Speak Out OCTOBER 2019 V3 DIGITAL EDITION

Early Career REFERENCE GROUP

Seeking new members to engage the next generation of speech pathologists

FINDING THE BALANCE WORK AND LIFE The Early Career Reference Group appreciates all the early career speech pathologists who completed the Work/ Life Balance Survey earlier this year! One of the key issues we know early career members experience is finding and then maintaining a balance at and outside of work. This infographic on the next page details some of the ways that members find balance. You shared some very interesting strategies for managing these and we wanted to share them with you! Is there something that you’ve been doing and works well? Is there something new that you haven’t tried before? We are issuing the challenge to all early career speech pathologists to try one new strategy this month both at work and outside of work to help with “finding the balance”. You can share your experience with us via the SPA Early Career Member Facebook page. We would love to hear what strategies you’ve found useful! UNIQUE YOU For an upcoming project the ECRG are looking for early career speech pathologists who might have a job that is a bit different or who are working in an area that is unique. Maybe you are located overseas, work in a specialised area, have an interesting caseload, or serve a population you never thought you would. We would love to briefly chat to you so that others can hear about what you are doing. If you are interested in sharing your story, please contact Nathan Cornish-Raley at psa@speechpathologyaustralia.org.au. We look forward to hearing from you!

Approximately one in three SPA members (32%) has been practising for three years or less. Certainly, the profession benefits from the energy and fresh ideas that come from having such a large proportion of Early Career Speech Pathologists! It also means that we have increased responsibility to provide professional support and guidance. One of the ways SPA is doing this is with the help of early career members themselves through the Early Career Reference Group (ECRG). In the past year the ECRG have been involved in key projects such as contributing to a highly successful series of podcasts, conducting a survey of early career member needs, creating resources addressing work/ life balance, and engaging members through social media. SPA is currently seeking an additional six ECRG members to start in 2020. The term of service is two years, with members typically dedicating about four hours per month to group tasks. These activities include attending a monthly videoconference, collecting and documenting information about key issues, developing support resources, engaging on social media, and assisting with SPA communications regarding topics that affect early career speech pathologists. ECRG members are provisional or full certified practising members of SPA who have 0 – 3 years’ experience working as a speech pathologist. We are keen to have participants from a variety of cultural and linguistic communities, geographic areas, and practice settings. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members, those who speak a language other than English, speech pathologists who work in regional and rural areas, and those practicing in NGOs and the public sector are especially encouraged to apply. If you are interested in being a part of this vibrant group and helping to shape the future of Speech Pathology Australia, please contact Nathan Cornish-Raley at psa@speechpathologyaustralia. org.au or call National Office at 1300 368 835 for more information. All applications are due by 31 October 2019.

Nathan Cornish-Raley Professional Support Advisor

Cara Probert, Tayla Brown, Grace Schofield Early Career Reference Group Members

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October 2019 www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au

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