Hearing the Call - Up and Coming Hearing Care Provider feat. Meghan Okken

Audiology Services Summer Internship

In January 2020, Audiology Services received an inquiry from Meghan Okken, an undergraduate student from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania studying communication sciences and disorders, most commonly known as speech-language pathology. Meghan was in need of audiology observation hours for her clinical observations course. Observation hours allow students to observe professionals in the communication sciences and disorders field, which assists in their clinical setting decision making process.

When Meghan visited our office for the day, we were impressed with her professionalism and how she interacted with our patients. Following Meghan's visit to our office in January, we held a team meeting to discuss offering Meghan a full-time summer internship position. When we held the summer internship interview in early March, Meghan accepted the position with enthusiasm.

The Importance of the Summer Internship

A few years ago, I (Blaise) was an undergraduate student studying speech-language pathology at East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania. It was a requirement to obtain clinical observation hours before graduation. My classmates and I needed 25 speech hours and 5 audiology hours. I was grateful for the supervisors who donated their time and allowed me and my fellow classmates to schedule observation hours in various clinical settings. 

Encompassing an understanding of the observation process, I personally wanted to open an internship position for an undergraduate student studying communication sciences and disorders. In addition, I've personally had mentors throughout and following my undergraduate and graduate studies. That being said, paying it forward was important to me. The purpose behind the summer internship position was to provide the opportunity for a student to observe first-hand, the processes and procedures in the private practice setting. These processes and procedures include but are not limited to: 

•Scheduling patients 
•Rescheduling patients 
•Greeting patients 
•Otoscopy 
•Tympanometry 
•Comprehensive audiological evaluations 
•Hearing aid clean and checks 
•Real ear measurement 
•Scheduling/hosting effective team meetings 

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