Larry Engelmann: 2006-2007
This year was one of the best times in the history of the academy to serve you, the members, and to work with a dynamic Board of Directors. While beginning ADA's 30th Anniversary, I was inducted to serve simultaneously as both the 15th ADA President and the first President of the Academy of Doctors of Audiology!
I have come to realize and appreciate that when you lead change, you are in a strong position to direct it rather than having to react to it. While continuing to serve our members, the Board looked forward to the future of our profession. One of my first actions was to bring a proposal to the Board to support a Vision for audiology's future that involved "audiologists owning audiology through practice ownership". Upon approval, the Practice Model Task Force was appointed and subsequently published a landmark Whitepaper draft entitled, "Ensuring Audiology's Future in Healthcare through Autonomous Private Practice: ADA's Vision Whitepaper". ADA member peer review resulted in 91.4% ‘strongly agreeing or agreeing' that audiology should move from primarily a "wage-employment" to primarily an "ownership" practice model. Forthcoming will be ADA's strategic plan to accomplish this necessary profession-wide change that will involve practitioners, faculty, students, and industry.
Adding to ADA's list of important accomplishments, i.e., creating the ‘Standard of Care' with hearing aids and cerumen management and the ‘Standard of Education' with the Au.D., ADA can now add establishing the ‘Standard of Practice' with the Vision.
The ADA Board appreciates feedback about the Whitepaper from the National Association of Future Doctors of Audiology (NAFDA) Board of Directors. Both Boards look forward to working together in our ongoing relationship in the pursuit of ensuring a strong profession and outstanding patient care.
We continued our productive relationship with the Exhibitor Liaison Committee for convention planning. At the annual Hearing Industry Association (HIA) business meeting, Dr. David Berkey and I assured the HIA leaders that ADA remains committed to enhancing the businesses of our industry partners, ADA, and ADA's members. We also had ADA members participate in the annual Hearing on the Hill in Washington, D.C.
As an ongoing process, ADA continued to serve its members in the areas of governmental affairs, legislative action, and licensure law changes. Direct Access remained a hot issue to pursue. The ADA Board also took a position opposing the use of the title "Audioprosthologist" by hearing aid dispensers.
ADA continued to support our investment in the Accreditation Commission for Audiology Education (ACAE) by providing platforms and venues for information transfer to transition audiology to an accrediting body devoted to only audiology and to the Au.D. degree. We also fostered the establishment of ‘preceptor training' to ensure that future generations of students receive the necessary clinical teaching to become outstanding and productive doctors as well as support the ownership practice model.
As an important and necessary next step in redefining the ADA, the Board voted to begin the process of updating and modernizing FEEDBACK. After several months of deliberation with the Board and a branding expert, the Board of Directors unanimously voted to change the official magazine of the Academy of Doctors of Audiology to ‘Audiology Practices' (AP). The design and development of which began a necessarily long and arduous process of restructuring and redesign.
The convention's Program Committee and staff worked exceptionally hard to bring us an outstanding 2007 convention at the Peabody Hotel in Orlando, Florida. The convention focused on doctoring care, practicing independently and autonomously, and on the "business of audiology". We learned from each other and shared ideas that enabled us to become and remain successful in our professional and personal lives. We also celebrated and honored the outstanding lives and contributions to audiology of two of our late friends and colleagues, Anita “Nikki” Pikus, Au.D. and George Osborne, Ph.D., D.D.S. Each was posthumously awarded the 2007 Joel Wernick Award.
I was honored and blessed to be ADA's President and to serve each of you. As my President's term comes to a close, I want to leave you words of assurance: Your upcoming President and Board are strong and cohesive; they get the "Big Picture"; and they will keep ADA focused on advancing benefits to members and providing leadership for shaping our profession's bright future!