Proposals appropriate for submission to this topic area include those that focus on ethics, leadership, coaching/mentoring, recruitment, performance evaluations, self-care, professional development, and human resource matters related to audiology and speech-language pathology. This area emphasizes the legacy and lasting impact of the professions, offering insights into how leaders shape futures, inspire possibilities, and strengthen professional pathways. Topics in this area come from a wide range of practice environments and appeal to both clinicians, translational researchers, and administrators. Interprofessional education and practice issues as they relate leadership and professional issues should be included in this topic area. Key themes include:

• Leadership in research: promoting evidence-based practice and fostering a research-driven culture
• Translational, applied, or implementation research related to leadership and professional issues

Professional Education

• Addressing advancements in training and ongoing education
• Advocacy: developing skills for influencing policy and advancing the profession
• Clinical career ladders: structured pathways for career progression in clinical settings
• Coaching and mentoring: supporting career growth and development
• Conflict management: strategies for resolution and positive workplace culture
• Human resource management: supervision, performance evaluations, employee discipline
• Leadership development: building effective leaders for dynamic education and practice environments
• Interprofessional teamwork: enhancing collaboration across curriculum, clinical practice, research, and advocacy
• Advancement of students, faculty, and staff: emphasizing diversity and inclusion
• Technology: exploring its impact as it relates to leadership and professional issues
• Support personnel utilization: effective use of support staff to enhance service delivery
• Volunteerism: engaging in service across state and national boards and committees

Associated Topics

Interconnected themes that deepen understanding of leadership and professional practices, such as initiatives promoting diversity and inclusion in the workplace, equitable service delivery, and cultural sensitivity in clinical and educational settings; and resilience and self-care strategies. This area also includes innovations in recruitment and retention strategies to attract and retain diverse professionals, advancements in interprofessional collaboration, and the development of ethical standards and policies within audiology and speech-language pathology

Related Topics

Proposals involving this area but have a primary focus on:

• Issues regarding telehealth/telepractice, including licensure issues related to telepractice, should be submitted to the Telepractice topic area.
• Increasing the representation of men in the professions, including discussions on male privilege and gender inequities that affect feminized professions should be submitted to the Equity, Inclusion, and Cultural–Linguistic Diversity topic area.