SVS PODCHATS H Fiona Robinson and Suzanne Slade

SVS PodChats  episodes have reached all around the world, showcasing the  collaborations which have lead to some amazing resources and opportunities in this most difficult of years. In this episode Suzanne and Fiona chat about how 2020 was the year that COVID-19 changed how we all lived, worked  and trained. We reflect on some of the challenges and  how clinicians responded with resilience, creativity and generosity.
Listen in as we reflect on the year, and get a glimpse into what is coming in 2021.

Our thanks  to our guests during 2020, and to all our listeners wherever you are located.
We have some exciting guests lined up for 2021, and do let us know your burning topics for next year.
Sending everyone our good wishes for a very happy and healthy new year.

Fiona and Suzanne

You can find us at www.svsassociates.co.uk and @_svs_associates
Ask about our bespoke online FEES Courses and  NEW Supervisor Training

About us: Fiona Robinson and Suzanne Slade are HCPC registered Speech and Language Therapists practising in the UK and  we educate health professionals in clinical skills in Speech Voice and Swallowing. We collaborate with international experts to create fabulous learning events. We design and deliver bespoke and comprehensive FEES courses  for teams online or at your location where circumstances allow. We work with clinicians of all levels of expertise to start and progress  FEES competencies in practitioner or supervisor roles and  tailor programmes of education and supervision.
Our website blog and SVS PodChats explore current opinion and topics related to speech voice and swallowing with PodChats notes and further resources for some episodes.

No financial payment or payment in kind was received or given for this episode unless disclosed. No endorsement of opinions, goods, products or services by the hosts is implied.
The opinions of the hosts and guests are their own, and do not represent the views of their employing organisations

Welcome to  SVS PodChats with Suzanne and Fiona speaking to Jodi Allen (a), Claire Slinger (b) and Sally Richmond (c) about using ultrasound in speech and language therapy clinical assessment.

Ultrasound is an established clinical assessment modality - we are familiar with ultrasound in obstetrics or to assess integrity of the muscle tissue in neurological disease.
Ultrasound of the head and neck is an emerging  area of consideration for SLTs in respiratory, voice, and swallowing services, but will it become an important addition to our assessment?
Interpreting the "Magic Eye" images demonstrates the potential of ultrasound  for assessment of the larynx in inducible laryngeal obstruction (ILO), assessment of the vocal folds after surgery and for assessment of the integrity of the structures important for swallowing.

What is ultrasound and how can it add to the clinical picture?
What is the evidence base for feasibility, utility, reliability and reproducibility?
If this is in the vision for our future practice, what should we do now and what training is available?

Our guests answer these and other questions, outline how they are contributing to building the evidence in collaboration with colleagues across the world, and imagine what the future may hold for the profession and our patients. Follow them on @SltUltrasound

Thanks for listening, all feedback is much appreciated.
Fiona and Suzanne
You can find us at www.svsassociates.co.uk and @_svs_associates
Ask about our bespoke online FEES Courses and  NEW Supervisor Training

(a) Senior Speech and Language Therapist, The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery and NIHR-funded Pre-Clinical Academic Fellow
(b) Consultant Respiratory Speech and Language Therapist,  Royal Preston Hospital
(c) Consultant Head and Neck Radiographer,  University College London Hospitals

References:
Laryngeal ultrasound paper written by the two radiologists at UCH: https://pubs.rsna.org/doi/10.1148/rg.2020190160

Recent reviews in swallowing & laryngeal ultrasound :
https://www.scielo.br/pdf/acr/v19n4/en_2317-6431-acr-2317-64312014000300001378.pdf
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0194599820922984

In Press: Utility of Ultrasound in the Assessment of Swallowing & Laryngeal Function: A Rapid Review and Critical Appraisal of the Literature
Journal: International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders

About us: Fiona Robinson and Suzanne Slade are HCPC registered Speech and Language Therapists practising in the UK and  we educate health professionals in clinical skills in Speech Voice and Swallowing. We collaborate with international experts to create fabulous learning events. We design and deliver bespoke and comprehensive FEES courses  for teams online or at your location where circumstances allow. We work with clinicians of all levels of expertise to start and progress  FEES competencies in practitioner or supervisor roles and  tailor programmes of education and supervision. 
Our website blog and SVS PodChats explore current opinion and topics related to speech voice and swallowing with PodChats notes and further resources for some episodes.

