A majority of my life has been spent in pursuit of education; however, now I am seeing that chapter quickly coming to an end as I finish my second year of the master of science in audiology program at Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, Scotland.
With dissertation hand-in dates looming, I have taken time to really reflect on my experience as an international audiology master’s student amid a global pandemic. It has definitely been a learning curve—navigating differing registration processes, and the U.K.’s National Health Service (NHS) can be confusing at times—but I now have the foundations I need to be a good clinician and to start my career.
In my fourth year (of undergrad) at the University of Toronto, I took a course taught by an audiologist and was thus introduced to the field. Until then, I had no idea the area even existed. In one of the lectures, she invited a panel of colleagues to discuss the different job opportunities within the larger field. After learning about the work undertaken by a pediatric audiologist, something clicked; the combination of using continuously developing technology and employing a multitude communication tactics gripped my attention. It was that class that made all the difference.
At the same time, I was trying to figure out what to do after graduation. I considered taking some time off to travel. My grandmother was born in Scotland and left to move to Canada when she was five years old, and I had always wanted to investigate where my family came from. While planning the trip, I stumbled upon the master’s of science program in audiology in Edinburgh. It felt too good to be true. With a lot of encouragement from my family, I filled out the application.
Recent Posts
Academy, ADA, and ASHA Announce the Introduction of MAAIA in the Senate
The American Academy of Audiology, Academy of Doctors of Audiology (ADA), and American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) are pleased to announce the introduction of the Medicare…
Admission Rates of Neonatal Intensive Care Units in the United States
Pediatric audiology case-history questionnaires often ask about birth history and time spent in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). As such, audiologists who routinely see…
A New Flexible Auditory Brainstem Implant
An auditory brainstem implant (ABI) provides the sensation of sound to individuals who are deaf due to neurofibromatosis 2 (NF2) or a severely compromised or…