CQUniversity Unit Profile.

This assessment item constitutes 50% of the unit grade and relates directly to the following unit learning outcomes:

• Demonstrate emerging proficiency in the knowledge, skills, and attributes associated with the Professional Standards outlined by Speech Pathology Australia
• Apply person centred, family centred, and community centred approaches in optimising communication and swallowing outcomes 

For this assessment task, you will be required to complete an oral presentation which explains the global perspective of speech pathology in relation to a specific topic (e.g. literacy, stuttering). You are required to present on how your selected country and topic compares to the Australian perspective. The required duration of your presentation is 10 minutes with 5 minutes allocated to questions from your peers and assessor. You will also be graded on how you respond to these questions. The specifics of the assessment task are as follows:

• You will select a country and topic to compare with Australia

• These countries and topics will be offered on Moodle for you to select and include:
• Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) - Australia versus South Africa
• Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) - Australia versus the USA
• Dysphagia - Australia versus the United Kingdom
• Dysphagia - Australia versus Canada
• Hearing - Australia versus Canada
• Hearing - Australia versus South Africa
• Stuttering - Australia versus the Netherlands
• Stuttering - Australia versus the United Kingdom
• Literacy - Australia versus the USA
• Literacy - Australia versus the United Kingdom

• You will consider the following in your comparison between Australia, your chosen country and topic:

• Is the Australian scope broader or narrower?
• What is similar between the two countries with respect to the chosen topic?
• What is the difference between the two countries with respect to the chosen topic?
• What are the expectations of graduates regarding practice in this area?

• Compare the public perception (attitudes, beliefs, awareness, support) of speech pathologists and your chosen topic in Australia and comparison country. Consider the following in your comparison:

• Do consumer-oriented guidelines/resources (e.g., hearing loss support network) direct consumers to speech pathologists?
• Do cultural or linguistic differences impact service availability or approach to service provision?
• Compare the perceptions of your topic between at least two viewpoints, e.g. speech pathologists and the public; speech pathologists and teachers etc.

• Describe interprofessional service delivery similarities and differences. Consider the following in your comparison:
• How are other professions involved in the delivery of your chosen topic and country compared to Australia? Describe the distinct versus overlapping roles in each country.
• Is there a clearly defined scope of practice between speech pathologists and the other profession(s) in your chosen country and Australia? Note that interprofessional can include any other professionals such as allied health, medical, education, nursing.

Criteria one will assess your ability to clearly describe and discuss how your chosen country and scope of practice compares to Australia. This will reflect your ability to present speech pathology from a broader global perspective. Criteria one will be worth 80% of your grade for this assessment task. This includes your ability to respond to questions from the assessor and your peers. 

Criteria two will assess your ability to deliver a clear and engaging presentation. This will include your ability to utilise effective verbal communication skills to deliver the content of your presentation. You will also be assessed on your ability to actively engage the audience and use visual media. Criteria two will be worth 20% of your grade for this assessment task.

For this placement, you will be required to attend one full day per week of clinic at your assigned placement site for 12 weeks (or equivalent). Your CE will assess your competence across the seven CBOS units and each of the four generic professional competencies at both the mid and final points of the placement through the use of the COMPASS Online assessment tool. In addition, you will be required to complete a self-assessment at each of these placement points through COMPASS Online.

At the commencement of your placement you will need to complete a learning contract which is to be reviewed by you and your CE as part of the mid-placement and final-placement assessments. By the end of your placement you are expected to demonstrate intermediate level competence across each of the CBOS Units 1-7 and in each generic professional competency unit. Your placement this term will involve either a paediatric or an adult caseload. You do not need to submit any documentation to Moodle for your COMPASS assessed placement. Further information regarding the expectations when participating in clinical placements such as dress code, attendance requirements and mandatory checks (pre-clinical requirements) can be found in the 2023 Speech Pathology Clinical Education Handbook. An electronic copy of this document will be made available through the SPCH13006 Moodle page. Note that all pre-clinical requirements mentioned in the 2023 Speech Pathology Clinical Education Handbook (and also stipulated on the online SONIA database) must be completed prior to commencing a placement and must remain current for the duration of the placement. Any student who fails to comply will not be permitted to commence their placement which will affect their ability to complete this assessment task. Further information and instructions regarding all mandatory checks (pre-clinical requirements) can be found on the SONIA database or obtained by contacting the Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) team via email: wil-hmas@cqu.edu.au

You will be assessed on the following four generic professional competencies through the use of COMPASS Online:

• Professional Competency Unit 1: Reasoning
• Professional Competency Unit 2: Communication
• Professional Competency Unit 3: Learning
• Professional Competency Unit 4: Professionalism

You will also be assessed on the following seven CBOS Units:

• CBOS Unit 1: Assessment
• CBOS Unit 2: Analysis and Interpretation
• CBOS Unit 3: Planning Evidence-Based Speech Pathology Practice
• CBOS Unit 4: Implementation of Speech Pathology Practice
• CBOS Unit 5: Planning, Providing and Managing Speech Pathology Services
• CBOS Unit 6: Professional and Supervisory Practice
• CBOS Unit 7: Lifelong Learning and Reflective Practice

Further information regarding each of these units can be found in the COMPASS Assessment Resource Manual, available through COMPASS online: https://compass.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au/compass/portal/portal.jsp

In order to complete all of the requirements and pass this assessment task, you must:

• Complete a learning agreement in the first three weeks of the placement and have this reviewed by you and your CE as part of the mid-placement and final-placement assessments.
• Complete a self-assessment through COMPASS online a minimum of two days prior to meeting with your CE at both the mid-placement and final-placement assessment points.
• Be assessed by your CE across all seven CBOS units and each of the four generic professional competency (GPC) units at the mid-placement and final-placement points.
• By the end of your placement, demonstrate intermediate level competence across each of the CBOS units 1-7, according to COMPASS Online results that are determined by your CE.
• By the end of your placement, demonstrate intermediate level competence across each of the four generic professional competency (GPC) units, according to COMPASS Online results that are determined by your CE.

