Unit rationale, description and aim
Graduates need to be well prepared for entry into the workplace with a sound understanding of expectations and processes. Speech pathologists are required to understand and comply with workplace systems, policies, legislation, regulations, guidelines and codes of conduct, including professional guidelines. Furthermore, speech pathologists must consider implications for client services and advocate appropriately for the needs and rights of people with communication and/or swallowing disorders. Workplaces will vary in their purpose, client population, facilities, context, service delivery strategies, pace, work hours and conditions.
Employers seek graduates with professional and personal skills, attributes, and attitudes that will enable them to be successful in their workplace. Graduates need to possess a clear understanding of their own work readiness and how to seek and obtain employment. Graduates with poor work readiness are at risk of undue stress, low job satisfaction and unsatisfactory performance. It is therefore relevant to explore work readiness to prepare speech pathology graduates for successful work entry.
This unit contains a learning outcome from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Curriculum Framework (HCF, 2014) specifically addressing the HCF cultural capability- Respect.
This unit aims to prepare students to work in a variety of settings by developing their understanding of workplaces, professional expectations and how to negotiate job recruitment processes.
Learning outcomes
To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.
Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.
Explore the graduate capabilities.
Critically reflect on, and articulate professional...
Learning Outcome 01
Apply knowledge of workplace environments that sup...
Learning Outcome 02
Demonstrate critical thinking and innovation to pr...
Learning Outcome 03
HCF 3.3* Design strategies for delivering cultural...
Learning Outcome 04
Content
Topics will include:
The peak professional body for speech pathologists in Australia: Speech Pathology Australia
- Membership benefits
- Position statements
- Clinical guidelines
- Resources for members
- Professional standards
- Ethics
Caseload management and service delivery
- Service delivery models
- Teamwork and interprofessional practice
- Decision-making
- Inequities
- Advocacy
- Culturally responsive practice
Workplace settings: Purpose, scope and policies of sectors employing speech pathologists across Australian jurisdictions and contexts
- Health
- Education
- Disability
- Private Practice
- Rural and Remote
Workplace, practices, guidelines and standards
- Attributes and skills required by employers
- Hierarchies and administrative structures
- Occupational Health and Safety
- Bullying, discrimination and harassment
- Awards and unions
Work Readiness
- The concept of work readiness
- Measurement and evaluation of work readiness
- Work readiness as a self-reflective, self-management process
Job seeking processes and career development
- Job applications
- Job interviews
- Negotiating conditions
Positive workplace environments
- Characteristics
- Strategies for creating positivity
- Strategies for dealing with difficult people/situations
Assessment strategy and rationale
This unit adopts an authentic assessment approach by requiring students to demonstrate knowledge and application of professional workplace and service delivery parameters, work readiness, self-management and job-seeking processes. The assessment strategies for this unit include two individual assignments with written and oral components and a group presentation.
Authentic individual tasks with both written and oral components will require students to demonstrate their ability to write a job application and participate in an interview.
Assessment 1 will require students to respond to an advertised position and consider how their personal attributes, experiences and work readiness relate to the job and person description, and their use of culturally safe practices. Learning outcomes 1 and 4 will be assessed in this task.
Assessment 2 will require students to reflect on their personal work readiness and preferred work environment, to negotiate suitable employment conditions and respond to questions about service development. The negotiation of employment conditions will be in response to a mock job offer which presents some challenges for self and the common good. Learning outcomes 1, 2 and 3 will be assessed in this task.
Assessment 3 will provide opportunity for students to collaboratively develop a proposal for a new or alternative speech pathology service and present it as a pitch to a service manager. Students will need to consider health and wellbeing of staff and culturally safe service provision for both Australia’s First Peoples and migrant populations in responding to a service need. Service development is rarely a solo task but will synthesise contributions from a team of developers. The assessment will thus require individuals to demonstrate how they have contributed to each phase of project development. Learning outcomes 2, 3 and 4 will be assessed in this task.
Overview of assessments
Assessment 1: Individual written task - Applying ...
Assessment 1: Individual written task - Applying for a Job.
This enables students to apply for a speech pathology position through a written application.
50%
Assessment 2: Individual oral task - Job intervie...
Assessment 2: Individual oral task - Job interview.
This enables students to reflect on their personal work readiness, participate in an interview and negotiate suitable employment conditions.
25%
Assessment 3: Group oral presentation task - Serv...
Assessment 3: Group oral presentation task - Service Development.
This enables students to demonstrate capacity to develop a new or extended service development proposal within a small team, with consideration of relevant guidelines.
25%
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
This unit applies a flexible, multimodal learning approach to accommodate the varied placement schedules of fourth year students. Students will engage with content from a variety of sources including input from industry partners, published literature and government and organizational websites. Interactive learning sessions will be available in face to face and online modes. Students will be guided to consider application of workplace and work readiness concepts to self and others; and the purpose and nature of key service delivery sectors in Australia.
The unit involves 150 hours of learning inclusive of a combination of face-to-face and online delivery, interactive and independent learning, and assessment tasks.