Speak Out April 2021

member PROFILE

Private practice has become a major player in the provision of speech and language assessment and intervention services across the past 10 years. Providing services in "earlier times" was mainly in the domain of hospitals and community health environments in NSW. Meredith and Geraldine were pioneers joining the ranks of approximately one dozen speech pathologists in private practice (NSW) in 1983! Meredith and Geraldine (Gerry) commenced their partnership after Meredith filled a locum position at Liverpool Area Health Centre made available when Gerry took maternity leave. When Gerry was ready to return to work, Meredith had given birth to her second child and the rest was history! What do you think has been the secret? MEREDITH: I think that our goals initially, to work part time while bringing up children, were shared. We babysat each other’s babies while sharing office space, a room in Gerry’s home! GERRY : We have both valued our professional responsibilities by remaining members of SPA and maintaining active roles in our local private practice network. In the early days of working together, this meant travelling to Sydney a number of times a year to meet up with others in private practice for professional development and networking. Your practice has had longevity. How do you think this has lasted? MEREDITH: We have always seen our clients as the most important factor in managing our business. Both Gerry and Meredith Oxley and Geraldine (Gerry) Vyse have enjoyed and successfully navigated a successful professional relationship and a long, lasting friendship across almost 40 years. They spill the beans on the secrets to their success and offer salient advice to other clinicians. An enduring partnership

myself have ensured that our professional development and skill level is maintained. We have both done Master’s degrees in our interest areas and this has increased our knowledge base and abilities. GERRY: By being prepared to be flexible and open to new ways of working and being receptive to the changing needs of our clients. Most important is that we have supported each other through the inevitable "down" days and have worked together to find solutions when barriers pop up. In saying this, we have had so many reasons to celebrate during our working life together and we never take our friendship or our working relationship for granted. Do you see many differences in your practice compared to other practices? MEREDITH : One obvious difference is that we don’t employ staff. This has some benefits, as we have total control over the therapy we offer. Gerry and I have a close relationship and have always supported each other and provided a sounding board when needed. Our husbands report that we "think like each other"! GERRY: I think a major factor here is that we started the practice together and that we had the same goals from the outset. We initially sought advice from those more experienced and the we had to decide how it was going to work for each of us. We started slowly and built gradually so that we were in control every step of the way. What differences have you noticed across your 37 years of providing therapy in private practice? MEREDITH: The types of communication difficulties have certainly increased in complexity as the knowledge

42

Speak Out | April 2021