Unit rationale, description and aim
Speech pathologists are required to engage in professional, ethical, and evidence-based practice, drawing on skills in reasoning and reflection to provide appropriate services for individuals, families and communities that address communication and swallowing needs and enable human flourishing. This is the sixth of seven professional practice units in the Bachelor of Speech Pathology and enables students to apply their knowledge and skills from all previous theoretical and professional practice units to demonstrate readiness to enter the profession.
In this unit, students undertake an extended period of professional practice experience, consolidating their knowledge and skills in assessment, analysis and interpretation, intervention planning and implementation of intervention with the population and contexts of practice..
This unit contains a learning outcome from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Curriculum Framework (HCF, 2014) specifically addressing the HCF cultural capability- Humility and Lifelong Learning.
Additionally, students will demonstrate skills in professional conduct, reflective practice and lifelong learning, showing transferability of skills and knowledge across contexts and populations.
The aim of this unit is to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and skills in working with children or adults across the continuum of care, at the level required for entry into the profession.
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.
Demonstrate professional, ethical, and evidence-ba...
Learning Outcome 01
Demonstrate theoretical knowledge and skills to en...
Learning Outcome 02
Demonstrate reflective practice, transferability o...
Learning Outcome 03
LO4 Design professional strategies that enable con...
Learning Outcome 04
Content
Topics will include:
Competency and Range of Practice Areas of focus:
- Skills required for entry to the profession
- Assimilating and applying previously learnt knowledge and skills to workplace settings, populations and practice areas.
Professional Conduct (Domain 1)
- Worldview and sociocultural perspectives
- Catholic social teaching (human rights and human dignity).
- role of speech pathologists in advocating for consumers and the profession.
- Ethical challenges and the Speech Pathology Australia Code of Ethics.
- Independent use of sound EBP processes to support professional reasoning and decision-making
- Communicating effectively and respectfully with the consumer, family and support members, and other professionals in practice.
- Working collaboratively and respectfully in teams
Reflective Practice and Lifelong learning (Domain 2)
- Using critical reflection skills
- Reflecting on opportunities to apply learnt knowledge and skills.
- Engaging in reflection to shape learning.
- Professional development.
- Personal and professional learning goals
- Consolidating identity as a speech pathologist
- Career and self-care support strategies.
- Culturally responsive practice
Speech Pathology Practice (Domain 3)
- Time and caseload management.
- Service delivery models.
- Quality Improvement process.
Assessment strategy and rationale
Assessment 1: Completion of professional practice assessment. Students participate in a professional practice experience on which they are assessed with the COMPASS® assessment tool. COMPASS® is a psychometrically validated assessment instrument that provides a measure of speech pathology student competence, and is recommended by Speech Pathology Australia. COMPASS® has been developed to assist in the evaluation of speech pathology students’ performance in the workplace, to identify their learning needs and to determine their readiness to enter the professional workforce.
Assessment 2: Quality assurance project. Students will complete a quality assurance project while undertaking their professional practice placement. Evaluating the efficiency, effectiveness and quality of service provision is an element of planning, providing and managing speech pathology services (CBOS Unit 5). This assessment enables students to demonstrate their skills evaluating the efficiency, effectiveness and quality of service provision.
Assessment 3: Professional development plan. Students will prepare a professional development plan, based on a reflection of current strengths in knowledge and skills and areas for improvement (including cultural capabilities). The plan will identify learning goals, activities that will be undertaken to address those goals and a timeframe for completion. Reflection and lifelong learning are important professional practice activities and this assessment enables students to demonstrate their competence in engaging in these activities.
In order to be successful in this unit, students must pass all assessment items. A students who fails Assessment 1 (completion of professional practice placement) will not be given a second attempt at this assessment. A student who fails Assessment 2 (quality assurance assessment project) and/or Assessment 3 (professional development plan) on their first attempt will be offered the opportunity to re-submit the assessment task. If the task is passed on the second attempt, the student will pass the unit. If the assessment task is failed on the second attempt, the student will fail the unit.
Overview of assessments
Assessment 1: Completion of professional practice...
Assessment 1: Completion of professional practice placement including:
• Completion of mandatory tasks
• A grade on COMPASS at entry or near entry level
Ungraded Hurdle
(pass/fail)
Assessment 2: Quality assurance project: Students...
Assessment 2: Quality assurance project: Students will undertake a quality assurance/improvement project while completing the professional practice experience. The project will meet a need identified by the placement site.
Ungraded hurdle
(pass/fail)
Professional development plan and reflection: Stu...
Professional development plan and reflection: Students will prepare a professional development plan outlining learning goals, activities and timeframes for completion and a reflection on their learning.
Ungraded hurdle
(pass/fail)
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
This is the penultimate professional practice unit, and as such, is an important opportunity for students to gain workplace experience prior to entering the profession. The blended approach to this unit acknowledges that students will be experiencing a range of contexts, supervision styles and practice areas and populations throughout the semester.
This unit is comprised of approximately 250 hours of professional practice experiences, which are conducted external to the University or within on-campus speech pathology clinics. These experiences are integral to the development of speech pathology skills, knowledge and attitudes within a ‘real world’ context. Students are supervised by qualified speech pathologists who support learning and development of competencies. In addition to the professional practice experiences, approximately 50 hours of learning activities including tutorials, group and individual discussions, self-directed learning activities and assessment tasks are completed. These activities foster peer learning, reflective practice, professional reasoning and shared problem solving, and expose students to workplace contexts which they might not individually experience.
All content is designed to assist the development of students’ professional skill and identity as a speech pathologist in readiness to enter the profession.