Au.D. questions

[bpop]

Hi everyone! I'm thinking of doing an Au.D. degree. I'm only in a Medical Assisting program, so I'm unsure of how it works as getting into the program.

I'm thinking of attending University of Northern Colorado (the closest Au.D. program). All it says on their website is that I need an intro to audiology course and the GRE to be accepted... is that true? Or should I take other course work to be more competitive? I'm thinking of majoring in their audiology and speech bachelors degree, but it's kind of confusing as opposed to medical school applications, if that makes sense.

So, I guess what I'm asking is what classes should I take, and if the bachelors in audiology and speech-language sciences would be enough to get in with the background in the program?

Also, should I do shadowing in the field to make me more competitive? I've been thinking of doing this for a little while but I'm not sure...

Also, what is a typical day like? Is it worth going through this program? Or should I go more towards optometry (another option of personal consideration).

Thanks guys, and I'm sorry for so many questions!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[DefEarRing]

I'm not an Au.D.

From what I have read each school is different but their accreditation through ASHA requires them to make sure their students have certain pre-reqs. Like statistics, psychology, chemistry, research, etc.

Yes definitely shadow an audiologist. It will help give you an idea of the field, and if you really want to be in the field.

Hope and Au.D can come in here and help you with other questions. Good luck.

 

[Gal110]

Some schools really welcome non-background students, and others want you to have taken those classes that are in an undergrad CSD program. The best thing to do is ask the programs you are interested in to see if you perhaps you should pursue a post-bachelor's program somewhere, or take some other course of action.

Shadowing experience can't hurt an application, but even more than that I think it gives you a really good idea of whether or not this profession is for you. It would honestly help answer your own last question! I am just a first-year AuD student, but from my clinic experience and talking to other people in the program, what your day-to-day looks like really depends on your setting (school district, private practice, ENT, school for the Deaf, clinic connected to a large medical center, etc.) and therefore the populations you work with.

 

[TheEarDoc]

Hi everyone! I'm thinking of doing an Au.D. degree. I'm only in a Medical Assisting program, so I'm unsure of how it works as getting into the program.

I'm thinking of attending University of Northern Colorado (the closest Au.D. program). All it says on their website is that I need an intro to audiology course and the GRE to be accepted... is that true? Or should I take other course work to be more competitive? I'm thinking of majoring in their audiology and speech bachelors degree, but it's kind of confusing as opposed to medical school applications, if that makes sense.

So, I guess what I'm asking is what classes should I take, and if the bachelors in audiology and speech-language sciences would be enough to get in with the background in the program?

Also, should I do shadowing in the field to make me more competitive? I've been thinking of doing this for a little while but I'm not sure...

Also, what is a typical day like? Is it worth going through this program? Or should I go more towards optometry (another option of personal consideration).

Thanks guys, and I'm sorry for so many questions!

All programs require a bachelor's degree and the majority require certain undergraduate pre-req classes in speech and hearing courses. I know many programs like students from hard sciences fields rather just straight speech language degrees. The only problem is hard science courses usually result in lower overall GPA compared to communication disorder/speech language undergraduate courses (this is not an insult, just there is a big difference between the anatomy courses I took for speech pre-reqs and the pre-med anatomy courses I took). I would look at the programs you are interested in and they can give you a list of pre-reqs they require of students for their grad programs.

I would definitely recommend shadowing an audiologist to make sure you like the job. It's a nice hybrid of science/medicine and counseling which is what drew me to it. Yes some aspects of it are tedious (like when I'm doing 10-12 hearing evaluations in a day), but that is medicine in general. Shadowing and getting a good letter of rec from a practicing audiologist would be helpful for your admission packet.

There are many fields that are similar to audiology and pay more. Optometry is pretty typical day compared to audiology, but the pay is far better, but the schools are much more selective to get into! Psychology is close to audiology and now with the PsyD degree you can get a clinical degree and not have to get a PhD if research isn't your thing and they are paid far better than audiologists. A lot of the mid level practitioners (FNP, CNP, PA, etc.) all pay better and actually many have less education time than an Au.D.. I know about all the above mentioned professions because I was in school for most of them and was thinking of pursuing them before I went into Audiology.

Do I regret my choice of career fields? At times yes. There would be more jobs and more money and probably less schooling than what I earn/put into getting my Au.D., but I am happy most days. I make a decent paycheck each year. I feel rewarded in knowing I am helping people. So most days I feel fulfilled. I have my gripes about our profession like any other profession probably does, but I am hoping our scope of practice will expand in my career lifetime.