Wow! What an incredible start to our 2018 conference. The energy and excitement could be felt by all. It was a historic day full of compelling information and a lot of fun!
Dr. Ian Windmill, AuD kicked off the day with an excellent reflection on the history of Audiology and the challenges and opportunities facing us in the future. His insights on OTC hearing devices and the ways hearing care delivery is changing were truly invaluable. I don’t think anyone left his presentation without renewed hope and strategies for improving our clinical practice.
After a delicious lunch (seriously, I can’t remember conference food tasting so good), Dr. Nancy McKenna, AuD/PhD and Dr. Arti Pandya, M.D. provided key updates in genetics and hearing loss. We are so grateful for their wealth of knowledge and insight. Precision medicine, with targeted gene therapy is the future!
Our presentations for the day was capped off by a comprehensive and community approach to cochlear implantation by Dr. Howard Francis, M.D. His research regarding outcomes for adults with higher pre-operative speech discrimination abilities was incredibly eye-opening. Here’s hoping Medicare reimbursement starts paying attention!
The evening was full of fun events including: the student poster presentation, the trivia bowl and beer and pizza at Crank Arm Brewery. While top-notch continuing education is a key factor for a successful conference, I think we can all agree that opportunities to catch up with old friends and network with new colleagues is an anticipated benefit of any good state conference.
Thank you to all our organizers, volunteers and of course, our wonderful attendees for making the first day a wild success! Here’s to day 2!
-Patricia Johnson, AuD
