Speak Out June 2020

Mentoring & supervision

In the wake of COVID-19, many speech pathologists have turned to telepractice for the first time. Ideally, those who are new to telepractice would be able to receive clinical supervision from someone with experience in this area. However, due to the rapid uptake of this method of service delivery and the relatively few clinicians who engaged in telepractice prior to the outbreak, the availability of experienced supervisors will likely outpace the demand. So how can those who offer clinical supervision provide appropriate support in an area where they may have little experience? Become familiar with policy and resources Speech Pathology Australia has a variety of documents and resources available to help you learn about telepractice. Many of these are housed on the new Telepractice Resources page, and include the Association’s Position Statement on Telepractice, FAQs on Telepractice and Technology, Privacy and Security. There is also updated information on telepractice and Medicare, DVA and Private Health Funds . You may review these with your supervisee and ensure that you both understand recommended policies and procedures. Engage in professional development Take the opportunity to upskill in this area. SPA’s Learning Hub has a variety of PD activities, some at no cost, that can help you to become more knowledgeable about remote service delivery in different areas of practice. This includes a series of webisodes recently produced for the Association covering topics such as Family Centred-Services, Paediatric and Adult Dysphagia, Risk Management and Considerations, IT Considerations, and Complex Disability Services. You can find updated professional development opportunities on SPA’s Telepractice Resources page. Model skills in identifying EBP Part of a supervisor’s responsibility is to help supervisees learn how to identify, analyse and implement evidence-based strategies. Model these skills to your supervisee as you determine what evidence exists to answer your telepractice-related clinical Supervision in the era of telepractice

questions using resources such as SpeechBITE . Analyse the value of resources together. Use SPA’s worksheet ' Ethical decision making: Should I use this therapy approach? ' together

to jointly determine clinical decisions. Practise, practise, practise

Although we cannot recreate a clinical situation for supervisees, role-playing and practising procedures through telepractice together ahead of time can create learning opportunities. These include things like offering feedback on the environment, navigating technical and procedural issues, practice guidance the clinicians will need to offer an onsite support person, etc. The more familiar a clinician is with the processes they will use during telepractice, the better able they are to focus on service delivery and clinical questions that arise. Review your supervision agreement and goals Review the goals you have set and revise them for the new context. Identify any short and medium-term learning needs your supervisee has and form a strategic plan for addressing them. Make any needed updates to the frequency and delivery of supervision (e.g. offering sessions remotely). Make a plan to revise the agreement and goals as the situation continues to evolve. Share your expertise Those who are listed on the Supervision Register are now able to indicate their ability to offer supervision specifically in telepractice. If you or someone you know may be able to offer clinical supervision in telepractice, we encourage you to share your information on the Supervision Register. Members who have queries about professional support in the area of telepractice and other areas of practice, are invited to contact the Professional Support Advisor at psa@ speechpathologyaustralia.org.au.

Nathan Cornish-Raley Professional Support Advisor

Have you visited the new Member Learning Hub? www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au/lms

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June 2020 www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au

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