One could say that the Ida Institute and Trevor Menchenton have developed side-by-side from the very start.
Menchenton attended Ida’s first seminar series titled “Defining Hearing” in 2009. At that point, Menchenton was a graduate audiology student at Dalhouise University in Halifax, Canada. The Ida Institute was a new organization, having just been established the year prior.
Time has marched forward, and so has Trevor Menchenton. He is now the owner and lead clinical audiologist at Audiocorp, a private hearing clinic with locations throughout New Brunswick, Canada. We recently had a chance to catch up with him and learn how Ida’s principles have contributed to the success of his private clinic.
“I approach each patient differently,” states Menchenton. “Ida really inspired me to approach each person with simple positivity, [no matter whether] you introduce yourself to a patient for the first tine or for the fiftieth time. When you start the interview or appointment with such a positive nature, [the patient] responds in kind.”
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Working in a private clinic can be time-consuming. This has not prevented Menchenton from implementing the Ida tools and encouraging his colleagues to apply patient-centered care principles during their consultations. Instead of adding stress to their already busy day, the Ida tools have had a positive effect on professional satisfaction.
“I find that my appointments have become much more enjoyable. My days don’t seem as long,” remarks Menchenton. “It has been just an amazing thing for me to realize how such simple, small tactics can really have a large influence on the success of your practice.”
By using the tools, Menchenton finds that he can learn more about the individual needs and perspectives of each patient. This enables him to create tailored plans that, in the end, increase patient satisfaction.
“I think the greatest less for me was realizing that the emotional questions can gather an amazing amount of useful information,” concluded Menchenton. “For example, how do these problems make you feel? What kind of impact do these difficulties have on your partner’s life? These are the type of things that will help me understand a broader perspective of the impact that their hearing loss is having on them and others.”
Trevor Menchenton is an established member of the Canadian audiology community. In 2009, he received the Jean Kienapple Award for Clinical Excellence from the Canadian Academy of Audiology. His private clinic, Audiocorp, is growing and opened their third full-time clinic in New Brunswick this March.