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IntroductionThe need for health care staff to be trained to deal with swallowing and communication problems has been identified by many researchers (Shield & Hughes, 1998, and Coles et al., 1995, as cited in Shaw & May, 2001; O'Loughlin & Shanley, 1998). Research has found that training by a speech pathologist can significantly improve health care staff's understanding of communication and swallowing disorders (Shaw & May, 2001) and can lead to nurses and dieticians being able to perform basic dysphagia screening with appropriate clients (Huhmann et al., 2004; Davies, Taylor, MacDonald & Barer, 2001).In surveying speech pathologists it was identified that there can exist a limited understanding of the speech pathologist's role in palliative care by other health professionals. It is therefore important that speech pathologists spread awareness of their role among other health care staff, if clients are to benefit from their input in palliative care. Opportunities to Educate Team MembersFormal opportunities to educate members of the health care team with regards to swallowing and communication issues may be structured feedback or education sessions, or case conferences, within a health service organisation*. Presenting information regarding swallowing and communication at such education sessions may be part of the speech pathologist's role within a palliative care setting*. Sharing profession-specific knowledge among members of the multidisciplinary team is in fact part of the Speech Pathology Australia (SPA) code of ethics standards of practice (SPA, 2000). See www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au/library/codeofethics.pdf for the full document. Community education is also part of SPA's key purpose statement (SPA, 2000), however this aspect of speech pathology practice is beyond the scope of this website.Sharing knowledge among health care team members regarding speech pathology issues also occurs regularly via comprehensive patient progress notes, reports, and other documentation, as well as face to face communication*. This communication among the multidisciplinary team is essential in palliative care (Mashford et al., 2001). ReferencesDavies, S., Taylor, H., MacDonald, A., & Barer, D. (2001). An inter-disciplinary approach to swallowing problems in acute stroke. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders, 36, Suppl: 357-361. Huhmann, M., Decker, R., Byham-Gray, L., Maillet, J., & VonHagen, S. (2004). Comparison of dysphagia screening by a registered dietician in acute stroke patients to speech language pathologist's evaluation. Topics in Clinical Nutrition, 19(3), 239-49. Mashford, M., Aranda, S., Ashby, M., Bowman, J., Brooksbank, M., Cairns, W., Currow, D., Hynson, J., Kissane, D., Maddocks, I., Mitchell, G., O'Connor, M., Poole, S., Ravenscroft, P., Robinson, J., & Smith, M. (2001). Therapeutic guidelines: Palliative care, Version 1. North Melbourne: Therapeutic Guidelines Limited. O'Loughlin, G., & Shanley, C. (1998). Swallowing problems in the nursing home: A novel training response. Dysphagia, 13, 172-183. Shaw, D., & May, H. (2001). Sharing knowledge with nursing home staff: an objective investigation. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders, 36, Suppl: 200-5. Speech Pathology Australia (SPA) (2000). Code of Ethics. Melbourne: The Speech Pathology Association of Australia Limited. Retrieved Sep 21, 2005, from http://www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au/library/codeofethics.pdf | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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