May the (Work) Force Be With You

by Selene Tash, CASLPA President

Shortages of S-LPs and audiologists are pervasive and the impact of such shortages is profound.

Of primary concern is the lack of service to clients. Just as important are cases where existing S-LPs are asked to expand their workloads due to staff vacancies. These shortages can lead to professional burnout. In addition, recruitment of S-LPs and audiologists is labor and resource intensive for organizations and their administrators. The broadest impact however, is that shortages put our professions at risk. Because positions remain vacant for long periods of time, their necessity begins to be questioned. As positions are cut and vacancies continue, more positions are in jeopardy.

I had the opportunity to attend a course at the ASHA Convention (November 2005) aimed at shedding light on the issue of shortages of S-LPs. Finding Them and Keeping Them: Coping with S-LP Shortages provided a concentrated review of the complexity of the issue of shortages of SLPs. Despite its specific focus on S-LPs, the content of the course was clearly and alarmingly relevant to the profession of audiology as well.

To say that shortages of S-LPs and audiologists is a complex issue is an understatement. Many factors contribute to difficulties in the recruitment of professionals, including:

• Increasing service demands due to rising numbers of individuals diagnosed with speech, language and hearing related disorders;
  
  
• The expanded role of the S-LPs and audiologists;
  
  
• Increasing demand for speech, language and hearing services in an aging population;
  
  
• The decreasing workforce due to baby boomers retiring and professionals leaving the professions;
  
  
• The lack of S-LP and audiology training programs which is compounded by a limited number of PhD trained professionals to teach in those programs;
  
  
• The demand for clinical placements supervision, which may not be met when positions remain vacant;
  
  
• Traditional training programs that do not provide flexibility for individuals to train while maintaining employment to support their families;
  
  
• The significant competition among all health professions to attract the best and most brilliant.

Recruitment is only half of the story. Retention is as important an issue as recruitment and it requires focused attention. Retention itself is as complicated as it is two-sided; there is the issue of retention of professionals with employers and a second more serious issue of retention of S-LPs and audiologists within the professions.

Why are S-LPs and audiologists leaving their employers, and, in some cases, their professions?

• Demographics of the professions create retention challenges as females continue to make up the vast majority of professionals and will inevitably leave the workforce to have families on either a short or long term basis. If they return to the workforce, they often work reduced FTEs;
  
  
• Caseloads continue to be high, wait lists long, and workloads massive, which may lead to burn out.
  
  
• There are increased complexities in the types of children and adults presenting with speech, language and hearing needs, which leads to less job satisfaction if professionals do not have the time to adequately address their needs.
  
  
• Present service delivery models may not facilitate professionals' job satisfaction as high service demands do not always lend themselves to ensuring that enough service can be provided to truly impact the clients' communicative or daily functioning.
  
  
• There is substantial variability in salaries across provinces, employers, and work settings. As well, in some areas, speech-language pathologists and audiologists are not paid what other comparable health professionals are paid, although S-LPs and audiologists often have the same level or more educational training.
  
  
• Compensation packages may vary as well and such inconsistencies may cause staff to leave their present employment or career to seek out better benefit packages or employment "perks."

It is not all bad news. There are practical ideas for beginning to address both recruitment and retention issues.

RECRUITMENT

• Employers must continue to aggressively recruit for positions, despite the cost and labour intensity required.
  
  
• Employers must also offer attractive compensation packages to attract individuals with varied backgrounds and life experiences to the professions.
  
  
• Professionals may use career fairs at the secondary level to market the professions.
  
  
• Creating innovative training programs, such as distance learning, will be critical in offering more training programs, particularly for those who have personal circumstances that prevent enrollment in traditional training programs.
  
  
• Competitive compensation packages within the professions are critical in attracting individuals to speech-language pathology and audiology instead of other competing professions. Compensatory elements must focus on salaries, professional development allocations and stipends for regulatory or professional association fees.
  
  
• Awareness of the professions and advocacy for the professions is an important function of the provincial and national associations. Broader public knowledge can only serve to profile the importance of the professions, the impact they have on communication and hearing functioning, and the present challenges that are being faced by our professionals.

RETENTION

• Studies suggest that creating a network for professionals is critical to job satisfaction; Regular job alike meetings help to facilitate feelings of "connectedness" among professionals;
  
  
• Mentoring of new staff and support of veteran staff is also important in creating positive work environments;
  
  
• Clinical support in terms of case management with leaders who are knowledgeable is essential for long term professional fulfillment;
  
  
• Workloads, as opposed to caseloads and wait lists, must be used to define the roles of speech-language pathologists and audiologists Administrators must understand the depth and breadth of client directed activities that occur outside of direct service delivery, and in doing so, actual numbers of professionals required to meet service demands may be determined.
  
  
• Attractive and competitive compensation packages of salaries and benefits that keep up with inflation and market rates must be offered.
  
  
• Professional development support is a high priority for professionals, Offering this type of benefit is therefore critical in retaining staff.

It is suggested that as severe as the recruitment and retention issues areat present, they are mild in comparison to the shortages that our professions will face in the future. Becauseof the complex nature of shortages, we must aggressively pursue solutions on several levels.

Employers must not only continue aggressive recruitment campaigns to fill vacant positions, but they must also begin to consider retention issuesand to create workplaces of choice for S-LPs and audiologists.

Provincial and national associations must continue their efforts in terms of awareness, public relations and advocacy campaigns to attract individuals and to profile the importance of the professions.

Government and the post-secondary community must collaborate to develop innovative training programs that allow students to study while meeting family demands.
Finally, and probably most importantly, all speech-language pathologists and audiologists must spread the word that our professions are amazing and fulfilling and that they offer the opportunity for deeply rewarding work.

The time is now. We must take action to attract the best and the most brilliant, and also to retain them. We must take action now, for the sake of our clients, ourselves and our professions. As Barbara Moore-Brown concluded in her ASHA presentation: "May the (work) force be with you." May the (work) force be with us all.

 

Reference: Amercican Speech-Language-Hearinng Association Annual Convention, San Diego: Finding them and keeping them: Coping with SLP shortages. Barbara Moore-Brown, Beth Nishida, Yvana Uranga-Hernandez, Margaret Parker, Jennifer Shubin. Nov 2005