Implementing a new role in speech pathology workforce education: processes and learnings.

Abstract

Background: Post-pandemic, an increasingly junior allied health workforce resulted in pressures for both novice and experienced clinicians. One initiative to support the education and skill development of junior staff in their clinical and non-clinical skills was the implementation of Workforce Clinical Educators. Aims: 1. To describe the process of design and implementation of workforce educator roles 2. To describe the learnings of implementing this role Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with all bedbased speech pathologists to identify; 1) individuals' self-identified learning needs, and 2) senior-identified learning needs for junior cohorts. Qualitative content analysis revealed clinical and nonclinical topics to be addressed through education, with frequency counts and risk analysis informing prioritisation. The structure and activities of the role were then designed in alignment with the learning needs. Reflections on the process were collated. Results: Three pedagogical strategies were implemented: 1.Clinical skill building through the design and facilitation of theorydriven grade 1 workshops targeting clinical skills 2.Drop-in sessions for single-session point of care teaching across all grade levels and reinforcement of content taught in workshops 3.Educational program design support through partnership with the Professional Development Portfolio to enable selection of departmental education topics aligned with identified learning needs Key learnings in role design and education development include: ·Incorporating principles of education design, including the importance of specific learning goals and constructive alignment with learning activities ·Designing content delivery to ensure participation and engagement in learning ·Engaging stakeholders in educational design and role development ·Recognising the development of processes and education content require time ·Developing evaluation to demonstrate outcomes and impact Conclusion: Education needs to be salient, thoughtfully designed and aligned with learning needs. Effective implementation strategies and strong theoretical underpinning are required to ensure outcomes and impact. Comprehensive evaluation will inform future iterations of the role.