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Speak Out February 2015 27
BRANCH news
northern territory
In the past year I have fortunately had the
opportunity to work across private and public
sectors. Although I worked from a family centred
approach within a multidisciplinary team, in both
cases, I noticed the following differences in my
practice:
• The service delivery framework varied
completely across the two settings. Within
a private setting, I had greater flexibility in
providing services as I was not restricted
by a specific set of principles and policies
guiding my practice. As a consequence, I
had more opportunities to develop a strong
rapport with my clients and their families and
particularly enjoyed watching the progress
that we were able to achieve together. Due
to high demand yet limited staffing within
the public sector, I had to learn to work in a
very different way, focusing on a parent led
therapy approach, as we do not have the
opportunity to provide ongoing therapy.
• Caseload demands and the degree of direct
client contact differed greatly between
private and public settings. Particularly
from a new graduate perspective, the
caseload demands within a private
setting are challenging and require strong
organisational and time management skills
and a degree of confidence within your
practice. At times, I felt overwhelmed by my
caseload and felt that my service delivery
was impacted by a reduced amount of time
allocated for planning and preparation.
• Another key difference across the two
settings is the degree of collaborative
practice. My service delivery and role within
the public sector heavily involves working
cooperatively with other organisations and
services to ensure my clients are receiving
a holistic and well-supported service. Due
to the limited number of sessions families
receive within the public sector here, this is
particularly important as it provides families
with support and management distributed
across respective services.
• Although I received mentoring and
professional development opportunities
within the private setting, I felt somewhat
isolated with only one other speech
pathologist, who was also a new
graduate, on the team. The larger team
in the public sector offers me greater
opportunities to discuss client matters
and request clinical support and supervision
when required.
Although I have had quite varied experiences
over my graduate year working across private
and public sectors, I have thoroughly enjoyed
both opportunities. Overall, I have learnt that
it is particularly important to know your
strengths, areas for improvement and interests,
as they are the driving forces behind your
success with your clients irrespective of the
nature of the service.
Christina Spinella
Elucidating differences between private
and public practice in Darwin and around
With the completion of my speech pathology degree in December 2013, I decided to move “home” to Darwin to start my
career as a speech pathologist. My experience as a new graduate working within the paediatric field has been both challenging
and inspiring. Working across the Northern Territory, particularly within Darwin has afforded me the opportunity to work with a
variety of clients, with varying presentations, and from a range of culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.