SpeakOut_Feb2014_electronic

ASSOCIATION NEWS

Professional Support Advisor HI EVERYONE . I’m back! I was pleased to be employed as the project officer to review SPA’s Mentoring Program as I had previously

researchers and academics, we have members and representation from every state and territory. The nature of palliative care is changing as we keep people alive for longer. People are receiving palliative care for longer but living with increasing periods of debility and functional decline. Palliative care is often seen as synonymous with terminal care. However, terminal care, while part of the disease trajectory, only relates to the last days to hours of life. Prior to this time, research demonstrates that people retain an ongoing desire to participate as actively as possible in the life that remains. Allied Health have a pivotal role to play in the management and care of people receiving palliative care to optimise function and to facilitate participation in everyday activities for as long as people are able. AAHPC seeks to provide a forum to engage and support Allied Health clinicians and academics who have a vision to: • expand the allied health profile in palliative care to relevant disciplines, professional bodies, academic communities, State and Federal Governments; • conduct research and implement evidence- based allied health practice in palliative care; and The impetus behind AAHPC is to achieve best possible outcomes for patients and their families. If you are interested in finding out more about AAHPC’s strategic focus and objectives please contact Deidre Morgan: deidre.morgan@flinders. edu.au or Pauline Cerdor: apcerdor@bigpond. com . • connect and inform clinicians.

worked as the National Coordinator of the Mentoring Program and have a strong commitment to the success of the program. In between leaving and returning I completed a PhD and accreditation in Video Interaction Guidance. I have continued to work as a

Speech Pathologist at Able Australia in the Deafblind Services team and working on research projects at Deakin, Melbourne and Monash Universities (not all at once). I’m really looking forward to working with you all in this new role to develop high quality resources related to professional support focusing on mentoring and supervision in particular.

Changes to mentoring program and professional support for members

The Speech Pathology Australia Mentoring Program was reviewed at the end of 2013 as it was recognised that the existing program had a number of issues which required addressing. These included: • inconsistencies between states and territories depending on the presence or absence of then Branch Mentoring Leaders, • issues related to mentees seeking mentoring as a substitute for supervision, in the absence of supervision being provided in their workplace, • mentees being matched with mentors but then lacking commitment to the mentoring process for a variety of reasons including finding they had better support in their workplace than they were anticipating, • more mentees registering than mentors. To address these issues as well as streamlining the matching process, the program has become more mentee driven with mentees now expected to undertake their own search for a mentor. It is envisaged that this process will assist: • mentees to discover a variety of other professional support options available to them, • only mentees committed to the process to register with the program, • the time it takes to be matched to a mentor to be directly proportional to the motivation of the mentee, • to reflect more at the outset upon their needs and preferences with regard to what they want from a mentoring partnership. Mentees and mentors interested in participating in the program should go to www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au . If you have any questions regarding mentoring, supervision, or other professional support options, please contact me on 1300 368 835 or via psa@speechpathologyaustralia.org.au .

2014 Online Resource Guide now available! Speech Pathology Australia’s 2014 Online

Resource Guide provides members and the public with a reference manual of products and services which may be of use. The Online Resource Guide is

an interactive resource, complete with links to websites and email addresses, and enabled to be conveniently viewed on portable devices such as mobile phones and tablets. To view the 2014 Online Resource Guide, click on the Publications menu on our website.

MEREDITH PRAIN Professional Support Advisor (Tuesday only)

Speak Out February 2014

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www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au