The American Board of Audiology® (ABA) has appointed a select group of practitioners in the field of
audiology to lead the development of a Practice Analysis in Audiology (PA-AuD), which will provide an understanding of current professional practice that is clear and comprehensive, and meets the needs of today’s audiology profession.

Members of the PA-AuD Steering Group are charged with appointing the PA-AuD Task Force of thought ABA Logo leaders, educators, employers, academicians, and other stakeholders who will create the description of today’s audiology practice. To work with the steering group and task force, the ABA recently chose PES as its partner in developing the job-task analysis for the profession to provide a solid framework for audiology programs.

“We continue to focus on ensuring that audiologists have the depth of knowledge needed to provide quality hearing care services, and this practice analysis will help us define the requirements that a highly skilled audiologist must hold to be an effective practitioner,” said Torryn P. Brazell, ABA managing director. “This steering group will lead our practice analysis as we move toward providing a foundational base from which audiology programs can design and build effective educational and credentialing programs.”

The steering committee includes the following members:

E. Kimberly Barry, AuD, is chief of audiology and speech pathology service at the Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center in Augusta, Ga. She has been in the field of audiology for over 30 years and is a member of the Georgia Academy of Audiology. Barry holds the ABA board certified in audiology credential.

Melanie Herzfeld, AuD, PASC, is a private practitioner based in Michigan and has served on the ABA Board of Governors as well as on committees for the American Academy of Audiology. She also has served as a subject matter expert for the Pediatric Audiology Specialty Certification (PASC®) program. Herzfeld holds the ABA board certified in audiology and pediatric audiology specialty certification credentials.

Gail M. Whitelaw, PhD, PASC, is the director of the Ohio State University Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic. She has served in leadership positions on behalf of the profession on both the state and national levels, including as chair of the ABA Board of Governors and president of both the Ohio Academy of Audiology and the American Academy of Audiology. She holds the ABA board certified in audiology and pediatric audiology specialty certification credentials.

Torryn P. Brazell, MS, CAE, is the managing director of the ABA. As a credentialing practitioner, she manages the development, launch, and maintenance of certification programs from concept to body of knowledge creation, implementation, practice, and re-certification.

SOURCE: American Board of Audiology® (ABA)