Interview with Robert Keith Ph.D., Chair, American Board of Audiology
Robert Keith, Chair, American Board of Audiology
Former president, American Academy of Audiology,
Professor of Otolaryngology-Audiology.
Department of Otolaryngology - Head and
Neck Surgery, University of Cincinnati,
College of Medicine.
AO/Beck: Dr. Keith, it's always a pleasure speaking with you. Thanks for taking the time out of your busy schedule to speak with me tonight.
Keith: Happy to do so Doug.
AO/Beck: Bob, there are about a million things we could talk about. Nonetheless, I'd like to spend the time this evening talking mostly about the American Board of Audiology (ABA) and of course Board Certification in Audiology.
Keith: Sure, that would be great. Let's do it.
AO/Beck: Let's start with the ABA. I believe you guys started certifying people in 1999? Additionally, my understanding is that at the present time The AAA (the 'Academy') funds the ABA, but once it is financially viable, the ABA will be totally independent. Is that correct?
Keith: Yes, we started in 1999 and financial independence has been the plan from the beginning. The ABA is actually an autonomous body at this time. The ABA makes it's own administrative decisions, rules, bylaws and governs it, but as you mentioned, it is currently funded by the Academy to help it get established. When enough people are certified, the ABA will become financially self-sufficient. Additionally, at this time, we function as a committee of the Academy, and that allows us a certain protections under their corporate umbrella. However, we have a Memo of Understanding between the AAA Board of Directors and the ABA Board of Governors that outlines the relationship between the two boards, and again specifies that the ABA will be independent as soon as possible
AO/Beck: Bob, what are the current activities of the ABA?
Keith: We are active in recruiting new ABA applicants, reviewing their status, certifying audiologists and renewing certification and related activities.
AO/Beck: Who 'heads' the ABA and who are the Governors?
Keith: I am the Chair of the Board of Governors of the ABA. The current members of the Governing Board include; Cheryl DeConde Johnson, Dennis Van Vliet, Sharon Fujikawa (who also serves as the liaison with the Academy), Georgine Ray, John Ziegler, and Terry Oliver-Penn. The two new people who will be joining the Board of Governors will be Bill Beck and Carolyn Hyde. In addition, there is a wonderful staff person named Marilyn Weisman who is the ABA Director of Certification. She can be contacted at the Academy toll-free number (1-800-AAA-2336) or the Academy website.
AO/Beck: How many people are ABA certified at this time?
Keith: There are approximately 225 people who are ABA certified and we are currently processing another 25 or so applicants. We anticipate getting a significant number of new applicants as more people learn about the available alternatives in certification.
AO/Beck: What must an applicant do in order to achieve ABA certification?
Keith: There are three routes to becoming ABA certified. The first route is for audiologists who do not hold a state license. These applicants must have completed either an MA/MS program or a doctoral program in audiology, achieved score of 600 or higher on a national exam and must have accrued a minimum of 2000 hours of professional practice in audiology during a two year period. The 2000-hour requirement is waived for those who have earned the Au.D. Degree.
AO/Beck: So those of us who have the Au.D. Degree via distance education and have been in practice for many years have actually fulfilled the requirements and simply need to apply?
Keith: Yes, that's correct. However, even the full-time residency-based Au.D. students will graduate with more than 2000 hours of professional experience. So in essence, the three requirements are the graduate degree, a score of 600 or higher and 2000 hours.
AO/Beck: How does one document 2000 hours of professional practice?
Keith: A mentor is identified by the applicant and the mentor's name is put forward to the ABA. Mentors should be licensed and experienced and are selected for their high quality leadership and competency. It is not necessary to have ABA board certification to serve as a mentor, but anyone with ABA certification is eligible. The purpose of the mentor's guidance is to enhance the competency and ethical standards of the ABA certification process.
AO/Beck: And the other two routes to obtaining the ABA certification are?
Keith: The second route is 'reciprocal eligibility', based on an audiologist's state license and their graduate school transcript. The third route is for audiologists in states without licensure. Probably the best thing for the audiologist to do is to get in touch with us, through the toll-free the Academy phone number (1-800-AAA-2336) and we can get the detailed information to them on how to apply and the fees and the paperwork required.
AO/Beck: What is the advantage for the audiologist to have ABA board certification?
Keith: In answering that question I would like to talk about what I consider to be the five steps of professionalism. First, the graduate degree in audiology prepares you to practice within the broad category of 'audiology'. Second, the state license (or state registration) in 47 states identifies you as legally entitled to practice your profession within your scope of practice. The third step is membership in a professional organization such as; the Academy, ADA etc., and that provides you with CEUs, political issues, promotes the profession to the public etc. The fourth step is Board Certification. This voluntary certification identifies audiologists who are competent to practice across the wide range of professional activities. It says to employers, colleagues and peers, that the certificate holder has met a standard that demonstrates ability and competence. As you know, the recertification process demands CEUs, and so therefore, the ABA certificate also acknowledges that the certificate holder is keeping up with their professional education. The fifth step is advanced certification with specialty recognition. Specialty recognition will actually be on a par with the physician's board certification, and this is the ultimate goal for us.
We just held an ABA task force meeting on this topic. In addition to the ABA Board, we had five other audiologists giving their input. Those five included; Alice Holmes, Kay Bachman, David Hawkins, Bill Beck and Jina Scherer. Brian Walden served as the facilitator, and he did an excellent job in leading the group. So we are developing the idea of specialty recognition, and you'll learn more about this soon.
AO/Beck: In what 'specialty areas' will specialty recognition board certification be available?
Keith: They are not all defined yet, but they will probably include areas such as: pediatric audiology, educational audiology, geriatric audiology, intraoperative monitoring, amplification and aural rehab, cochlear implants, vestibular evaluation and rehab, occupational hearing conservation and others too. Again, these are some of the preliminary categories, but we are still developing them. Also, it's important to appreciate the difference between professional areas of expertise versus technical skills. We hope to identify professional areas, rather than technical skills, through the advanced certification.
AO/Beck: Can you compare and contrast the current ABA certification with the traditional ASHA issued CCC-A?
Keith: Sure. You do not have to be a member of any professional audiology association to earn and maintain the ABA certification. The ABA certificate is voluntary. In addition, the ABA certification actually requires more hours of professional practice and continuing education than does the CCC-A. Lastly, the ABA was designed by and for audiologists.
AO/Beck: Who recognizes the ABA certification at this time, as equal to the CCC-A?
Keith: A few state licensure boards currently recognize ABA certification. In addition we are in the process of contacting other state licensure boards with requests to recognize ABA certification. We are working with the military, the VA, and a number of third party payers so that they will recognize the ABA certification. So, we're pursuing recognition, and while it will take time, we are making progress on all fronts.
AO/Beck: Bob, thanks for your time this evening. I know this is an enormous challenge and I'm glad you're at the helm! Any last thoughts on this topic?
Keith: Yes, the ABA will have a booth at the Academy's Convention 2001 to provide information to the Academy membership, and we'll have a roundtable session too. So, please have the readers contact us at the Academy (1-800-AAA-2336) or through the website www.audiology.org to get more information, or please feel free to visit with us at the Academy convention.
AO/Beck: Thanks Bob, have a happy and healthy New Year and thanks to you and the ABA Board for your efforts on this project.
