Ida Fellow Beth Humphrey has integrated the Ida University Course into the Audiology Counseling Course at the University of Tennessee. Her students find that the course provides valuable practical counseling techniques that can be directly applied to their future work in the clinic.
As students are exposed to the counseling skills in the Ida University Course, a whole new world of audiology is opened up for them, according to Assistant Clinical Professor Beth Humphrey. Most students in the counseling course are in the process of completing or have completed their supervised clinical appointments. The Ida course expands the students' understanding of their role as an audiologist and reinforces the importance of good communication skills during consultation sessions.
“I believe the course will help make my students more well-rounded...The course makes the students realize that they can do different things in order to connect with their patients,” stated Professor Humphrey. “The students realize they can explore a patient’s emotions when they come into the clinic for a hearing test. At first, they are weary of diving into these emotions, but they learn from the course that they need to explore the patient’s emotions. Before the course, they may have brushed off an aside or a small comment by the patient. But after the course, they begin to focus on some of those unspoken issues that can significantly impact patient motivation.”
The Ida University Course teaching methods motivate the students to think critically about clinical situations and work to improve their patient-centered counseling skills. Throughout the course, Professor Humphrey uses role-playing, idea sharing, and reflection exercises to introduce and review patient-centered counseling skills.
“The course presents evidence-based practice about counseling skills through interactive activities that keeps the students involved during the entire course. In this way, the Ida University Course works better than a series of PowerPoint presentations,” stated Professor Humphrey. “The interactive exercises in the course involve the students who are likely to hide in the corner. The students may end up having to work harder, but since we discuss how to deal with real-life clinical situations during the course, the students are motivated to stay involved.”
Currently an Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of Tennessee Hearing and Speech Center, Beth Humphrey attended the Ida Seminar on Communication Partnerships in 2010. This marks the second year in a row where Professor Humphrey has taught the Audiology Counseling Course using the Ida University Course.