As speech pathologists, we are required to uphold our Professional Standards as we enter the profession and navigate through our careers, ensuring that we demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and attributes relevant to the activities and services we provide.
Over time, the scope of speech pathology practice, the contexts within which we practice, and our ways of working have broadened and evolved – with significant implications for university curriculum and the critical knowledge, skills, and attributes appropriate for entry to the profession.
As a profession, we may question the scope of practice our graduates need to develop before entering the profession and whether specialist competence in some practice areas should be formally recognised.
In this debate our teams will argue for and against the statement that: Recognising specialist areas of competency for practicing speech pathologists in Australia is the way of the future.