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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.