The Beyond Border’s Online Mentoring program commenced in June and wrapped up in December for another year. The 2019 program saw 12 mentors from Australia, the UK and USA mentor 29 recently graduated speech and language therapists from north, central and south areas of Vietnam.

Our online program developed from its original 1:1 mentoring model to small mentoring groups which allowed our mentors to support three times as many Vietnamese speech and language therapists than 2018 whilst expanding our reach and ways that TFA supports the profession within Vietnam. A natural by-product of the group model gave Vietnamese speech and language therapists greater opportunities to engage with one another through peer support, networking with neighbouring and nearby speech and language therapists to further develop special areas of speech and language therapy professional interest within Vietnam.

Speech-language pathologist Lauril Sachet did a tremendous job of mentoring two groups for 2019. With specialist skills in adult dysphagia, Lauril shares what the 2019 mentoring experience meant to her:
“One of my favourite parts (of mentoring) was discussing challenging cases because I always learned something new and gained vast appreciation for the varied complexities presented. I am continuously amazed by the work my colleagues are doing to raise awareness regarding communication and swallowing disorders and best serve their patients. The group approach really allowed us to focus on clinical pathways and creating a foundation for future projects and growth. This partnership expanded my skills in a unique way and I get so much joy from the relationships we have developed!”

(Pictured mentor Gisela Artola’s group)