Starkey First emphasizes growth and development in two specific areas. Professionals seeking to broaden their non-dispensing and patient care skills to operate a more successful hearing care practice and student audiologists wanting to learn more about the practical delivery of hearing health care services in a manufacturing environment.
Professional Opportunities
Starkey First's professional development courses address the most vital areas of building and maintaining a competitive practice. A series of two-day focus classes offer hearing care professionals business, marketing and patient care training.
Business Focus: Financial Management Principles
Offers participants a hands-on seminar specializing in the skills needed to maintain a financially healthy practice. Areas of emphasis include financial ratios, cash flow, balance sheets and the creation of a working business plan. Business Focus is an excellent course for new business owners, as well as current owners looking for in-sight into building a more profitable practice.
Marketing Focus: Building and Maintaining Successful Consumer Relationships
Outlines basic marketing acquisition and retention techniques needed to compete in today's hearing instrument marketplace. Attendees will learn how to establish advertising budgets and marketing plans utilizing a variety programs and promotional opportunities. Marketing Focus offers all business owners an opportunity to learn the important skills to more effectively reach current and prospective patients.
Patient Focus: Effective Care For Advanced Hearing Instrument Fittings
The course focuses on the latest care and rehabilitation techniques to help patients transition to amplification and develop realistic product expectations. Students will also learn fitting strategies incorporating CARE and PFS software applications. Patient Focus is an excellent course for hearing professionals looking for ways to elevate levels of care, as well as differentiating their practice from the competition.
Student Opportunities
To increase participation and reduce interference with academic work, Starkey First's student opportunities consist of a two-phase educational program and the William F. Austin Scholarship.
Educational programs include a three-day workshop in 2004 and a two-week internship in 2005. Scholarships are available for the 2004-2005 academic year with Starkey providing up to five $10,000 scholarships to audiology graduate students pursuing clinical, teaching and research careers.
Student Workshop
The goal of the workshop is to provide information and instruction on a wide variety of subjects, but it is not meant to be a hearing aid course. Instruction focuses on topics currently of interest in the field, widely misunderstood and areas not typically included in academic curriculum. Subjects include digital signal processing, advanced hearing aid technology, patient management and rehabilitation, and practice management.
The 2004 workshop is scheduled for August 5-7 at Starkey's World Headquarters in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. Application and the $150 payment deadline is June 15, and notification of selection will be made no later than July 15. Application materials are available by visiting www.starkeyfirst.com or by calling 800.328.8602.
Dr. Ruth Bentler and Dr. Robert Sweetow will be featured guest speakers at the inaugural workshop.
Dr. Bentler is a Professor of Audiology at the University of Iowa, Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology. Her current research interests include hearing aid technology with emphasis on the evaluation of device effectiveness and user satisfaction.
Dr. Sweetow is Director of Audiology and Professor of Otolaryngology at the University of California, San Francisco. His current research focuses on development of listening and communication enhancement procedures, comprehensive auditory communication diagnostic procedures, and amplification and management of the tinnitus patient.
William F. Austin Scholarship
Starkey is pleased to introduce the 2004 William F. Austin Scholarship available to graduate students in audiology. The goal of the scholarship is to support strong candidates pursuing clinical, teaching, and research careers in audiology. Up to five $10,000 scholarships will be available for the 2004-2005 academic year.
In order to be eligible, applicants must meet the following criteria:
Applicants must be accepted to, or currently enrolled in an accredited graduate (M.A., M.S., Au.D. or Ph.D.) program in audiology.- Although part-time study will be considered, priority will be given to those with full-time status (the equivalent of 9 credit hours or more per semester).
- Applicants must be committed to a clinical, teaching and/or research career in audiology.
- To meet the goal of supporting careers in audiology, Starkey expects to identify individuals with a commitment to attaining the degree and working in the audiology community for at least five years.
Scholarship funding will be directed toward tuition only. The funds may not be used for books, living expenses, conference attendance or travel. Recipients will have up to four years to use their $10,000 award with any unused monies will be retained by Starkey and not eligible to re-apply.
Deadline for application is July 1, 2004 and recipients will be announced at the Starkey First Student Workshop, held August 5-7, 2004. Application materials are available by visiting www.starkeyfirst.com or by calling 800.328.8602.
Additional Training
Starkey also offers regular product and software training throughout the United States. CEUs are available at certain classes and are subject to state approval. CEUs are also available through our comprehensive online training courses located at www.starkey.com/pages/professional/profPartner10.html. To learn more about Starkey's variety of professional and student training opportunities, please contact a sales representative at 800.328.8602.
Contact
Jason Hombach, Starkey Marketing Services, 800.328.8602
