, and actively explore the
barriers that might inhibit the growth of the profession. A
career and professional development framework would
facilitate the mobility of the speech pathology workforce
to enable clinicians with specialised skills to change jobs,
move from one state to another, using a more transparent
credentialling mechanism to validate expertise and
experience.
Furthering a career and
professional development
framework for speech pathology
in Australia
Further exploration of the idea of a career and professional
development framework for the speech pathology profession
is required. Ideally, this should be undertaken with
representation from all sectors of the profession to ensure
dynamic debate among clinicians working in established
roles in speech pathology, as well as those who are at the
cutting edge of clinical care, and forging ahead into new
territory for the profession. The issue of who should be
charged with implementing and monitoring such a
framework would be a key point of discussion. Could SPA
broaden its functions to include some level of practice
regulation, for example, credentialling procedures for areas
of advanced practice and specialisation? Or should an
independent council be established to undertake
governance of such a framework, aligned more with the
functions of a practice regulation board?
Conclusion
It is imperative that the public has confidence in the
competency of individuals providing speech pathology
services. By clearly defining the levels of practice from
entry-level and beyond, the relevant competencies, as well
as training requirements to perform at these levels through a
well-defined career and professional development
framework, there will be a means for the public, employers,
and SPs to confirm whether individuals are performing within
their individual scopes of practice. Establishing a professional
and career development framework for the speech
•
critical thinking, analysis and reflection (Frost, 1998;
Fulbrook, 1998; Rolfe, 1998).
With the C-BOS document (SPA, 2001a) currently
under review, it may be timely to consider whether these
themes and elements of professional practice are of any
relevance for defining levels of practice for the speech
pathology profession from entry-level to more advanced and
specialised levels of professional practice.
Defining a pathway for education
and training
A number of health professions believe that new graduates
do not necessarily possess entry-level competencies
(Department of Human Services, 2005). Some professions
require individuals to complete up to two years of workplace
experience in addition to a base qualification. Formalised
graduate training, or internships, aim to ensure that
provisional health professionals participate in generalist-type
training in order to achieve competency in the profession’s
core competency areas. These training programs often
specify requirements such as duration, location, supervision,
and methods for evaluating competency upon completion of
the program (American Speech-Language-Hearing
Association, 2008; Psychology Board of Australia, 2010).
There is agreement among the select literature reviewed
that clinicians who are performing at an advanced or
specialised level have done so by way of dedicated steps in
career development, through setting goals and undertaking
activities that will result in personal and professional
development over time. For many professions, such as
nursing, medicine, dentistry, and radiography in the UK,
advanced practice or specialisation is associated with
postgraduate education (Australian Nursing and Midwifery
Council, 2009; Dental Board of Australia, 2010; Hardy &
Snaith, 2007; Hardy et al., 2008; Medical Board of Australia,
2010; Podiatry Board of Australia, 2010; Price & Edwards,
2008; 2006).
Some professions require individuals to substantiate
their advanced or specialised competency by submitting
a portfolio that satisfies the defined criteria (Australian
Physiotherapy Association, n.d; Specialty Board on Child
Language, n.d.; Specialty Board on Fluency Disorders,
2010), and in some cases applicants are also required to sit
and pass an examination (Specialty Board on Swallowing
and Swallowing Disorders, 2010).
Advantages of a career and professional
development framework
In addition to providing a quality assurance mechanism that
could protect the public by defining the level of competency
expected of SPs working across the breadth of
contemporary health care practice, a career and professional
development framework could also offer the profession a
number of other benefits. It could:
•
Facilitate collection of data about contemporary speech
pathology practice:
The expansion of the profession’s
scope through the creation of advanced practice
and specialisation has the potential to contribute to
improved patient care, build capacity and flexibility
in the health care workforce, and can also improve
workforce retention. Where roles are clearly defined, this
may enable the profession to collect and examine data
regarding the impact of these roles on patient outcomes,
and associated costs. This type of information may be
valuable for particular sectors lobbying for improved
award structures, fiscal and industrial conditions.