Speak Out August 2018

ACT/NSW Branch Rural and Remote survey results

At the beginning of 2018, Bianca Lyons filled our rural & remote representative position which had been vacant for some time. We felt that we needed to reconnect with our rural & remote members and see how we could support them better. The ACT/NSW Branch asked current members working in rural and remote areas to complete a survey so that we would be able to better support these members. We had a total of 52 members that completed the survey. The diagram below provides a quick snapshot of the current work regions of the responders.

As professional development was important to many responding members, a further question was asked about what range of practice they would like to see covered and presented in regional/ rural areas. The top 5 range of practices responders would like to see were: 1. Developmental Language Disorders 2. Disability Field 3. Developmental Speech Disorders 4. Multimodal Communication 5. Dysphagia The preferred method for the rural/remote members to participate in a Speech Pathology Australia event is in person, however attending face-to-face events involves additional costs including travel and accommodation expenses. Some of the responders commented that having access to university journal databases would be beneficial to help gain access to recent research regarding complex cases that are not seen every day. Another responder commented an idea that Speech Pathology Australia could help with providing more ‘business and/or professional events focussed on rural issues’. The ACT/NSW Branch will use this information and collaborate with Speech Pathology Australia’s National Office to continue to support our rural and remote speech pathologists. A regional continuing professional development event is currently being planned. We have also started a mailing list which will provide an opportunity for ACT/NSW Branch to share information and support rural & remote members. If you would like to view the entire results of the survey or join the mailing list please email ACT/NSW Branch at ACTNSWBranch@ speechpathologyaustralia.org.au

Members were asked what role of Speech Pathology Australia was important to them; majority of the responders believed that professional development was very important, and many members also felt that advocacy, professional standards and networking events were important.

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August 2018 www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au

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