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www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au
JCPSLP
Volume 19, Number 3 2017
161
Placements need to be viable and cost effective
for the universities, able to provide valuable teaching
and learning opportunities, and accessible to all
students. Further, any services provided as part
of an international clinical placement need to be
beneficial to the partner organisation and therefore
must be meaningful, effective and sustainable in the
long-term. Hence, the service delivery models used
should promote capacity building including mentoring,
collaborative intervention practices, education and
training. The services provided should continue in
some capacity after university staff and students leave
the placement site and return home.
Short-term mobility (STM) funding provided through
the Australian government’s New Colombo Plan
has ensured viability of the placement over the past
three years and enabled equitable access for any
students enrolled in the Bachelor of Speech Pathology
(Honours) program at the UON. In addition, it has
provided the opportunity to enhance relationships
between the partner organisations, and further develop
the placement and service delivery models that are
sensitive to the environment (location, setting, culture,
language, stage of development, etc.). The STM
funding also provided opportunity for expansion on
student and supervisor preparedness including formal
language lessons.
Future directions
The next stage of the NUSpeech international clinical
placement model is to conduct formal evaluation exploring
the perspectives of all key stakeholders as well as continue
to develop and support culturally responsive, locally driven
and sustainable international clinical placements for the
future. In 2016 NUSpeech was replicated and expanded to
include interdisciplinary learning across the speech-language
pathology and occupational therapy disciplines in Fiji (aka
SPOTinFiji). The NUSpeech team will also seek to further
explore evidence-based practice and applicability to working in
majority-world context. The 2015 United Nations Sustainable
Development Goals seek to achieve sustainable economic,
social and environmental development, everywhere (UN-DESA,
2015). It is hoped that through continuous improvement of
a model of clinical education for international placements,
formal evaluation, and further research into sustainable
health practice in a majority-world context, NUSpeech may
contribute in a small way to major initiatives such as this.
References
Amery, R. (2011). Developing cultural competence through
international clinical experience. (Unpublished honours
thesis). University of Newcastle, Callaghan, Australia.
Atherton, M., Dung, N. T. N., & Nhân, V. H. (2013). The
World Report on Disability in relation to the development
of speech-language pathology in Viet Nam.
International
Journal of Speech-Language Pathology
,
15
(1), 42–47.
Balandin, S., Lincoln, M., Sen, R., Wilkins, D. P., &
Trembath, D. (2007). Twelve tips for effective international
clinical placements.
Medical Teacher
,
29
(9–10), 872–877.
Brownie, S., Bahnisch, M., & Thomas, J. (2011).
Exploring the literature: Competency-based education
and competency-based career frameworks
. University
of Queensland Node of the Australian Health Workforce
and in counselling students is also useful with respect to
provision of supervision and pastoral care in an international
setting.
Phase 3. Debrief and dissemination
An essential component of NUSpeech in phase 3 is the
opportunity to debrief, and/or reflect on action, following
sessions and each evening with the UON clinical educator.
The importance of opportunity to debrief is also recognised
following students’ return to Australia.
Debrief, reflection after action, and competency
assessment
After returning to Australia all students are required to
attend a one-day post-placement debrief which involves
formal and informal reflection activities and an externally
facilitated focus group. This allows students to discuss their
experiences, skill development, complete end placement
COMPASS® (McAllister et al., 2013) and to reflect after
action on their clinical practice.
Dissemination
From 2015 students have been required to inform and
share their experience with the wider student cohort and
local speech pathology community. This dissemination of
the experience took place via information sessions to
students interested in undertaking an international
placement and development of promotional resources.
Information and projects were also formally presented to
university staff, students, and local and interstate speech-
language pathologists at the inaugural showcase of the
University of Newcastle Speech Pathology (Honours)
Innovation Flagship. It is important that this information is
disseminated to the wider community of speech-language
pathologists to highlight the value of international
placements, enforcing the development of graduate
attributes for students and recognising skill development.
Recognition of skills development and graduate
attributes
By 2015, the benefits to all key stakeholders of this
international clinical placement experience for students
enrolled in the Bachelor of Speech Pathology (Honours) at
the UON were well recognised. Many of the previous
graduates attribute much of their employability and success
in the workplace to skills and knowledge gained during their
international placement. Unsolicited comments included:
Just letting you know that I had two job interviews last
week and I was offered both positions but I chose to
accept a full time position at a school for children with
Autism in Melbourne. My experience in VietNam was
a massive positive for the interviews and both panels
seemed very impressed with my experience and the
skills that I was able to develop through the Kianh
Foundation School. Thank you for all your support and
assistance over the past year, without the South East
Asian Stream I might not have been successful for this
position.
The importance of sustainability
The World Health Organization (2016), in relation to
evaluation of a specific health project, defined
sustainability as the ability of a project to continue to
function effectively into the future. Sustainability is an
issue for all organisations and stakeholders involved in
international clinical placements.