Postgraduate Student Profiles

Emma McLaughlin

I had a stressful couple of weeks three years ago. From my home in Melbourne, I applied to do a PhD project through the University of Sydney investigating attrition and retention in the speech pathology workforce. Then, I got married. Two days later, while on my honeymoon, I had a phone interview about the project. While my husband and I were on the way home from our honeymoon, I found out that I was the successful applicant. Being a PhD student in Melbourne with my supervisors (Michelle Lincoln and Barbara Adamson) in Sydney has been challenging and fantastic. I have loved sitting at my laptop in my trakkie dacks with my cat on my lap in the backyard while I do my PhD: a stark contrast to running between my office and the wards in a rehabilitation hospital! It has been tough not having academic people and atmosphere around to keep me driven and inspired, and doing most of my communication via email. However, trips up to Cumberland have helped me to feel more like a "real" (not a "virtual") PhD student. Another support mechanism that helped me greatly was the Occupational Health Labour Force Trends research group meetings, which I participated in via teleconference. This group was comprised of post graduate students from several health sciences disciplines. It was an energizing relief to be able to share the triumphs and frustrations of study with these peers, some of whom I travelled with to overseas conferences or stayed with in Sydney. So, even though I was by myself, I was never alone. I was also fortunate to be funded by an Australian Post Graduate Industry Award and to have the support of Speech Pathology Australia throughout my research, which allowed me to focus on the task at hand. I have grown in so many ways during my PhD. I know much more about the speech pathology workforce (including how dedicated and passionate they are about helping people), and challenges that face them. I know that stats are not as scary as I once thought. I know that I can present at an international conference while "gurus" in my field look on. I know that with the support of many wise, compassionate, generous and encouraging people, I can complete a research project and thesis that will hopefully make a difference to the speech pathologists of the future. I am not sure what I will do after I submit my thesis, but my desire to do research and support the speech pathology workforce has only been strengthened. I hope I am fortunate enough to be able pursue these interests in the future.

Bronwyn Hemsley

In 1999 I was very fortunate to have the opportunity for secondment from my clinical position working with adults with cerebral palsy to a research project led by A/Prof. Sue Balandin, only to discover a sparkling new horizon - research. Suitably inspired and assured by Sue that the main ingredient to completing a PhD might be tenacity, I enrolled in postgraduate research at The University of Sydney. Gaining the financial support of an NHMRC public health scholarship enabled me to concentrate full time over the past two and a half years to complete my studies. Now as I prepare to submit the final thesis I can’t quite believe the sharpening in focus that postgraduate study has brought to my career and to my enthusiasm in working in the field of disability. It is difficult to explain all of the things I have gained from my postgraduate adventure. Put simply, I have really, and thoroughly, enjoyed it. Here, I will simply try to highlight two things that have been very important to me in the process of postgraduate study. One is the experience of working with others in ‘doing’ research, and the other is the excitement of writing about and ‘sharing’ the outcomes of research with others. I’ve been very lucky to have strong support from my supervisors Susan Balandin and Leanne Togher. Their enthusiasm for research and the pursuit of excellence in their work and the work of their students continually renewed my energies in progressing my own. It was through their support, and the financial support of the University, that I was able to travel overseas to attend conferences, have many opportunities to present my work, be inspired by the work of others in the field, and develop strong links with other researchers and clinicians. Having an opportunity to do this was important in focussing my efforts on not only doing research, but also on disseminating the outcomes effectively and making an impact on the community. Another thing that I have really enjoyed is working alongside my fellow students. Together, Sue and Leanne developed and nurtured a vibrant network of postgraduate research students with similar research agendas and facing similar experiences, to learn as a group and to actively support one another in making progress to completion. I plan now to develop my academic career in research in the field of lifelong disability and working with adults with complex communication needs. I look forward to continuing my association with the University, and particularly the Faculty of Health Sciences and the Discipline of Speech Pathology, that I have enjoyed so much as a postgraduate student.

Julia Starling

Becoming a full time postgraduate student at this stage of my professional career was both completely unforeseen, yet quite inevitable. I wish I could say that I have always been interested in working with adolescents, however the reality is that I had spent a large part of my career actively avoiding any direct contact with them! But, to quote John Lennon, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans”, and a special interest in school-age and adolescent language disability took a gradual, but firm hold. What happened next was that every time I found myself berating our profession for having minimal clinical and research focus in this area, and encouraging other clinicians to contribute their valuable experience and resources to the field of research, a niggly little voice would be saying “Well, and what are YOU going to do about it?”. So here I am, a full-time postgraduate student, with a golden opportunity to become completely focused on the issues of adolescents with language disability, in particular looking into the possibilities of speech pathologists and secondary teachers working as collaborative support teams. The study is being funded by a full-time postgraduate research grant, the Jack Bloomfield Scholarship, awarded by SPELD NSW, and I have also recently been awarded a postgraduate student research grant by Speech Pathology Australia. However, apart from the much-appreciated tolerance of my family, it is the fundamental support of some key people in the department that really makes this happen, from the initial encouragement of Tricia McCabe, Kerrie Lee and Michelle Lincoln to apply for a research grant in the first place, and now to my amazing “team” of supervisors, Leanne Togher, Natalie Munro and Joanne Arciuli. Even though I am immersed in the area of language ability and disability, I find the language of statistics and methodology quite incomprehensible, and this is just one area where their input is invaluable. I soon learned that the actual traits needed when taking on a research study are not so much academic as the ability to be very stubborn, to not be afraid to ask a gazillion questions, to be prepared for a roller coaster ride of highs and lows, and to keep a humorous perspective at all times. So a word of encouragement to any budding researchers out there is this: don’t be put off if you don’t know your ordinals from your nominals, or your End Notes from your ANOVAs! Just be ready for a steep learning curve in ways you never imagined. My main message though, is that research in all aspects of communication disorders is vital to our profession, and I am so thankful to have this opportunity to be directly involved in the process. It’s quite an adventure!