ACQ Vol 10 No 3 2008

INTERVENTION: WHY DOES IT WORK AND HOW DO WE KNOW?

representatives. In addition there are three student members. The Executive Committee is responsible for general super­ vision of the affairs of the association. It consists of the presi­ dent and four portfolio leaders. The portfolios are Publications and Area Representative Liaison, Professional Development, Professional Standards and Public Relations. The NZSTA Constitution specifies the rules and regulations of the Associ­ ation related to requirements for membership, publications, finance, meetings, election of executive board and officers, standing committees and amendments to the constitution. NZSTA has a Code of Ethics to which members must adhere and a formal, documented Ethics Complaint Procedure. There are 600 current members of NZSTA (NZSTA, 2006). This represents about 60% of the number of speech-language therapists practising in New Zealand. The membership is made up of a majority of full-time members as well as provisional members, non-practising members, student members, associate members, and life and honorary members. In addition to program accreditation and qualification approval, the NZSTA supports its membership with the publication of a quarterly newsletter, an annual academic journal, and position papers; and the development of special interest groups and provision of professional development opportunities including a biennial conference. NZSTA is also the “face” of the profession for the public. NZSTA keeps the public informed of the profession through a website, media activities (e.g., articles in the paper), maintaining repre­ sentatives on community boards (e.g., Speak Easy), promotional activities (e.g., speech-language therapy awareness day) and publication of educational pamphlets about common communication and swallowing disorders.

therapists. The Programme Accreditation Framework (PAF; NZSTA, 2002) outlines key standards for accreditation of frameworks. These include: the New Zealand Context (programs will demonstrate cognisance of and responsiveness to New Zealand culture and current political and quality initiatives); Programme Structure (programs will meet NZQA and international standards); Programme Curriculum (programs will meet specific curriculum and clinical requirements); and, Competency-Based Practice (programs will ensure that students can achieve competencies outlined in the Competency-Based standard). Currently the University of Canterbury, the University of Auckland and Massey University are NZSTA accredited. The qualifications, standards, and competencies outlined by NZSTA have been accepted by tertiary institutions and service providers such as district health boards (DHBs) under the Ministry of Health and group special education (GSE) under the Special Education section of the Ministry of Education. Employers such as DHBs and GSE state that their employees must be eligible to be members of NZSTA. Only individuals who have graduated from an accredited NZ program or individuals who have their overseas qualifications approved by the NZSTA Qualifications Approval Committee are eligible to be members of NZSTA. NZSTA The New Zealand Speech-Language Therapy Association was established in 1946 and adopted its constitution in May 1982. The Association has an Executive Board and an Executive Committee. The Executive Board consists of twelve members, including the president, four portfolio leaders and seven area

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