SLP Telepractice Essentials Course plan

Hi,

I am Joe, the CATTS Online Therapy Practice Manager.  I just wanted to take a moment and outline the approach we are taking with the SLP Telepractice Essentials Course, so that you can best see how it can help you in your role.

Firstly, we are framing it in the view of a Theatre Show. 

When the Zoom, or Teams, or Attend Anywhere button is pressed and that kid and their parent appear on the screen - it's Showtime!

This course not only covers how you can nail a great performance, but also what you need to do back stage (so your audience doesn't see all the magic). 

It also covers your Box Office (how you can run and manage yourself and your work/life balance, as well as some of the challenges of running, and being on a remote team). 

Finally it also has a section we are calling Rehearsals - where you learn and perfect new approaches before your therapy show! :)

Second, we are using initially our senior therapy leadership team in CATTS Online Speech Therapy to provide the core backbone of the content.   

Since 2013 when we still had our physical clinics, at that time we were investigating the use of Telepractice. A lot of our learning and techniques were put on the back burner, and used when clients needed to supplement in-person. 

Then, 2020 happened! 

So, it was all pushed to the forefront. Some of our team were asked to create content for national SLPs who needed to move - fast - to telepractice in the public and private systems.  

Some of these have been updated and refreshed to be the modules available here today. Very early in 2020 we decided to close all physical clinics and devote 100% to Tele-practice.

Thirdly, we will be inviting outside experts in their areas to contribute modules to the course. 

We are aware of SLPs doing wonderful work in clinical areas via telepractice which our CATTS team do not work in themselves. 

We want to make sure that if there is some area of SLP that can be successfully treated remotely - that it is covered here.  
If there is a clinical area you specialise in through tele-therapy and you would like to contribute, please contact me directly (jmorris @ catts.ie ).  


From my point of view, I have managed remote teams in my old IT-based role  and CATTS for about 20 years. Lots of people trust my approach to running remote teams, which you can find here (helpful if you need some light reading - or send it to your boss!)  I'll also be creating the following modules myself which are aimed to help make your life easier, as well as being something you can point or refer a third party to if you need help making a case to someone outside of SLP. 

Tele-practice has the chance to be a real game-changer (for the positive) for clients/patients, therapists and the organisations they all work with. I was at the fore-front of the online commerce craze back in the late 1990s and all the same arguments against online Speech Therapy (and why they should be paid less than in person SLPs) was used by IT directors, CEOs and Sales people about using your computer to buy something. It changed. The approach and pervasiveness of online therapy ( and online healthcare) will follow suit in the coming years. To help you manage and navigate this, we have the following course modules available on this system. (All are tried and proven, but will be re-mastered and recorded specifically for SLPs).

- Managing your remote work / life balance

- Managing remote teams (For those who are asked to caseload supervise others remotely - the course of the book!) 

- The Value of your skill, vs the delivery of your skill. $=$, Not $>$!

- Being an ideal remote team member
(How you can excel as a remote team member - what your supervisor needs to know, and how you can let them know what you need) 

- Conflict resolution and setting expectations 
(Remote working has its own communication challenges on interpersonal and manager/team member level. How to keep communication clear and healthy) 

- Technology practical (How the new tools of your trade work. What to watch out for, and what drives change.)