Speech Pathology Inherent Requirements

Inherent requirements are skills, values and behaviours that you need to complete a program of study. These requirements are non-negotiable, but there may be a range of ways in which you can demonstrate them.

The following are the inherent requirements for studying Deakin’s Master of Speech Pathology. We acknowledge that some mandatory requirements of the course cannot be adjusted, and these requirements are outlined below as inherent requirements

Information about inherent requirements is provided to enable you to make an informed decision about your suitability for the course, and for ongoing self-evaluation in relation to your suitability for this profession.

Professional standards

Speech pathologists must meet the Professional Standards for Speech Pathologists in Australia, set out by Speech Pathology Australia 2020.

These standards outline the knowledge, skills and attributes required of a graduating speech pathology student, and of a speech pathologist practising in Australia. The standards relate to:

• professional conduct (including ethical conduct)
• reflective practice and life-long learning
• speech pathology practice.

Students must demonstrate knowledge of and work towards meeting these standards across the course. At all times, students must display ethical behaviour, as outlined in Speech Pathology Australia’s Code of Ethics, 2020.

In addition, Deakin Master of Speech Pathology students are bound by the Deakin Student Code of Conduct and the Deakin Student Code of Conduct which can be found on the course page on Cloud Deakin.

You must also understand and adhere to standards, codes, guidelines and policies that relate to services and organisations where you participate in practice-based learning (placement).

Health and safety

You must be able to understand and comply with regulations, policies and requirements that relate to health and safety, including:

• workplace health and safety policies and practices of placement providers
• compliance with pre-placement requirements, such as a police check, Working with Children Check (WWCC), NDIS Worker Screening Check, immunisations and more, as outlined on the course handbook page and on the course page
• self-management of your own health (including mental health), wellbeing and capacity, to ensure that practice is safe and effective.

Communication

Speech pathology practice requires the ability to use professional, accessible, inclusive, culturally safe and responsive communication. In addition to meeting the English language requirements for entry, you must demonstrate effective English communication skills throughout the course, including:

• understanding and responding to verbal, nonverbal and written communication in English
• communicating clear, coherent messages and reports using verbal, nonverbal and written communication in English
• tailoring communication to the needs of the communication situation (for example, who you are communicating with and why)
• evaluating, analysing and responding to spoken, nonverbal and written communication.

Thinking and learning skills

Speech pathologists need to be able to critically analyse, interpret, reason, reflect, synthesise information and attend to detail. Students require cognitive skills that allow you to pay attention, remember, analyse, critique and apply learning to practice.

You need to be able to identify, evaluate and adapt your own learning and thinking. You must develop and implement strategies that help you to learn effectively, identify learning needs and seek and structure self-directed learning to meet these needs.

You also need to be able to learn from feedback provided by others, by applying feedback to improve your learning and practice. You must be able to self-evaluate your learning and receive and provide constructive and thoughtful feedback to peers.

You must demonstrate organisation and develop and demonstrate skills in time management and prioritisation of tasks.

Speech pathology students will be required to work closely and collaboratively with peers, people with varying levels of communication and/or swallowing difficulties, families, carers, communities, speech pathologists and other professionals, academics and others. You must be able to work cooperatively and effectively with people from a wide variety of backgrounds in a respectful, professional manner.

Deakin is committed to providing access to learning for all students. Apart from the mandatory inherent requirements that every student needs to demonstrate, Deakin and placement agencies can make reasonable adjustments to accommodate the needs of students without compromising the academic integrity of the program.

These may include adjustments to learning and teaching activities, assessment tasks and other course requirements. If you have a health condition or impairment that might impact your participation in this course, please get in touch with the Disability Resource Centre (DRC) for advice and support.

With advice from the DRC, some reasonable adjustments can be made to teaching, learning, assessment, practice education (placements) and other activities that address the impact of students’ health conditions and impairments on their study.