Samnang Chan: Becoming One of the Few Speech Therapists in Cambodia
When Samnang was in secondary school, she had two dreams, that she wanted to study overseas and become a medical doctor. Those around her told her there was no hope she would achieve them, because of her gender and low-income background.However, more than two decades later, both of Samnang’s dreams came true through Australia Awards Scholarships.
Samnang is currently studying in Adelaide after being selected as an Australia Awards Scholarship recipient in 2018. She is completing her two-years Master’s degree program in Speech Pathology at Flinders University. Her goal is to become one of the few speech therapists in Cambodia. Samnang believes being a speech pathologist, and helping people with communication, language and swallowing difficulties, perfectly fulfills her childhood dream.
Samnang first heard about speech pathology when she was working as a freelance interpreter at a speech pathology training in Phnom Penh. Speech pathology is still a new field in Cambodia. Samnang learnt from the training that many people have communication and swallowing issues. They need help and support, however, there weren’t enough resources and professionals in Cambodia. This became Samnang’s motivation to pursue a career as a speech therapist.
The first part of Samnang’s academic life in Adelaide was very challenging because of the pandemic. There were strict restrictions in place just a few weeks after the first semester started. Studying online was tricky because the course required a lot of interaction, discussion and hands-on practice. Fortunately, the restrictions didn’t last for too long in Adelaide and life progressively returned to normal. Samnang was able to get back to the university and had face-to-face lectures again in the second semester. She also completed three work placements as part of her course.
Samnang found that her placements at an early learning center, a primary school and an acute hospital were very useful and gave her a lot of practical experience. She had the opportunity to work with different clients in different settings. During the placement, Samnang practiced many skills from how to make assessments to implementing intervention sessions with some school children and hospital patients. The experience built her confidence to be a qualified speech pathologist.
Samnang can’t wait to bring her knowledge and experience from Australia back to Cambodia when she returns in late 2021. She is very excited to be part of this new profession in Cambodia that helps and supports people who need professional assessment, diagnosis, and treatment with their communication and swallowing issues.
Australia Awards
Post graduate learning opportunities for Cambodia’s future leaders
Samnang Chan: Becoming One of the Few Speech Therapists in Cambodia
When Samnang was in secondary school, she had two dreams, that she wanted to study overseas and become a medical doctor. Those around her told her there was no hope she would achieve them, because of her gender and low-income background.However, more than two decades later, both of Samnang’s dreams came true through Australia Awards Scholarships.
Samnang is currently studying in Adelaide after being selected as an Australia Awards Scholarship recipient in 2018. She is completing her two-years Master’s degree program in Speech Pathology at Flinders University. Her goal is to become one of the few speech therapists in Cambodia. Samnang believes being a speech pathologist, and helping people with communication, language and swallowing difficulties, perfectly fulfills her childhood dream.
Samnang first heard about speech pathology when she was working as a freelance interpreter at a speech pathology training in Phnom Penh. Speech pathology is still a new field in Cambodia. Samnang learnt from the training that many people have communication and swallowing issues. They need help and support, however, there weren’t enough resources and professionals in Cambodia. This became Samnang’s motivation to pursue a career as a speech therapist.
The first part of Samnang’s academic life in Adelaide was very challenging because of the pandemic. There were strict restrictions in place just a few weeks after the first semester started. Studying online was tricky because the course required a lot of interaction, discussion and hands-on practice. Fortunately, the restrictions didn’t last for too long in Adelaide and life progressively returned to normal. Samnang was able to get back to the university and had face-to-face lectures again in the second semester. She also completed three work placements as part of her course.
Samnang found that her placements at an early learning center, a primary school and an acute hospital were very useful and gave her a lot of practical experience. She had the opportunity to work with different clients in different settings. During the placement, Samnang practiced many skills from how to make assessments to implementing intervention sessions with some school children and hospital patients. The experience built her confidence to be a qualified speech pathologist.
Samnang can’t wait to bring her knowledge and experience from Australia back to Cambodia when she returns in late 2021. She is very excited to be part of this new profession in Cambodia that helps and supports people who need professional assessment, diagnosis, and treatment with their communication and swallowing issues.