It takes a certain kind of person – a great communicator, listener and teacher – to enter the rewarding profession of Speech Pathology. Bright, resourceful, and driven to lift others up, Adelaide’s Rose Ciampa fits the bill.

From the confident way Rose creatively engages people experiencing communication difficulties in sessions, the fact that she is fairly new to her craft is impressive. In January 2021, Rose began her student placement with our Melrose Park disability team, and, twelve months later, was officially welcomed into the team with open arms.

“I felt like a part of the team even though I was new both to the Speech Pathology field and professional workplace. Everyone just helped me along the way with all the learning curves and were always open to answering any questions that I had. And there’s the fact that along with having such a great team, you’re also doing great work,” she enthuses.

Many Speech Pathology graduates, such as Rose, are drawn to this career because they already have many of the qualities that make a brilliant “speechie”. Even so, the transition from studying hard at university to entering clinical practice is one that requires a great deal of courage. That’s why Rose credits her confidence as a practitioner, in part, due to the Benevolent Society Graduate Pathways program.

“During the first six months of your transition into practice you have amazing supervision from a more experienced staff member on a weekly basis. You are given the extra thinking time that you need as a new graduate in the field who is dealing with a lot of new challenges and client scenarios that you may be very unfamiliar with,” she explains.

Having ample time to work out plans which would best support her clients meant that Rose could incrementally build her skillset while fastening it over time, all under the guidance of a seasoned mentor.

“Being able to take the skills you learned in university and having your colleagues and managers trust in your abilities to apply those skills is such a massive learning curve, but it's so rewarding!” says Rose.

As her workload slowly increased, so too did her belief in her skills as a clinician. She also felt capable of managing more clients without becoming burnt out.

Rose is glad she chose the Benevolent Society to walk her through those exciting, yet daunting, first steps as a Speech Pathologist. Not only has she established solid friendships with her teammates (who regularly meet up to socialise outside of work), she says they are a major source of professional inspiration, too.

“Everyone in the Melrose Park team works so hard, and you see the efforts that they put into supporting their clients every day. It makes you want to step up and be the best clinician that you can be to help support the clients that you see,” Rose says.

Are you an Allied Health graduate looking for an incredible opportunity? See out graduates and students page to learn how we can support you in beginning your career journey. Alternately, visit our careers page to explore current opportunities and our Speech Pathology page to learn more about services.