Speak Out June 2019

SPOTLIGHT ON PROFESSIONAL SUPPORT

SPA recently welcomed Nate Cornish-Raley to National Office. Nate will be available to assist members to access professional support including supervision and mentoring. Nate will also provide support and develop resources for SPA’s early career members. Nate has started in the role for one day per week but will be working at National Office three days week from the end of July. Nate qualified as a speech pathologist in the US and has recently moved permanently to Australia. Nathan has been involved in training mentors and developing mentoring programs. He has also acted as a mentor for new clinicians. Nathan has been recognised as a bi-lingual speech pathologist by ASHA and is also a member of ASHA’s Telepractice Special Interest Group. “I feel honoured to step into the role of Professional Support Advisor for SPA. I have 14 years of experience as a speech pathologist in the United States in a variety of clinical settings. During much of that time I helped new career professionals gain the skills they need to serve dual-language clients. Most recently I have been supporting speech pathologists, and some of our colleagues in related professions, to apply their skills to the telepractice setting. Mentoring other clinicians as they grow in the field has been one of my most rewarding professional experiences, and I am very excited to have the opportunity to do this through SPA. I look forward to working with and learning from you!” SPA is excited to welcome Nate to the team. You can contact him at psa@ speechpathologyaustralia.org.au New Professional Support Advisor (PSA) joins the SPA team

Getting the most out of mentoring partnerships

AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE SPEECH PATHOLOGY AUSTRALIA MENTORING PROGRAM IS ONGOING SUPPORT AND EVALUATION OF THE PROGRAM AND INDIVIDUAL PARTNERSHIPS.

2. Are there systems in place to ensure the partnership is ongoing for at least six to 12 months? If it has been agreed that mentees will contact mentors “as needed” there is more opportunity for partnerships to lose momentum and focus. Setting goals and scheduling contact at regular intervals, for example monthly, helps to ensure time is set aside for reflective practice for both the mentee and mentor, helps maintain focus on goals and ensures each person gets the most out of the partnership. For any information about the Speech Pathology Australia Mentoring Program go to: www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au/members/mentoring For information about supervision go to: www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au/members/ supervision

One of the ways this is achieved is through phone contact with mentees and mentors in the program two months into their partnership. This is a great way for us to find out key issues arising for mentees and mentors and to provide support at this early stage of the partnership. The majority of mentees and mentors report high levels of satisfaction with their partnerships and few report any issues with the partnership. Two key issues for mentees and mentors to be mindful of are: 1. Is mentoring being used as a substitute for clinical supervision? If the mentor is spending more than two hours per month (one hour per month is recommended) and/or discussions are predominantly focusing on developing clinical competence. If this is the case it is advised that options to establish regular clinical supervision for the mentee are explored.

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June 2019 www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au

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