Both the pass and failure criteria that apply to clinical placements are described in detail in the 2023 Speech Pathology Clinical Education Handbook. Both CEs and students should familiarise themselves with these criteria. As stated in the Clinical Education Handbook, the Clinical Education Coordinator will make the final decision regarding a student's results based on all available evidence relating to the student's performance whilst completing the placement.

This assessment item constitutes 50% of the unit grade and relates directly to the following unit learning outcomes:

• Demonstrate emerging proficiency in the knowledge, skills, and attributes associated with the Professional Standards outlined by Speech Pathology Australia
• Apply person-centred, family-centred, and community-centred approaches in optimising communication and swallowing

This assessment task is comprised of five individual tasks. While the assessment task is not due until Friday week 12, you are encouraged to complete the individual tasks throughout the term. Each assessment task corresponds to specific content taught within the unit either in the face-to-face tutorials or through online lectures/activities. The corresponding week for each task has been outlined below and on the SPCH13006 Moodle page.

Task 1: Speech pathology from a global perspective

Content covered in week 1

Recommended word count: 300 words

Mark: 7.5

Specific details are provided on the task description and rubric, but in summary you are required to reflect upon speech pathology from a global perspective and how this relates to speech pathology to you personally and the Australian community.

Task 2: Ethical considerations in relation to your placement, in class and in the community

Content covered in week 2

Recommended word count: 300 words

Mark: 7.5

Specific details are provided on the task description and rubric, but in summary you are required to reflect upon ethical considerations you have encountered in your placement opportunities in relation to the SPA code of ethics.

Task 3: Community centred practice

Content covered in week 3

Recommended word count: 300 words

Mark: 7.5

Specific details are provided on the task description and rubric, but in summary you are required to reflect upon the significance of speech pathologists/pathology forming an integral role in community centred practice as opposed to only client centred and family centred practices. Reference to the role the ICF plays in community centred practice is required.

Task 4: Working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples

Content covered in week 9

Recommended word count: 300 words

Mark: 7.5

Specific details are provided on the task description and rubric, but in summary you are required to reflect upon the completion of the Clinical Yarning module and the signficance of speech pathologists embedding culturally secure practices in their roles with individuals, families and communities.

Task 5: Reflection

Content covered weeks 1 - 11

Recommended word count: 750 words

Mark: 10

Submit a ‘deep’ level reflection based on your SPCH13006 clinical placement using the Description-Interpretation-Outcome framework. This may be a reflection on your placement as a whole or just one part of your placement including a single day, session, or client. A general tip when writing in-depth and insightful reflections is that the reader should not be left wondering ‘why?’ or ‘how?’ The answers to these questions should be provided within the reflection. For example, if you identify that reflecting verbally with a supervisor immediately after you have finished a session with a client is difficult for you, you should go beyond simply stating that this is something that needs improving. You should explain why you find this challenging, why it may (or may not) be an issue, how you know it is (or isn’t) an issue, how you are going to address it (if in fact it is a problem).

A detailed task description and marking rubric are available via Moodle. You will be graded on a number of elements related to two main criteria as outlined below:

• Criterion 1 assesses the content of the five parts of your reflective practice assignment based on the task description. This criterion is marked out of 40.

• Criterion 2 assesses the formatting, writing style, grammar and APA referencing throughout the assessment task. This criterion is marked out of 25 and converted to a mark out of 10.

You must complete a Work Integrated Learning Log showing the clinical experiences/hours you accumulated at your sessional placement. At the completion of the placement, this form must be signed by both you and your CE. You must then submit the form via Moodle within one week of the completion of your sessional placements. The specific record form that is to be used and the instructions for completion is available on Moodle.

It should be noted that Speech Pathology Australia (SPA) does not specify the number of clinical hours that students must complete during the course of any Australian university’s Speech Pathology program. SPA instead places the focus on the minimum level of competence, skills and knowledge required for entry into the workforce as a qualified and competent speech pathologist. CQUniversity’s approach is consistent with SPA’s philosophy and therefore does not have a specific requirement regarding the minimum number of clinical hours each student must complete by the end of the Speech Pathology course. Submission of the record form for this unit is therefore a pass/fail assessment requirement. You should be aware that you are also expected to track this data and keep copies for your own records, as evidence of clinical hours may be required if you are requested to provide evidence of clinical experience when applying for work as a speech pathologist overseas.

In order to pass this assessment task, you must complete and submit a copy of the Work Integrated Learning Log provided to you by the Clinical Education Coordinator within one week of completing your placement. Instructions for completion are available on the record form that have been provided to you on Moodle.