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Historically, audiology students were supervised either in the university clinic or at community audiology practices by experienced audiologists. These one-on-one opportunities provided direction for the growth of an audiology student’s knowledge and skill, with the goal to obtain a specified number of “supervised” hours that presumably designated clinical competence. 

Members of the American Academy of Audiology’s Coding and Reimbursement Committee (CRC) and the Practice Policy Advisory Council (PPAC) often collaborate with other audiology organizations, including the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and the Academy of Doctors of Audiology (ADA), to develop coding guidance based on frequently asked questions (FAQs). Most recently, the groups worked together to create guidance addressing various issues related to coding and reimbursement for audiology services.

As chair of the ARC, I was honored to work with several distinguished pediatric audiologists on the organizing committee, including Dr. Marlene Bagatto, University of Western Ontario; Dr. Linda Hood, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine; and Dr. Douglas P. Sladen, Mayo Clinic—Rochester. With their thoughtful input, we convened an outstanding program of researchers in our field that attracted 230 attendees! 

Advances in technology and research have allowed the profession of audiology to grow and further expand its scope of practice. Despite the professional growth, the number of licensed audiologists has declined by 3.3 percent over the last eight years (Hosford-Dunn, 2017). This negative growth rate is due to there being fewer graduating audiologists than there are audiologists who are exiting the workforce, whether due to retirement, change of career, or otherwise (Windmill and Freeman, 2013).