Speech Therapy Students Return from “Life-Changing” Placement in Vietnam
A group of final year Speech Therapy students have come home to Newcastle after a three-week clinical placement in Vietnam.
The trip was the result of collaboration between the University of Newcastle and Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine and two Foundations that support the development and health of children in Vietnam - the Trinh Foundation Australia and the UK-based Kianh Foundation.
Head of Speech Pathology, Sally Hewat, visited Vietnam last year to support the delivery of the country’s first speech therapy training program, and accompanied the students on this trip, supervising their work with Director of Clinical Education in Speech Pathology, Jo Walters.
The students, Sophia Thibaadeau, Lauren Woodbridge, Emma Whalley, Erin Fraser, Tabitha Pethybridge, and Kate Connolly worked in hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City delivering speech therapy services. The group then traveled to Vung Tau and worked with babies and toddlers in an orphanage.
“The students integrated into the facility to support the carers of the children, and worked with the orphanage’s psychologist to help facilitate language for the children,” said Sally.
“We did not have anywhere near the resources that we have in Australia, yet we managed to make huge therapy gains for the children and their teachers in the short time that we were there,” said student Erin Fraser.
The group then spent two weeks in Hoi An at the Centre for Development of Children with Special Needs, a facility supported by the Kianh Foundation. The centre has Vietnamese teachers, special education teachers, Australian volunteers, but until now, no speech therapy input.
“The students spent two weeks assessing the children and preparing communications plans for each child… (They) saw a level and severity of disease, disability and disorders that we just don’t have in Australia,” Sally said.
“This experience was a life changing one & I feel that I learnt more in the 3 weeks here than I would have in 5 weeks at home. Great experiences, great people, fantastic working with children with disabilities & within a different culture,” said student Tabitha Pethybridge.
Another group of Students are planned to venture to Vietnam at the end of the year and a grant has been applied for to enable a trial of an innovative joint clinical placement model with the students from UoN and Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine.
