NAFDA and the Au.D.: A Status Report

Historical perspective - 1998 & 1999:

The National Association of Future Doctors of Audiology (NAFDA) was founded in October 1998 by Delbert F. Ault, an Au.D. candidate at the University of Louisville. NAFDA was founded for a variety of reasons and with multiple goals.

Among the primary goals identified in 1998, was to provide Doctor of Audiology (Au.D.) students a national foundation upon which they could build a home. Au.D. students needed a unified and defined voice on important issues pertaining to the Au.D. and the profession, and NAFDA filled that role. NAFDA provided important educational and networking opportunities to help promote the Au.D. as the entry-level clinical degree for those practicing audiology.

The founding NAFDA National Board held their inaugural meeting in Louisville, Kentucky in January of 1999. The initial board members who served as National and Chapter Officers were Au.D. students from all programs. Schools represented on the first National Board included Ball State, Central Michigan University, Florida State, Gallaudet, University of Louisville, University of Florida, and Nova.

NAFDA held its first national convention in Arlington, VA with a sizeable attendance of 271, including students, advisory board members, corporate sponsors, and guests. Presentations and courses were conducted by some of the best known and most respected audiologists. The convention provided a means of communication and fellowship for Au.D. students from around the nation to meet, share information and form networking relationships to foster their professional careers.

Current Perspectives - 2000 & 2001:

In September, 2000 elections were held for the NAFDA 2001 national board. As the board transitioned for the first time, the new board strove to maintain the efforts and goals established by the founding board while they redefined and modified the structure of NAFDA to allow the organization to continue to evolve and prosper.

Under the leadership of NAFDA president Jina Scherer, the 2001 board met for a retreat in February 2001 in Knoxsville, Tennessee. The retreat afforded the board the opportunity to build teamwork skills and to devise an action plan for the coming year. Results of this retreat included redefining the committees for the national board, working to increase involvement at the local chapter level, working to prepare guidelines that would help the next elected NAFDA board transition into their roles more smoothly, and working to restructure the advisory board and corporate sponsor systems.

NAFDA in 2001 maintains the vision and goals of the founding national board. However, as the profession and the needs change, NAFDA's roles and responsibilities have matured and evolved. It is likely that the NAFDA Board in 2002, 2003 and so on, will face new challenges. Some of these challenges can be anticipated, and some not even imagined. We view the flexibility and the dynamic nature of the Board as an asset which increases the value of NAFDA for the student members and the profession.

NAFDA currently serves as a professional news source for students of audiology, and gives Au.D. candidates a communication link to their colleagues across the United States. NAFDA provides educational resources for Au.D. programs and provides financial resources for supplemental educational and networking purposes at national audiology conventions. NAFDA's outreach programs work to promote the Au.D. in multiple public and professional venues. Perhaps most importantly, NAFDA helps to serve as a training-ground for the next generation of political, clinical and academic leaders of our profession.

Other accomplishments of the NAFDA 2001 board include holding a successful NAFDA 2001 convention in St. Petersburg, Florida at the Tradewinds Island Grand Resort. Once again, the national conference featured some of the best known and most prominent speakers within our profession.

Importantly, at the 2001 conference, a major decision was made to hold the NAFDA 2002 conference in Philadelphia prior to the American Academy of Audiology convention. This decision was made to help facilitate increased student attendance, while decreasing the cost and time commitments of the membership regarding their total professional commitment. That is, the Board thought it would be more economical with respect to time and financial considerations to hold the NAFDA annual meeting in tandem with the AAA's annual meeting.

Additionally, NAFDA is extending an invitation to all audiology students from various programs of study to participate in the NAFDA meeting. The convention is open to Au.D, Ph.D., Sc.D., Ed.D., and master's program students. Currently, NAFDA is only open to membership for Au.D. students. However, one of the goals of the organization is to provide educational opportunities to all audiology students. NAFDA is also planning a project intended to reach undergraduate NSHLA students and invite them to the NAFDA 2002 conference. These outreach projects will provide great opportunities to tell students more about the profession of audiology and what NAFDA is all about.

Recently, NAFDA held elections for the 2002 national board. The President-Elect is Elizabeth Hoehl from Gallaudet University. A retreat was held in October 2001, in Black Mountain, North Carolina to help prepare the newly elected board for the upcoming year.

The Black Mountain retreat was productive and the new board worked to establish goals for the coming year. One of the newly identified primary goals will be to increase awareness of the Au.D. degree at the undergraduate and high school level. This goal will be accomplished with the help of the NAFDA members at the local level. Other goals identified for the new NAFDA board will include developing a membership certificate and working to improve communication with all NAFDA members from the four year programs, to the distance learning programs, and to the alumni members. NAFDA will be working to increase the involvement of all local members in national goals and to encourage students to participate in a variety of educational opportunities including professional , scholarly, practicum, research, clinical and publishing pursuits.

The current (2001) NAFDA board is excited about the action plan that was developed at the Black Mountain fall retreat and will work with the new (2002) NAFDA board to help carry out those goals in the most efficient and effective way possible. Another goal of NAFDA is to bridge the gap from being a student to becoming a professional.

Following the fall retreat, some of the NAFDA third year students attended the Academy of Dispensing Audiologists (ADA) convention in Asheville, North Carolina. This unique opportunity provided third year students with a mentor from the ADA and allowed the students opportunities to learn about audiology from the private practice perspective. As the private practice segment of the profession grows, this pivotal experience will assume greater value.

Future Goals - 2002 and Beyond.

Topics for the 2002 NAFDA convention will include interviewing, resume writing, developing negotiation and contracting skills, concepts of a good residency year experience, and, "The Future of Audiology: How To Be Successful and Do What You Love." The NAFDA 2002 conference will be held on Wednesday April 17, 2002. For further information, please see the NAFDA website at www.nafda.org.

The Au.D. Movement:

Currently there are 87 Au.D. programs in various approval stages. Twenty-seven new programs are approved to start in fall 2002. The anticipated impact and growth of the Doctor of Audiology degree is nothing short of tremendous. Right now there are 314 active four-year students and 917 distance learning students. At this time, there are 543 graduates now practicing with the Doctor of Audiology degree. The estimated projections of graduates practicing with the Au.D degree for 2002 is expected to be 740 and for 2003 the estimation is expected to be over 1000 audiologists who will be practicing with the Doctor of Audiology degree.

NAFDA Status:

NAFDA has grown from its initial 68 members from a few four year Au.D. programs, to more than 1800 members from 16 four-year programs and 5 distance learning programs. NAFDA also garnishes support and guidance from an additional 540 alumni members.

NAFDA and the profession are in an exciting time of change and growth. As officers of NAFDA, we thank all of those who have supported this organization and helped it grow and prosper.

Our corporate partners are critical to the many successes and opportunities NAFDA is able to provide to its student members and we thank our corporate partners sincerely for their continued support of this organization. As well, the advisory board has been very supportive and allows NAFDA wonderful opportunities such as this to share what we are doing and learn from the top professionals in the field of audiology. The National Association of Future Doctors of Audiology has come a long way since it's inception in October 1998, and we look forward to a bright future for the organization and the profession.