Speak Out April 2020 DIGITAL VERSION. pdf

Branch News

Western Australia

WA 1218 members as at March 2020

Elizabeth Flowers with client Gordon MacLeod during her year- long placement.

An Australian "first" Speech pathology year-long student placement

The WA Centre for Rural Health (WACRH) has expanded its semester long final year student placement to offer a year-long, final year clinical placement in partnership with Edith Cowan University (ECU). WACRH is one of 16 University Departments of Rural Health (UDRH) in Australia and has been working for 21 years to provide high quality rural clinical placements for allied health and nursing students. In February 2020 the Geraldton and Mid West community welcomed Elizabeth Flowers for her year-long immersive placement with WACRH as part of her final year speech pathology degree through ECU, Perth. The year-long program is part of WACRH’s future rural health workforce strategy which aims to boost students’ intention to work rurally following graduation. This new program complements the existing semester long placement program (completing both paediatric and adult entry level COMPASS) that WACRH has offered for six years with students coming from four different Australian universities. WACRH’s academic clinical educators Kathryn

Fitzgerald and Belinda Goodale are excited about the benefits of the year-long program for students and the community. ECU Clinical Coordinator Abigail Lewis has adapted curriculum requirements to suit this new placement structure and is also keen to explore this placement structure for future students. Geraldton is a regional centre of approximately 38 000 people and is located on the coast 420km north of Perth, Western Australia. Geraldton and the wider area of the Mid West supports a mix of fishing, mining and agriculture. It has all the major services, sporting, shopping and cultural activities you need with a more laid back lifestyle. Aboriginal people in the Geraldton and mid west have a strong culture and identity. The Yamaji people include many Aboriginal groups and Yamaji people make up about 10 per cent of the total population. Learning from and with Yamaji people is a key component to a student placement with WACRH. Placement structure Elizabeth will live in accommodation provided by WACRH from February until November and complete her placement part-time. The

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April 2020 www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au

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