Alejandro Rodicio ‘24AUD was an audiologist in Cuba in the 1990s, working for many years in auditory rehabilitation in a hospital setting. After leaving Cuba years ago, he relocated to Miami, where he now lives and works as a hearing aid dispenser.
But he’s always wanted to return to his roots as an audiologist and he continues the pursuit of his degree through the Doctor of Audiology Online Bridge Program in the University’s Osborne College of Audiology (OCA).
In addition, Rodicio has taken in advantage of OCA’s summer workshop program, two four-day workshops offered this summer at the University's Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, campus.
“I’m an audiologist and I want to get my degree, and Salus has opened the door for me. I’m honored and proud to be here,” he said. “The workshops couldn’t be better. I cannot put into words how this is going to help me in my profession.”
This summer workshop topics included vestibular and balance disorders, which is designed to provide audiologists a didactic and hands-on immersion experience in the assessment, diagnosis and management of all different types of vestibular and balance disorders; and electrophysiology in Audiology, which addressed the theoretical concepts and hands-on training with emphasis on advanced assessment techniques.
The goal is to provide an update on current science as well as advances in the specific topic of study for the workshops, review clinical implications, and provide hands-on training using the tools and techniques discussed in order to improve clinical practice. The workshops are designed to have an immediate impact on the participant’s clinical service delivery and are taught by faculty who are distinguished by their expertise in the areas taught.
Bittu Alyias ‘24AUD, originally from South India, is in the U.S. working as an audiologist’s assistant at South Florida ENT Associates while he goes through the University’s online bridge program. He already has a master's degree in Audiology from Inida and several years of experience.
“This week has really been interesting. We had hands-on training with the vestibular system, learned about anatomy and also did a lot of balance testing on each other,” said Alyias. “I want to increase my knowledge about the field of audiology, particularly the vestibular systems and electrophysiology, and also to further my qualifications and credentials so that I can finally work as an audiologist here in the U.S.”
Entry to practice in the U.S. requires an AuD (Doctor of Audiology degree) and in many other parts of the world entry to practice Audiology requires an MSc and in some a four-year bachelor's degree.
Alyias cited the workshop instructors — Darren Whelan, MSc, an international clinical trainer for the Interacoustics Academy in Denmark; and Bre Myers, AuD ‘06, PhD ‘17, CH-AP, assistant dean for the Foundations and Assessment of Audiologic Medicine at OCA — as integral parts of making the summer workshop experience valuable for participants.
“It’s exciting to learn a lot from highly qualified individuals,” said Alyias. "They have helped us a lot and answered a lot of our questions and queries. We’re all from different parts of the world and it’s a little bit different in each country how we do things protocol-wise. We all have different experiences and different skill sets, so it has helped us develop what we’ve learned.”
Akash Juneja ‘23AUD completed both his bachelor’s and master’s degree in India, and for the past 11 years has been working at a hospital in Singapore. He attended the workshops to learn about recent best practices that will help him deliver the best care to his patients.
“As audiologists, we do see patients who have different needs when it comes to their balance issues or auditory processing,” said Juneja. “The tests we’ve learned in these workshops show us how they can be effectively utilized for the patients. By having a better understanding, we can have a more efficient way of testing. There is a lot to learn and that’s part of the field, because learning never stops.”
During the workshops, Giri Sundar, MPhil, PhD, CCC-A-FAAA, assistant dean of distance education programs at OCA, was approached by Anjali Bhat ‘23AUD, a student attending from Singapore.
“One of the best quotes came from Anjali, who said, ‘These workshops have rekindled my love of Audiology.’ That quote is the embodiment of what we strive for in this program and these workshops,” said Dr. Sundar.
