Not So Small Talk
Our third-year class had the unique opportunity to attend an all-day vestibular workshop on our campus. Of course, I was pumped about this! Vestib happens to be right up my alley.
The professor in charge of the event happened to know this little nugget of info, so he approached me to say that one of the main speakers was from my home state of South Carolina and he wanted to introduce us. I was excited and nervous about this--I finally was going to be able to meet an audiologist from South Carolina that was doing exactly what I wanted to do!
I was careful not to let my enthusiasm get the best of me and managed to prevent myself from saying anything stupid. He ended up being a great resource! He was able to give me some wonderful information about the field, as well as some state-specific information. I found out that very few audiologists focus solely on vestib, and tinnitus is even less touched. The talk motivated me even more to continue the direction I'm heading in.
Overall, the conference was very interesting and informative. We were able to use what we learned in class and apply it to many of the forums. There also were various other health professionals in attendance, such as a physical therapist and occupational therapist. This was important for me to see, because it confirmed that we as health professionals have to work together and at least be familiar with the other aspects of the body in order to better help our patients.
This conference definitely gave me that second wind I know I needed.