Speak Out October 2020 DIGITAL EDITION FINAL

Speech Pathology Week excitement and preparations had been building from very early on in 2020. Australian Catholic University’s Speech Pathology Student Society Melbourne (SPSSM) worked hard to make the society’s first ever Speech Pathology Week celebrations a hit. We admit, the committee were initially stumped on how to support student members and celebrate in the face of the pandemic. But we rallied together and brainstormed ideas, ensuring the celebrations continued despite restrictions and city-wide lockdowns. It began Tuesday night with a virtual professional development event, ‘Speech in Practice!’ A panel of three speech pathologists from different practice areas shared insights and knowledge to explore with students the job diversity within our profession. Ms Audrey Price highlighted the difficulty clinicians face in acute and sub-acute care in the current climate. She emphasised the importance of family and friend support in assisting patients’ communicative rehabilitation. Given that patients now had little-to-no visiting privileges, it was more important than ever for allied health staff to frequently check-in with patients. Ms Marina Hennes shared her experience of transitioning to an online platform for her role in education. She outlined how the circumstances pushed her to think innovatively and creatively to keep students engaged. Dr Samantha Turner explained her work in paediatric speech and language and her experiences in research. Dr Turner discussed the ongoing need for more research to guide our treatment and intervention. Our panel shared their own experiences, providing the student audience with valuable advice, which we’ll apply as we get nearer to leaving the comfort and support of university and venture out as certified speech pathologists. The night concluded with attendees feeling inspired and optimistic about their future work to support people to communicate with confidence! Students were up and about early Wednesday morning to celebrate ‘Schwa Day’—a day of relaxation in recognition of the unstressed vowel. We organised an online, instructor-led, yoga session with the support of The Track, ACU North Sydney. The session targeted stress-relief and concluded with meditation. It was an ideal opportunity for students to take some time for themselves, to reflect, to Inaugural ACU Speech Pathology Week SP Week 2020

Association NEWS

unwind and engage in some light physical activity in the virtual company of their fellow student peers. Formal celebrations concluded with a virtual trivia night. Members had a wonderful time catching up with friends, making new ones and welcoming new members and first year students. It’s been a tough year for first year students who’ve had limited opportunity to establish and consolidate connections. The society is making a conscious effort to support them, and this was a safe and welcoming environment to do so. Questions tested our speech pathology, popular culture and general knowledge. A big congratulations to all participants following three close and competitive rounds! All three events organised by the ACU’s student committee were an overwhelming success, nearing 100 virtual attendees for the week. The organised events engaged attendees and were enjoyable and accessible despite the online delivery. The week was testament to the team’s hard work, dedication and creativity in planning and execution. While initially daunted by the prospect of online delivery, we realised it enabled us to support student members Australia wide, brining together students from ACU Brisbane and North Sydney campuses too! SPSSM would like to

thank all guest speakers and instructors for giving their time and expertise, ACU faculty for providing support and guidance in coordinating and planning and of course everyone who attended! Happy Speech Pathology Week! Excitement is already building for 2021. TOP: Students join in the ACU SP Week Trivia Night. Right: An ACU yoga session provided reflection and light activity during SP Week.

25

October 2020 | Speak Out