JCPSLP Vol 18 No 3 2016

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JCPSLP Volume 18, Number 3 2016 123
Kerrie astutely commented on coming to understand
what was achievable in short time frames and the issues
around sustainable impact of development work such as
this.
Kerrie: I wanted to see … change “large scale and lots
of it!” for the clients and families in Vietnam, which was
not at all realistic, just a natural response to seeing
a country and a health system where the speech
pathology profession is so new. Being part of a longer
term, more sustainable answer to the problem really
helped me to see the value in patience.
Impact on clinical practice in
home country
The volunteers identified positive impacts of the Vietnam
experience on their clinical practice in Australia. The
impacts included less reliance on resources, tests and
equipment, needing to “think outside the square”, increased
patience, observation skills and clinical reasoning. One
volunteer specifically wrote about new theoretical
knowledge she acquired as a result of the experience.
Maria: Not having access to the “western” resources,
equipment and standardised tests has meant that I
have needed to rely on the limited resources available
which I believe has helped me to think outside the
square regarding therapy approaches and assessment
[in Australia].
Helen: Working in Vietnam certainly raised awareness
of CALD issues in health care. It encouraged me
to pursue translating speech pathology written
information (e.g., brochures) into different languages
and to investigate working these themes into our
health promotion practices [in Australia].
Maggie: I have gained a lot of theoretical knowledge
through volunteering, in particular in the area of
cochlear implant and parent implemented therapy.
I have been able to use this new knowledge in my
clinical practice [in Australia].
Enhanced skills and interest in clinical
education
The volunteering experience served to further develop skills
and interest in clinical education. For some like Anna and
Carol, there had been a long absence from engagement in
clinical education. Some participants reported that the
experience in Vietnam reminded them how much they
enjoyed clinical education. Volunteers such as Anna and
Stephanie wrote about how the experience helped refine
their reflection, analytic and clinical teaching skills. These
experiences are illustrated by the following quotes.
Anna: It certainly reacquainted me with the pleasure of
working with students again.
Lucy: Previously I have only worked with students in
one-to-one blocks. This experience helped me work
with 4–5 students at a time. It helped develop my time
management skills.
Stephanie: I had to step back and reflect upon my
actions and teaching methods and how they were
impacting upon the students’ ability to learn from me.
Discussion
This paper presents new data on the experiences of
speech-language pathologists who volunteered as CEs in a
language and cultural barriers; and learning to work with
interpreters. Participants started to develop an
understanding of what the acceptable norms are in
Vietnamese culture in relation to learning and asking
questions. Using the knowledge gained through several
interactive discussions with students and colleagues,
participants began to understand how to manage cultural
differences particularly in relation to learning and teaching,
as illustrated in the quotes below.
Julie: … it was really only once I had been in Vietnam
for a week or so that I started to see a little better
the expected behaviours, beliefs, values, practices
and customs. That is, I learned much more within
the context of the culture. This was informed by
observations, opportunities to de-brief with a
colleague, and LOTS of opportunities to interact with
the students and critically, discuss cultural differences
with them …
Helen: With students, I needed to break down this
barrier [of hierarchy and officialness] to encourage
them to ask questions. There seemed to be a concept
of “saving face” and a feeling that asking a question
indicated not knowing something.
The majority of students with whom participants worked
had little English, and this presented numerous
communication barriers. While the interpreters were able to
assist with overcoming these barriers, the volunteers (as
exemplified in Helen’s quote) were aware that cultural
differences existed in terms of power and hierarchy
between teachers and students and that this impacted on
what it was acceptable to communicate about.
Lucy: Although a few of the students did have good
English skills, I was aware that not all of them did.
Initially when I spoke the students with the better
English would reply before the interpreter could
translate. I felt that that was a weakness on my part.
I then focused on pausing after I spoke to allow the
interpreter to translate. I was more assertive when
students would reply in English and I requested them
to speak in Vietnamese to help the other students in
the group. I have worked with interpreters before in my
job but not to the level that is required in Vietnam.
Impact on professional development
The participants wrote about a number of positive impacts
of the volunteer CE experience on their professional
development. These impacts included reaffirmation of the
depth of knowledge and experience gained over years of
practice and also the recognition that clinical knowledge
and practice change over the course of a career and hence
the need to seek continuing professional development (see
for example Anna) or further education.
Anna: It made me very conscious of how much
clinical knowledge and practice changes over time
and has reinforced the need for ongoing professional
development and clinical discussion.
For some, the volunteer experience improved leadership
skills and time management skills. For others it ignited or
rekindled enthusiasm for the profession.
Lucy: I feel that it has improved my leadership skills.
Maria: I suppose I’d become a bit jaded. But the time
I had volunteering for Trinh really motivated me and
revived my enthusiasm for the profession.