Media releases

Federation University Australia and the Royal Flying Doctor Service Victoria (RFDS) have partnered to deliver placement and volunteering opportunities to Speech Pathology students.

Federation University student, Laura Howard, is currently undertaking her Masters of Speech Pathology while working as a literacy interventionist. An experienced primary school teacher, Laura has a keen interest in working with the paediatric population.

“I have a special interest in early literacy intervention and speech-sound disorders,” she said.

During her time volunteering with the RFDS Victoria, Laura administered speech and language screeners to kinder children aged 3 and 4, scoring and analysing the result before reporting these results to parents.

“I gained knowledge about a range of speech and language assessments suitable for kinder-aged children, including how to administer the assessment, score and analyse the results.”

“I also learned about the role of the RFDS in the area and developed my knowledge of age-appropriate language and speech developmental milestones,” she said.

RFDS Victoria, Primary Health Care General Manager, Dr Melanie Trivett said for students that grew up in rural areas, placements allow them to gain confidence to return to practice in a rural community and for those raised in metropolitan areas it can open up possibilities of working in a different setting.

Laura is excited about a career as a Speech Pathologist as it gives her the opportunity to work with her preferred client population, as well as having a broad scope of practice, and a huge demand for skilled people in this area.

“The placement provided an opportunity for me to expand my knowledge about the healthcare system and speech pathology service delivery in rural Victoria. It also gave me hands on experience and an opportunity to work with an age group, that I had not yet had any experience with,” she said.

“The placement further provided direct access to an experienced speech pathologist, who offered advice and shared resources I will be able to use when I graduate.”

To learn more about Federation Universities Speech Pathology courses visit https://study.federation.edu.au/stream/Speech-pathology.

Quotes attributable to Federation University Speech Pathology student, Laura Howard
"Speech Pathology offers the opportunity to work with my preferred client population and within an area of passion and interest. It also has a broad scope of practice, and so does not necessarily pigeon-hole me into one area of work either.”
“The huge demand for speech pathologists and therefore job security was an important factor when choosing to study, as was the opportunity to provide help and support to people seeking professional support.”

Quotes attributable to Rural Flying Doctor’s, Primary Health Care General Manager, Dr Melanie Trivett
“We are pleased that our collaboration with Federation University and Inglewood District Health Service has helped support the placement of Speech Therapy students in the Buloke and Loddon shires.
“Rural placements allow students to experience not only the clinical aspects of a rural health professional's role but to also experience the benefits of a rural lifestyle.”
“It is important that students are well supported during these placements - a great experience could be difference between bringing a future health professional to a rural community or not.”

Quote attributable to Federation University Speech Pathologist and Audiologist Discipline Lead Speech Pathology, Institute of Health and Wellbeing, Professor Chyrisse Heine
“The strong collaboration between Federation University’s Speech Pathology discipline and RFDS not only provides opportunities for our organizations, but most importantly provides a valuable service to regional communities.”