Speak Out June 2019

Ethics

Consider this scenario... Estela is a new graduate, brimming with enthusiasm and current knowledge of speech pathology theory and the latest evidence for a range of interventions. Estela had a student placement in a private practice in her home town and at the end of the placement Kora, the owner, approached her to start discussions about possibly working in the practice. Estela is amazed that she could be so lucky – a job may be falling in her lap! Estela calls Kora and organises a meeting to discuss plans for the job. The meeting goes well, Estela leaves with a contract and a start date and an understanding that she will initially see clients with less complex presentations while she “finds her feet”. Kora seems to be excited too, as she has not employed anyone before and talked about how she will enjoy having a colleague to work with. The discussion touched on Estela’s conditions of employment with reference to allowing time for reading and preparation, and that Kora will observe a few sessions that Estela chooses, to provide feedback and support. 6 weeks later… Estela is demoralised. She has just emailed Kora again to try to find a time to meet with her. Kora said she was doing a great job with her clients but that she doesn’t have any time available for a few weeks, so Estela should just “keep going the way she has been.” The email back to Estela did include a statement that has her worried. Kora wrote, “However, I do need to remind you that you should be seeing more clients in a day, to reach your KPI as agreed in your contract.” That comment was more formal than the rest of the email and Estela is worried that Kora may be leading up to disciplining her in some way. Estela feels like she is already working flat out! Her caseload includes clients with a wide range of difficulties that Productivity in private practice SPA support and resources

must be addressed, but she doesn’t have enough time to read up on them all. The promise of regular support and feedback from Kora has not materialised, and Estela is feeling out of her depth with some clients, as well as with time management. And now she needs to increase the number of appointments she has in a day…. Productivity – resources and support from SPA Productivity is a topic that many speech pathologists are keen to know about, as either an employer or employee, yet are unsure what is appropriate to discuss or where to start the conversation. When Estela calls National Office for advice and support she is very relieved to hear that it is appropriate for her to persevere with asking Kora for a time to meet, and that she can let Kora know that finding a time soon is very important. Estela is pleased to hear that there is information available for her to consider and use in discussions with Kora. Estela is assisted to develop a list of topics she can bring up in the meeting with Kora as well as some tips on how to go about that discussion. Topics for that meeting may be: • her workload including time to read, plan for sessions, prepare resources, why some clients take her more time to prepare for; • the mix of clients she is seeing; • her need for support from Kora, or an external supervisor; • scheduling supervision in the form of meetings and clinical observation; and, • professional development activities the business will support. Information available on the SPA website that may be useful for Estela to read and take to her discussion with Kora include: • The KPIs specified in her contract, i.e. what are the expectations of her employer, that Estela agreed to when signing the contract. • The SPA FAQ on productivity.

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June 2019 www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au

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