SPHY101 - Introduction to Speech Pathology Practice

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

Teaching organisation

Unit rationale, description and aim

Speech pathologists in Australia work across a range of practice areas including speech, language (written/oral), fluency, voice, swallowing and multi-modal communication. They are required to meet professional standards and to undertake work in line with the Speech Pathology Australia Code of Ethics (2020) and the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF; WHO, 2001). In Australia, the work of speech pathologists is also underpinned by professional practice principles such as a strong evidence-base, client/family-centred focus, effective interprofessional working and culturally safe and responsive practice.  This unit introduces students to the profession and practice of speech pathology in Australia. Students will be introduced to the range of practice areas in which speech pathologists work, the key principles underlying graduate practice and key practice-related documents including the Professional Standards for Speech Pathologists (Speech Pathology Australia, 2020), the ICF and Speech Pathology Australia's Code of Ethics. Students will begin to apply these frameworks within reflective learning activities and professional practice activities.  Additionally, this unit contains a learning outcome from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Curriculum Framework (HCF, 2014) specifically addressing the HCF cultural capability- Humility and lifelong learning. The aim of this unit is to provide students with an introduction to speech pathology practice in Australia, and to the range of practice areas and settings within which speech pathologists work.  

Learning outcomes

To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.

Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.

Explore the graduate capabilities.

Content

Professional conduct

·      Professional Standards for Speech Pathology (PSSP; Speech Pathology Australia, 2020); Speech Pathology Australia Code of Ethics 

·      Mandatory documentation 

·      Academic and professional communication 

·      Professional Identity

·      Assessing competency in Speech Pathology (Professional Practice Assessment Tool [PPAT; ACU] and Competency Assessment in Speech Pathology [COMPASS TM; McAllister et al., 2013)

·      Definition of competency

·      How competency develops across the program

·      Professional reasoning

·      Evidence Based Practice

·      Holistic practice (including the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health [ICF; WHO, 2001])

·      Client centred/family centred practice 

·      Culturally safe and responsive practice 

·      First Peoples perspectives and cultural humility 

Reflective practice and lifelong learning

·      Introduction to reflective practice frameworks 

·      Introduction to transfer of skills

·      Learning and goal setting 

·      Professional associations and professional development 

Speech pathology practice 

·      Areas of practice, including speech, language, voice, fluency, swallowing and use of multi-modal communication  

·      Scope and settings of practice 

·      Service delivery 

Introduction to Community Engagement 

·      Community engagement and working with communities 

·      Principles of community engagement 

• Respect for human dignity 
• Mutuality and reciprocity 
• Forging partnerships for transformation 

·      Introduction to working with disadvantaged population groups 

·      Introduction to working with communities to build goals and capacity 

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

This unit fosters student-centred active learning and accommodates diverse student needs. It includes a combination of self-paced, online learning and real-time classes, including professional practice activities. Early and additional feedback on learning, and tailored support, are provided to facilitate students’ transition to university. A total of 150 hours of learning is expected for this unit. Online activities introduce students to key information about the speech pathology profession and include exposure to clinicians in the field and guest lecturers from a range of practice settings. Tutorials provide students with the opportunity to discuss information and to become more familiar with the speech pathology profession and standards/frameworks that govern speech pathology activities. The professional practice activities provide students with an opportunity to observe final year speech pathology students in particular setting/s to consolidate their learning about the profession. This unit facilitates development of both self-directed and collaborative learning strategies.

Assessment strategy and rationale

A range of assessment procedures will be used to meet the unit learning outcomes and develop graduate capabilities consistent with University assessment requirements.

The quizzes will enable students to demonstrate the acquisition of foundational knowledge about professional conduct and speech pathology practice, including areas of practice, speech pathology activities and settings in which speech pathologists work. The oral presentation will provide students with the opportunity to build skills in collaboration while demonstrating their ability to describe speech pathology practice and their understanding of frameworks that guide practice. This task will also enable students to use different communication technologies to present this information to a given audience. The learning and reflective journal will enable students to demonstrate their ability to reflect on the importance of communication and mealtime activities for individuals and society, speech pathology, links between culture, learning and communication, and to consider how these may influence their future clinical practice and personal learning goals.

Completion of the mandatory compliance documentation and the online community engagement learning module are hurdle tasks for this unit. These tasks allow students to demonstrate their ability to meet professional responsibilities, behave in an ethical way and understand the key community engagement concepts.

The purpose of completing the mandatory compliance documentation is to:

1.      ensure that students understand their responsibilities to clients, organisations and the University with regards to mandatory preparation for professional practice placements,

2.      ensure that all requirements are met to enable future community engagement and professional practice placements beyond SPHY101, and

3.      orient students to Placement Services, in preparation for future professional practice placements.

Completion of the online community engagement learning module will enable students to demonstrate that they have understood the key community engagement concepts such as promoting inclusion and equity, serving the common good, and enhancing the dignity and well-being of the disadvantaged and/or marginalised. All students at ACU are required to understand the University’s mission, values, and principles. SPHY101 introduces speech pathology students to the values and principles of community engagement in order to prepare them for undertaking community engagement next semester.

In order to pass this unit students must: 

• demonstrate achievement of every learning outcome, and 
• obtain a minimum mark of 50% for the unit, and 
• achieve a mark of 50% or greater in Assessment 3 which is a graded hurdle (the only assessment of LO5), and 
• achieve a satisfactory result in the two ungraded hurdles.

Where students achieve a cumulative mark of 50% or more for the unit, overall, but do not achieve a mark of 50% or greater in Assessment 3 they will be offered one further attempt in Assessment 3. If students pass this further assessment, they will pass the unit and their original mark will be the final unit mark. If students fail the further assessment, they will fail the unit. Students who receive an unsatisfactory result in the hurdles, will receive one further attempt for each hurdle. 

Overview of assessments

Representative texts and references

Cook, K., Tillard, G., Wyles, C., Gerhard, D., Ormond, T., & McAuliffe, M. (2019). Assessing and developing the written reflective practice skills of speech-language pathology students. International Journal of Speech language Pathology, 21(1), 4-55. https://doi.org/10.1080/17549507.2017.1374463 

Hoffman, T., Bennett, S., & Del Mar, C. (2017). Evidence-based practice across the health professions (3rd ed.). Elsevier Australia. 

McAllister, S., Lincoln, M., Ferguson, A. & McAllister, L. (2013). COMPASS®: Competency assessment in speech pathology technical manual (2nd ed.). Speech Pathology Australia.  

Speech Pathology Australia. Code of Ethics. https://www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au/Public/Public/About-Us/Ethics-and-standards/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics.aspx?hkey=33c84f2c-2bf2-47b0-b201-d5f5616fb191

Speech Pathology Australia. Professional Standards for Speech Pathologists in Australia. https://www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au/Public/Public/About-Us/Ethics-and-standards/Professional-standards/Professional-Standards.aspx?hkey=34af6d1a-2b96-411b-a4ed-90f0a8aae27c

Speech Pathology Australia. Scope of Practice. https://www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au/Public/Public/About-Us/Ethics-and-standards/Scope-of-Practice.aspx?hkey=6e4daa08-aa40-4489-aede-f2faf685b4ef

World Health Organisation. (2023). International classification of functioning, disability and health [online resource]. https://www.who.int/standards/classifications/international-classification-of-functioning-disability-and-health