By: Shealyn Bissell

The current global public health crisis is affecting all sectors of society. The swiftness that the virus infiltrated the global community and economy forced many to adapt and make changes to everyday life. Changes caused by the pandemic will reverberate for years to come. Education has completely transformed, and educators and students alike will rise to face the obstacles that present themselves day by day. Together, educators must shift the way that we prepare students for success in their field. When the majority of clinical education experiences require learning through physical patient contact, how can students prepare for a career in healthcare?

Audiology is a clinical profession in which licensed professionals examine hearing and balance in patients at regular intervals throughout the work day. In order to develop the clinical skills needed during the evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of patients students require hands-on experiences in a clinical Audiology setting. The locations Audiologists can provide audiological services include private practices, physician offices, hospitals, schools, colleges and universities, rehabilitation centers, and long-term residential health care facilities. Many of these facilities are now severely impacted by policies designed to limit the spread of COVID-19. Audiology professionals are reluctant to act as preceptors for student supervision during internships and externships, and consequently student placements are looking drastically different than in previous years.

In the SJSU Department of Audiology, our goal is to provide our cohort of students with a well-rounded clinical education. This work involves innovative ideas proposed by all faculty members. Open lines of communication between faculty, staff, and students and the synergy of minds is essential to developing new concepts of socially-distanced clinical practicum experiences. The cohort’s first clinical practicum course is scheduled to begin Spring semester 2021. Prior to social distancing guidelines this would have involved direct clinical observation and direct clinical experience supervised by a faculty preceptor. A state of the art clinical lab is currently under construction where students of Audiology will eventually serve members of the campus community and local community at large. We have adjusted our proposed in-person clinical lab sizes, come up with a rotating schedule, acquired cutting edge equipment that students can use individually, and executed clinical observation contracts with medical professionals throughout the state. Until it is safe for our students and faculty to work and learn in our on campus clinical space alongside community members, we will continuously evolve to accommodate state and county guidelines while also offering our first cohort the highest quality clinical experience.

Simulation software is an essential part of clinical distance learning. The pressures of COVID-19 have created an environment where clinicians in academic roles across the nation have done the necessary work of creating software that is realistic to the day to day tasks of the profession. Our faculty have individually tested and assessed all of the viable software related to Audiology and hearing science that is currently on the market. As a new and upcoming department, our faculty is determined to implement the best audiological simulation software to supplement didactic discourse. With a collaborative and interdisciplinary approach, San José State University educators stand in solidarity with each other to cultivate excellent training for our students. The Department of Audiology will present clinical education in the Spring of 2021 that will showcase all of the diligent and enthusiastic work the Clinical Director and entire faculty has done to ensure the students of Audiology receive an unsurpassed clinical experience.