Meet Melanie, a Complex Needs and Dysphagia Speech and Language Therapy (SLT) Clinical Service Lead at the Trust. We asked her to share her career journey and career highlights along the way.
The role covers both clinical and managerial aspects. For the clinical side I carry out feeding assessments and on going management of infants/ children and young people with eating and drinking difficulties. The assessments take place in homes/school/clinical settings working closely with parents and key stakeholders.
The leadership and managerial side of the role covers the day to day running of the SLT service with my clinical service lead colleagues as well as shaping and designing service provision within the remit set by commissioning. This involves listing and taking on board ideas/experiences and knowledge from the wider team in line with the evidence base in a drive towards improving the experience for CYP and their families in the service.
Working as a speech and language therapist with young children and their families has focused my attention on how challenging it is to be a parent, but that getting the right care and support at the right time can have a big impact on peoples lives.
Knowing what to prioritise has also helped with this, and listening to people's stories and experiences has helped me feel confident that the role that all Allie Health Professionals play is pivotal in health care.
Improving the experience and outcomes for families and their children has kept me always wanting to learn, and looking for new ways to achieve this. I've learnt I prefer to work in a team and that families respond positively to this, even when it means managing differences of opinion and priorities.
Working in acute and hospital settings changed how I viewed my role. It informed and influenced my decision making and increased my negotiation skills as there were more stakeholders involved, gaving me the confidence to take the next step and apply my current role.
Working with the multidisciplinary team (MDT) on the neonatal unit to improve and embed family integrated and developmental care principles into the teams practice was one of the most equally challenging and rewarding experiences.
Shifting work culture practices and working towards common goals with the aim of improving the longer-term health outcomes for premature infants and their families taught me a lot about group dynamics and personal interactions.
The rewards came with accepting small gains and when parents recognised the difference it made for their baby.