Ms Gudrun Barratt-peacock¹

¹Tasmanian Health Service, Hobart, Australia

Reflective practice is a concept familiar to our nursing colleagues and firmly embedded in practice development in nursing.  Despite an emphasis on reflection in many undergraduate courses, however, speech pathologists do not necessarily participate in joint reflection with peers. After identifying this as a gap in 2013, THS Speech Pathologists in the South formed reflective practice groups. Four years on, the groups are highly valued by staff and have become part of our ongoing practice development, complementing other activities such as journal clubs and individual supervision.

This presentation outlines the rationale for the emphasis on reflective practice, what it means in a speech pathology context, and results of the most recent staff survey regarding the groups.

Biography:

Gudrun Barratt-Peacock is the Discipline Lead in Speech Pathology, THS (South), a position she has held in various forms since 2004. Graduating from Flinders University in 1991, Gudrun has worked in clinical and management roles in Tasmania and overseas. She is a practising member of Speech Pathology Australia, the Australian Voice Association, and the Laryngology Society of Australia, and holds an MBA from UTAS. Gudrun has recently been invited to co-present the 5 day IPDC Practice Development School run through the UTAS School of Nursing and Midwifery, where she can indulge her interest in practice development.