No financial payment or payment in kind was received or given for this episode unless disclosed. No endorsement of opinions, goods, products or services by the hosts is implied.
The opinions of the hosts and guests are their own, and do not represent the views of their employing organisations.

This episode follows from the  SVS PodChat "Perspectives from the UK and the USA: assessment and rehabilitation of dysphonia during the COVID-19 pandemic" and provides an update on how voice therapy services are being provided in the UK, six months into the pandemic.

Suzanne chats with three renowned speech and language specialist voice therapists - Tori Burnay, Jane Shaw and Rachel Radford - about the impact of COVID-19 on their practice, how they have made adaptations for themselves and their patients and offers insights into their own and their patients' experiences.
The discussion includes meeting the challenges of providing assessment and therapy sessions, highlights the key resources they have created and contributed to, plus tips to looking after ourselves and our own voice, all with warm and humorous personal insights.

A range of resources is discussed, please see below for Rachel Radford's Voice Therapy Exercises on You Tube:
Vocal Function Exercise https://youtu.be/g49L2zE8AkE
LaxVox https://youtu.be/JNPOAgGMK9o
Accent Method https://youtu.be/zzq03YXPLWU

Jane Shaw et al:

https://www.britishlaryngological.org/news/advice-people-experiencing-voice-problems-after-covid-19
Thanks for listening,
Fiona and Suzanne

Fiona Robinson and Suzanne Slade are HCPC registered Speech and Language Therapists practising in the UK and we also educate health professionals in Speech Voice and Swallowing. We collaborate with international experts to create fabulous learning events imparting clinical knowledge and skills. We schedule FEES courses in Nottingham UK and create bespoke FEES training for teams online or at your location. We work with all levels of clinicians to start and progress their FEES competencies, providing ongoing supervision and a tailored programme of education. 
Our blog and SVS PodChats explore current opinion and topics related to speech voice and swallowing.
Our website provides PodChats notes and further resources for some episodes.
You can find us at www.svsassociates.co.uk and @_svs_associates

No financial payment or payment in kind was received or given for this SVSPodChat unless disclosed. No endorsement of opinions, goods, products or services by the hosts is implied.
The opinions of the hosts and guests are their own, and do not represent the views of their organisation.

Has your FEES training been impacted by COVID-19? In this episode, Fiona and Suzanne outline some practical ideas so that you can continue to build on your knowledge and skills, towards competence and skills mastery in FEES.

Using the structure of the FEES protocol and the FEES knowledge and skills frameworks you can find opportunities to create learning experiences to enrich your knowledge and skill as a trainee FEES practitioner. Some of these may take place within a clinical environment, others as self-study or remote learning.

Even if your planned training has been interrupted, by being creative there is so much that you can do to continue with your FEES education programme.

Do get in touch if you have any comments about the content or if we have missed something that you found essential.
 
Thank you for listening.

Keep safe,
Fiona and Suzanne

Our contact is info@svsassociates.co.uk or you can tweet @_svs_associates

* flexible endoscopic evaluation of swallowing

References:
Wilson PS, Hoare TJ, Johnson AP. Milk nasendoscopy in the assessment of dysphagia. Journal of Laryngol and Otol. (1992) Vol 106 issue 6.
Rethinking Residue: Determining the Perceptual Continuum of Residue on FEES to Enable Better Measurement. Jessica M. Pisegna,  Asako Kaneoka,  Rebecca Leonard,  Susan E. Langmore. Dysphagia (2018) 33:100–108 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00455-017-9838-7
History of Fiberoptic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing for Evaluation and Management of Pharyngeal Dysphagia: Changes over the Years. Langmore, Susan. (2017). Dysphagia. 32. 10.1007/s00455-016-9775-x.
South Australian Acute Hospital Program for Credentialing Speech Pathologists in the Extended and Advanced Practice Role of Independent Fibreoptic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing (FEES) 2016 Departments of Speech Pathology SAHLN and CAHLN , South Australia
Fibreoptic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing (FEES): The role of speech and language therapy. Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists Position Paper, London (2019). www.rcslt.org Wallace S, McLaughlin C, Clayton J. Coffey M, Ellis J, Haag R, Howard A, Marks H, Zorko R.
Fiona Robinson and Suzanne Slade are Speech and Language Therapists practising in the UK and we also educate health professionals in Speech Voice and Swallow. We collaborate with international experts to create fabulous learning events imparting clinical knowledge and skills. We schedule twice yearly FEES courses in Nottingham UK and create bespoke FEES training for teams at your location. Our blog and SVS PodChats explore current opinion and topics related to speech voice and swallow. Our website provides PodChats notes and further resources for some episodes.
You can find us at www.svsassociates.co.uk and @_svs_associates

No financial payment or payment in kind was received or given for this SVSPodChat unless disclosed and no endorsement of opinions, goods, products or services by the hosts is implied.
The opinions of the hosts and guests are their own, and do not represent the views of their organisation.

