“But I don’t know how to do that?”: Navigating Scope of Competence
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The majority of this course content is focused on issues related to ethics as defined by ASHA (see Approved Course Content). The focus of this course is the navigation of ethical relationships, professionalism, and related ethical considerations. This course may count towards ethics certification maintenance requirements.
As speech and language pathologists (SLPs) our scope of practice can feel large - treating everything from feeding and swallowing disorders to receptive / expressive language deficits. Our scope of practice documents describe the wide range of clinical presentations we are qualified to treat, as well as a wide variety of services we are are qualified to provide and settings we are qualified to work in. And yet, most SLPs don’t work in all areas of the field. Most of us only practice in some. So what happens when we are in a position where we are expected to provide treatment in an area where we don’t feel competent?
Being competent in our clinical work is crucial - and it’s a matter of ethics. The ASHA Code of Ethics is explicit in telling us that we are obligated to operate within our scope of competence, even though there is so much individual variability in what “competent” means.
Join us in this episode as we review the literature out there on competence, try to outline how to assess your own scope of competence, and reflect on the ASHA Code of Ethics.
This episode is offered for .1 ASHA CEUs: Introductory Level, Related Area, Subject Code: 7070 Ethics and Ethical Decision Making.
Learning Outcomes
Define scope of competence and list at least 2 ethical underpinnings associated with scope of competence
Describe the relationship between scope of competence, evidence based practice, and ethics
Identify at least two ways in which a clinician can evaluate their scope of competence and two ways in which a clinician can improve their scope of competence in a particular clinical area
References
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (2007). Scope of Practice in Speech-Language Pathology [Scope of Practice]. Available from www.asha.org/policy.
Mustain, W. (2003). The Ethics of Competence. The ASHA Leader, 8(12), 14-14.doi:10.1044/leader.otp2.08122003.14
Online Resources
ASHA’s EBP Portal: https://www.asha.org/Research/EBP/Evidence-Based-Practice/
ASHA Journals Academy: https://academy.pubs.asha.org/2019/04/from-triangle-to-diamond-recognizing-and-using-data-to-inform-our-evidence-based-practice/
Disclosures:
Kate Grandbois financial disclosures: Kate is the owner / founder of Grandbois Therapy + Consulting, LLC and co-founder of SLP Nerdcast. Kate Grandbois non-financial disclosures: Kate is a member of ASHA, SIG 12, and serves on the AAC Advisory Group for Massachusetts Advocates for Children. She is also a member of the Berkshire Association for Behavior Analysis and Therapy (BABAT), MassABA, the Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABAI) and the corresponding Speech Pathology and Applied Behavior Analysis SIG.
Amy Wonkka financial disclosures: Amy is an employee of a public school system and co-founder of SLP Nerdcast. Amy Wonkka non-financial disclosures: Amy is a member of ASHA, SIG 12, and serves on the AAC Advisory Group for Massachusetts Advocates for Children.
Time Ordered Agenda:
10 minutes: Introduction, Disclaimers and Disclosures
20 minutes: Descriptions of scope of competence and ethical underpinnings associated with scope of competence
15 minutes: Descriptions of the relationship between scope of competence, evidence based practice, and ethics
10 minutes: Describe the ways a clinician can evaluate their scope of competence and ways to improve their scope of competence in a particular clinical area
5 minutes: Summary and Closing
Disclaimer
The contents of this episode are not meant to replace clinical advice. SLP Nerdcast, its hosts and guests do not represent or endorse specific products or procedures mentioned during our episodes unless otherwise stated. We are NOT PhDs, but we do research our material. We do our best to provide a thorough review and fair representation of each topic that we tackle. That being said, it is always likely that there is an article we’ve missed, or another perspective that isn’t shared. If you have something to add to the conversation, please email us! Wed love to hear from you!
This course is offered for .1 ASHA CEU (Introductory Level, Related Area)