SOMERSET, NJ August 17 – This year, the Oticon Audiology Summer Camp celebrates 20 years of providing graduate students in audiology with a unique opportunity to gain relevant, practical professional world knowledge and insights. The 2017 summer camp, held in July 29- August 3 in Keystone, Colorado, brought together 104 future professionals representing a cross-section of US universities. The week-long camp experience, What Audiological Care Means in 2017, gave students a 360° view of the evolving professional world and the many opportunities that await them.
First introduced in 1998, the Oticon summer camp program was designed to educate students on advanced hearing device technology, something that was not covered as comprehensively at universities in the late 1990’s. In recent years, the quality of education in hearing device technology has dramatically improved at the university level. That change has enabled Oticon to shift the summer camp focus to three areas that help to prepare students to successfully enter professional life - patient interaction, professional development and life in private practice.
“What hasn’t changed is our focus on the importance of putting the needs of people first and the essential role of hearing care professionals in the delivery of quality hearing care,” said Don Schum, PhD, Oticon’s Vice President of Audiology who developed the US summer camp program. “We believe that Hearing Care is Healthcare™ and that the best hearing care is provided by caring professionals who are equipped with the knowledge and skills needed to navigate the changing healthcare arena.”
An expert team of audiologists, hearing industry veterans and practicing professionals joined with Oticon staff to introduce students to the newest findings in patient counseling, education and engagement. The week’s curriculum ranged from counseling challenges and complex fittings to job seeking and patient retention strategies. A special session explored the process of establishing and maintaining a healthy private practice.
“Ground-breaking improvements in hearing care happen where human experience meets advanced technology,” said Schum. “To facilitate this, Oticon actively engages in knowledge sharing within the hearing care profession. We hope that the summer camp experience will be the first of many Oticon knowledge-sharing events that young professionals participate in throughout their careers.”
