"What PAA Means to Me" by Suzanne Yoder, VP of Membership

I believe Pennsylvania needs an audiology home.  In order to best serve audiologists, an organization must first represent audiologists.  The Pennsylvania Academy of Audiology (PAA) strives to be this home by addressing issues that we care about.  PAA is the driving force behind improving the state licensure to represent our current level of expertise and to allow us to practice our full scope of practice as we have been trained to do.  PAA is also working with OVR, medical assistance and other state agencies to improve on our claims processes and reimbursement scales.  PAA is lobbying in Harrisburg for the issues our membership cares about.  These are just a few reasons I choose to support PAA, but more membership is needed to make a difference.  We need to represent the current audiology workforce in PA in order to make the biggest impact.  WE NEED YOU! Go to www.paaudiology.org to learn more and to find online membership applications.

Other Benefits:

• CEU opportunities: Centrally located annual conventions.
• Routine membership surveys to make sure we are meeting your needs.
• Networking opportunities
• Exhibit halls
• Lobbying events in Harrisburg
• Online resources:  Directory, Legislative issues, Consumer search engine, & Listserv

If you are already of member and would like to share what PAA means to you please email Suzanne Yoder at DrYoder@hearwellcenter.com.

"Showing Up" by Kris English, AAA President

In the last three months, I’ve been privileged to visit state academies in Florida, California, Colorado, New Jersey, Tennessee, and Texas. Although each state has its unique challenges, they also share this common concern: only about 20 percent of the audiologists in each state belong to the state chapter. In other times
in our history, that might not have been particularly worrisome. But in this era, when our scope of practice is under direct attack at the state licensure level, our state leaders want to speak for us from a position of strength. They want to report they represent most audiologists, not a small handful of audiologists.

What would help the other 80 percent show up? If there is a fear of being tapped for volunteerism, don’t worry, that’s not what I’m suggesting. Not everyone can show up “in person,” as it were, but there’s always a way to show up “in spirit:” simply by becoming a dues-paying member.

These are challenging economic times, and it’s certainly reasonable to ask, “What do I get for these dues?” That’s a fair question, and the answer often includes tangibles such as valuable CE opportunities. But the core value of professionalism takes us further, to ask an additional question: “What does my profession need from me?” It’s not the usual way we operate in this world, but it does demonstrate the difference
between a job and a profession: our obligation to give back.

Right now, what state organizations need is numbers. They need every audiologist to be counted as a member. They cannot speak for you if you are not on their roster. They may not be able to protect your scope of practice if you don’t show up for them. We’ve all heard the Woody Allen line that 90 percent of work involves showing up—and it makes us laugh because showing up is the least one can do. What if 90
percent of audiologists show up for this work, by becoming members of one’s state organization? It’s the least we can do, and yet licensure boards would have to listen.

<<<<< Action Alert!!! >>>>>

The Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure bill formerly known as SB 1342, and which originally began in 1984 as the Speech-Language and Hearing Licensure Act, was reintroduced to the State Senate on April 1, 2009 as SB 710. For more information please visit the Governmental Issues page in the Members Only section

Save the Dates for the 2010 PAA Convention

17th Annual PAA Convention
Thursday thru Saturday
September 30 –October 2, 2010

at the Penn Stater
215 Innovation Blvd
State College, PA 16801