Unit rationale, description and aim
Speech pathologists are expected to engage in professional reasoning, drawing on their various knowledge bases, practice frameworks (EBP, ICF, person /family-centred care) and client/context factors, in order to provide evidence based assessment and intervention to individuals with communication and/or swallowing difficulties. This is one of two units that provide students with the opportunity to apply their professional (clinical) reasoning skills to case scenarios, covering the breadth of communication and swallowing needs outlined in the Professional Standards for Speech Pathologists in Australia (e.g., speech, language, voice, fluency, multi-modal communication and swallowing).
In this unit, case scenarios will provide a platform for reflection, discussion, problem solving and decision making. Students will work through cases focused on a paediatric population with communication and/or swallowing disorders. This population aligns with the caseload for their professional practice experiences this semester.
In previous units, students have demonstrated their understanding of theoretical content associated with paediatric communication and swallowing practice areas and drawn upon this to plan assessment and intervention when impairment/s affected a single communication or swallowing area. In this unit, students will revisit content taught in earlier units but with increased complexity. The aim of this unit is for students to demonstrate knowledge and skills commensurate with readiness to enter the profession across multiple communication and/or swallowing areas for paediatric clients which is required for future professional practice.
Finally, this unit contains a learning outcome from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Curriculum Framework (HCF, 2014) specifically addressing advocacy and equitable access to health care.
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.
Critically analyse, interpret, and integrate infor...
Learning Outcome 01
Apply ethical, holistic, person/family-centred and...
Learning Outcome 02
Interact in a professional manner, and communicate...
Learning Outcome 03
Learning Outcome 04
Content
Topics will include:
Speech Pathology Australia practice areas of:
Communication
- Speech
- Language
- Voice
- Fluency
- Multimodal communication
Swallowing
- Mealtimes management and/or feeding
Speech Pathology Practice in the areas of Communication and Swallowing for adult populations:
- assessment
- analysis, interpretation, diagnosis and reporting appropriate to the audience
- planning speech pathology intervention
- implementing and evaluating speech pathology intervention
Professional Conduct
- providing ethical and evidence-based practice (using frameworks such as the Speech Pathology Australia Code of Ethics, EBP framework, ICF framework, and person/family centred care)
- providing safe and quality services (including culturally safe and responsive services)
- collaborating with clients and their supports
- collaborating with our colleagues (inter-professional practice)
Reflective Practice and Life-Long Learning
- demonstrating self-awareness
- identifying learning issues and planning personal development goals
- acquiring and integrating knowledge from a range of sources
- engaging in learning with other students
Assessment strategy and rationale
The assessments enable students to demonstrate their ability to undertake professional reasoning and resolve clinical dilemmas with adult clients; however, they will focus on different standards and elements from the Professional Standards for Speech Pathologists in Australia (PSSPA). This is a requirement of the accrediting body, Speech Pathology Australia, to ensure students only pass the unit when they have demonstrated readiness to enter the profession across practice areas and domains and standards of the PSSPA for the portion of the lifespan addressed.
OVERVIEW OF ASSESSMENTS
To pass this unit, students must:
- submit all assessment tasks and are required to:
- obtain a cumulative mark that is equal to or greater than 50% of the possible unit marks available; AND
- achieve the stipulated pass standard or greater on both Assessment 1 and Assessment 2 (these assessments are graded hurdles which must be passed to pass the unit)
Re-attempt provisions for Graded Hurdle assessments
A student who does not pass a graded hurdle assessment task on their first attempt will be offered one further opportunity to reattempt the task. The re-attempt assessment task will be of equal complexity and difficulty to the original task. If the assessment task is passed on the second attempt, the student can only receive a maximum final grade of 50% of the total marks available for the assessment task. If the assessment task is failed on the second attempt, the student will not pass the unit.
Overview of assessments
Assessment 1 : Case-based written exam (Graded Hu...
Assessment 1: Case-based written exam (Graded Hurdle)
Students are required to respond independently to case
Scenario(s) involving adults with difficulties across communication and/or swallowing practice areas.
50%
MUST PASS
in order to
pass unit
Assessment 2 : Oral viva (Graded Hurdle) Students...
Assessment 2: Oral viva (Graded Hurdle)
Students are required to respond independently to a series of questions relating to an adult case scenario (s).
50%
MUST PASS
in order to
pass unit
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
This unit utilises an inquiry-based learning framework. Students are presented with unfamiliar adult cases and need to work both autonomously and collaboratively to reflect on their current knowledge bases, identify and resolve gaps in their learning and in their knowledge about the case, then discuss and seek solutions to any clinical dilemmas. Inquiry-based learning is a student-centred learning approach that promotes self-directed independent and interdependent lifelong learning.
In this unit students will undertake learning activities that provide opportunities for consolidation of professional conduct, reflective practice, life-long learning and speech pathology practice. These activities will require students to create assessment plans, analyse, interpret, diagnose and report on assessments and create management plans for adult cases which involve multiple communication and/or swallowing practice areas. Students will utilise, apply and expand on knowledge gained during previous theoretical and practical units from the Bachelor of Speech Pathology. Cases will also present students with additional considerations related to cultural, moral, ethical, legal, occupational, social/emotional and/or service delivery factors that reflect authentic scenarios that may be encountered in professional practice.