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Speak Out
December 2013
Speech Pathology Australia
than just a little reward. It means that we can also participate in
learning more than we might have otherwise done.
We would love to share these experiences more and
welcome any volunteers as new portfolio members who can
bring their clinical experiences to CPD planning and who also
wish to become involved in this fantastic and necessary area
of our professional growth.
Christine Sheard
NSW CPD Leader
Queensland
The Queensland Branch CPD Committee currently has 13
members from a varying range of employment backgrounds,
including the University of
Queensland, Education
Queensland, Montrose
Access, Queensland Health,
Disability Services and
private practice. We are also
lucky to have nine Regional
Representatives hailing from Mackay, Cairns, Toowoomba, Mt
Isa, Townsville, Rockhampton, Wide Bay, the Sunshine Coast
and the Gold Coast. The Branch tries its best to ensure that
all regions in Queensland receive workshops in their area and
values the regional input that is vital in ensuring the local SPs’
preferences and support needs are heard.
The Qld CPD Committee has been lucky to have a stable
base of members who are willing to take their turn in the
Leadership role, currently ably co-shared by Stella Martin
and Maureen Liddy.
We are excited to announce that our treasured CPD
Coordinator, Tricia Chardon, is celebrating her 25th year as QLD
CPD Coordinator! She has done an absolutely amazing job over
the years with organising national and international speakers
to present to Queensland SPs. These speakers have not only
been SPs, but also other professionals who have shared their
expertise regarding speech pathology-related topics. Tricia is a
committed Coordinator who does a lot of behind-the-scenes
work to produce a well-oiled CPD program!
Qld CPD Committee
Congratulations to Tricia
Chardon, Queensland CPD
Coordinator, on her 25th
anniversary of working for
Speech Pathology Australia
Speech Pathology Australia would like to acknowledge
the 25th anniversary of
Tricia Chardon
in her role as
Queensland Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
Coordinator.
Tricia commenced on 6 December 1988 and she has
continued in the role for an uninterrupted span of 25 years.
During this time, Tricia has provided dedicated service to the
Queensland Branch and to the Association’s CPD program –
both in Queensland and nationally.
We echo the thanks of the Qld CPD committee in their
article. On behalf of the Board, staff and members of Speech
Pathology Australia, we would like to express our sincere
thanks to Tricia for her immeasurable contribution and her
continued service and dedication to SPA and the CPD
program.
Sharon Crane,
SAPEC,
and Gail Mulcair,
CEO
Reflections on CPD
Gail Woodyatt has retired from
QLD CPD and reflects on her time
as a committee member.
T
he Queensland CPD committee
has been a part of my professional
life for many years now. What will I
do on the last Wednesday night of the month now that I am
retiring from the committee and shortly from the profession?
That CPD date has been a permanent entry in my diary for
approximately 30 years. I can’t even remember when I first
became involved – records show I was there in 1985 – I
just know it was from the start of formal CPD. So, just a few
thoughts…
In the early days, the Queensland Branch of SPA (formerly
AASH) would have their regular monthly meetings with
occasional guest speakers after the business meetings. As
the profession grew, with more and more ‘new’ knowledge
being added, the Branch became organised in about 1982,
planning meetings for CPD events held at the University –
sitting around on child-sized chairs in the uni clinic, I seem to
recall.
The Queensland portfolio has been a leader in CPD from
those early days when Branches were independent from the
national body to a certain extent, and CPD committees very
much autonomous.
•
Queensland became the first state to employ a part-
time, paid, CPD coordinator to oversee the growing
number of events – too many for clinicians to organise
within the constraints of their busy work schedules.
Since then we have regularly scheduled 12–15 events
per year on average, with a range of topics to try to
satisfy all members.
•
In those early days, a low registration fee resulted in a
surplus which was at the disposal of each state CPD
committee to organise the following year’s events.
Nowadays, a vastly different range of registration fee
tries to ensure the CPD Portfolio is self-funded.
•
Queensland is a large state with many SPA members
living and working in rural and regional areas with little or
no easy access to CPD. The Queensland CPD Committee
pioneered the video-teleconference delivery format to
service those members and our role grew. We also have
11 regional representatives with regular teleconferences
during our meetings to ensure all members’ PD needs are
addressed. We are optimistic that the ever growing range
of newer technologies can provide us with even more
effective CPD alternatives for all members.
Continuing Professional Development News
National CPD update