Speak Out August 2020 DIGITAL EDITION

New ways of working

Our newly graduated superheroes THE PREVIOUS EDITION OF SPEAK OUT PRESENTED COVID-19 EXPERIENCES NATION-WIDE WITH PERSPECTIVES FROM ALL AREAS OF OUR PROFESSION. WE HEARD FROM EXPERIENCED SPEECH PATHOLOGISTS ON THE LOWS (AND HIGHS) OF REMOTE PRACTICE, BUT WHAT OF OUR NEWGRADUATES? by Kimberley Knight, BA MSLP CPSP Victoria Branch Editor Starting a new profession is hard enough; starting a new profession at the dawn of a pandemic seems unthinkable, yet our new graduates did it.

Stephanie Verga was a fourth-year student at the Australian Catholic University, Victoria in 2019. This year Stephanie began her career with Everyday Independence as a member of the North Eastern, Epping Hub. So, just how weird is this year for a new graduate? We interviewed Stephanie to find out. Did you start your position during COVID-19? I began my role as a new graduate speech pathologist in January 2020. I was trying to settle into my new role and find my feet in the world of telehealth when it started. While you were studying did you have any visions for what your first year out might look like? I did. I spoke to new graduates who said they’d learnt so much on the job. This was comforting because I was unsure how I could possibly remember four years of content and apply it well. I hoped for a position that would bring out the best in me, professionally and personally, a position that would nurture my growth, provide mentoring support and opportunity to develop a work-life balance. I was fearful of not being good enough and, as a result, not seeing progress in my participants—would I be good enough to make a difference in the lives of the participants and families I was supporting? What were your first thoughts when news of the virus broke? "Surely it won’t affect me!" and then it did. I thought, "how am I possibly going to settle into my role and learn telehealth?" But I remained positive and carried on, day-by-day, month-by-month. How did your workplace respond? Their response was quite swift. Therapists were expected to ask COVID-19 restriction questions prior to attending appointments, create pivot in therapy structures to alter participants outcomes to reflect current times. They also encouraged sanitising and social distancing and kept us up to date each step of the way.

"I feel like COVID-19 has been a blessing in disguise for my participants."

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Speak Out | August 2020