JCPSLP Vol 23, Issue 1 2021

Speech pathology: An agile and responsive profession

Top 10 Responsive speech-language pathology services during COVID-19 and beyond Madeline Raatz

4 Telepractice Many speech pathologists embraced telepractice before and during COVID-19. It’s important to consider how you will continue to integrate telepractice into your usual clinical care as tele practice may support speech pathology responsiveness by enabling earlier access to services (Burns et al., 2019), reducing the burden associated with accessing care (Collins et al., 2017; Fairweather et al., 2016) and increasing service and consumer flexibility. There are two free iLearn packages (https://ilearn.health.qld.gov. au/d2l/login) to support clinicians offering feeding/ dysphagia services via telepractice – (a) “Conducting Clinical Swallowing Examinations via Tele practice – eLearning program” and (b) “Tele practice for the delivery of paediatric feeding services”. 5 Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) checklists Being able to read and rapidly apply evidence is a key skill for speech pathologists, but reading, interpreting and critiquing journal articles can sometimes be difficult. The Critical Appraisal Skills Programme provides checklists to help health professionals “make sense” of research (https:// casp-uk.net/casp-tools-checklists/). They provide eight appraisal checklists designed for use with different types of research (e.g., systematic review, cohort study, qualitative study) and each checklist guides you through a series of questions to help you determine if the study is valid, if their methods are sound, and the applicability of the results. 6 Use technology to your advantage Technology advancements have supported the development of a range of innovative clinical tools. For example, platforms such as QGlobal support web-based test administration, scoring and reporting, while other platforms provide access to online resources and education tools. There are also a range of new products, like the TelScope oral telehealth system for capturing intraoral examination, and emerging evidence for novel technology- based treatment modalities like virtual reality. 7 Partner with consumers Partnering with consumers is a key step to ensure that your services are responsive to their needs. You should carefully consider what you would like to achieve through consumer partnership, as this will affect what strategies you use and who you approach. Your local Health Consumers organisation can be a good source of information and connections (e.g. https://chf.org.au/; http://www.hcq.org. au/). More information about this National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) standard is available online: https://www.safetyandquality.gov.au/faqs-about-partnering- consumers-nsqhs-standards-second-edition.

1 Be culturally responsive Being a culturally responsive practitioner is important for ensuring that your services are inclusive and respectful of people’s individual backgrounds, beliefs and values. Cultural responsiveness draws on cultural awareness, sensitivity, safety and competence and is important for all social and cultural groups. Being a culturally responsive clinician is an ongoing learning and reflective practice. NSW Health has some great tips for getting started (https://www.aci.health. nsw.gov.au/resources/primary-health/consumer-enablement/ guide/how-to-support-enablement/culturally-responsive- practice) and Children’s Health Queensland has a free eLearning package for working with interpreters and translators (https://www.childrens.health.qld.gov.au/e-learning-package- working-with-interpreters-and-translators/). 2 Online professional development Professional development opportunities are increasingly being offered online (either live or on-demand). This is excellent for speech pathologists as not only has it increased the equity and flexibility of access, it also means we are able to participate in overseas courses and events that we previously may not have been able to attend. Within the area of paediatric feeding there are free online professional development activities such as the Paediatric Feeding Learning Framework Novice and Foundation level courses. Free registration for an account is available at this address: https://ilearn.health.qld.gov.au/d2l/login. 3 Journal alerts Many journals and databases allow you to set up alerts for topics of interest. This can be a useful tool to reduce the amount of time you need to spend searching for newly published research. After specifying your search terms (e.g., [Paediatric OR pediatric OR infant OR child*] AND [dysphagia OR feed* OR swallow]) you can choose how often you want to receive the alerts (e.g., monthly) and then all newly published articles fitting these search terms will be emailed to you! is also completing her PhD at the University of Queensland investigating the delivery of paediatric feeding assessments via telepractice. In this column, Madeline shares her Top 10 tips and resources for being a responsive speech pathologist during COVID-19 and beyond. Madeline Raatz (@madelineraatz) is a speech pathologist who has worked in a range of clinical areas, with her most recent clinical and research experiences focused on the area of paediatric feeding. She works at the Queensland Children’s Hospital and

44

JCPSLP Volume 23, Number 1 2021

Journal of Clinical Practice in Speech-Language Pathology