In this SVS PodChat episode, Fiona and Suzanne outline their tips to make every minute and every penny you invest in your FEES* training count.

Aspiring FEES Practitioners often attend a taught external course as their starting point but being able to develop and apply these new skills in clinical practice is dependent upon the pre-training preparation and subsequent in-house training and supervision (1). 
Having the correct infrastructure in place underpins success, and time spent bringing all the pieces together will pay off further down the line. 

Are you thinking about investing in training to become a competent FEES Practitioner, or are you setting up a FEES service? Perhaps you have had some training but have now come to a full stop and it is difficult to see your next steps? Are you looking for a supervisor and want to know what good supervision looks like? Or are you thinking about offering to supervise a trainee and wonder what it involves?

We use our own experience of teaching FEES and that of our trainees to describe best practice (2) so that trainees start from a firm foundation and can continue to build knowledge and skills towards competence back in their own clinical environment.
Do get in touch if you have any comments about the content or if we have missed something that you found essential. Our contact is info@svsassociates.co.uk or you can tweet @_svs_associates
 
 Keep safe, Fiona and Suzanne

* flexible endoscopic evaluation of swallowing

References

1. Slade S 2008. Training in laryngeal endoscopy - a survey. In Proceedings. British Academic Conference Otorhinolaryngology
2. Robinson H F and Dennick R Teaching laryngeal endoscopy skills to speech and language therapists: applying learning theory to optimize practical skills mastery. Current Opinion in Otolaryngology & Head and Neck Surgery: June 2015 Vol 23:3

Fiona Robinson and Suzanne Slade are Speech and Language Therapists practising in the UK and we also educate health professionals in Speech Voice and Swallow. We collaborate with international experts to create fabulous learning events imparting clinical knowledge and skills. We schedule twice yearly FEES courses in Nottingham UK and create bespoke FEES training for teams at your location. Our blog and SVS PodChats explore current opinion and topics related to speech voice and swallow. Our website provides PodChats notes and further resources for some episodes.
You can find us at www.svsassociates.co.uk and @_svs_associates

No financial payment or payment in kind was received or given for this SVSPodChat unless disclosed and no endorsement of opinions, goods, products or services by the hosts is implied.
The opinions of the hosts and guests are their own, and do not represent the views of their organisation.

Description
Over the course of two SVS Podchats we are delighted to chat with Dr Paula Leslie and Emeritus Professor Stephen McHanwell about managing the clinical swallow assessment within the constraints of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Without the benefit of instrumental assessment technology we may feel that we are unable to provide a comprehensive assessment.
Paula and Steve remind us of the skills and knowledge that we already possess, and by refreshing our understanding of the motor, sensory and corticol control of this complex mechanism we can be confident that our holistic assessment will provide valuable information to direct ongoing management of anyone presenting with dysphagia.
In this second part we dig more deeply into the components of the clinical swallow assessment and explore the difference that Speech and Language Therapists / Speech Pathologists make to the patients and families in our care.
Companion resources can be found on www.svsassociates.co.uk

Fiona Robinson and Suzanne Slade are Speech and Language Therapists practising in the UK and we also educate health professionals in Speech Voice and Swallow. We collaborate with international experts to create fabulous events imparting clinical knowledge and skills.
We schedule twice yearly FEES courses in Nottingham UK and create bespoke FEES training for teams at your location.
Our blog and SVS PodChats explore current opinion and topics related to speech voice and swallow. Our website provides PodChats notes and further resources for some episodes.
You can find us at www.svsassociates.co.uk and @_svs_associates

No endorsement of opinions, goods, products or services by the hosts or SVS Associates is implied. The opinions of the hosts and guests are their own, and do not represent the views of any employing or affiliated organisation. An honorarium was provided to the guests for the provision of materials. Permissions were granted from the copyright owners where appropriate. Where companion resources are provided SVS Associates has sought permission of authors and compliance with copyright. 
SVS PodChats episodes are the property of SVS Associates and no recording or copying is allowed unless written permission has been provided.