If you have had an audiology appointment at our clinic within the past 10 months, you may have worked with our audiology extern, Ediberto Rodriguez. The audiology externship is the culmination of a four year clinical doctorate program. Students will take coursework for 3 years and their final year of training is spent full time in a clinical setting. Edi will continue working as a part of our team until mid-May and will graduate in June. Below is what Edi had to say regarding his experience at Jacksonville Hearing & Balance Institute:
As I am almost done with my 4th year audiology rotation, I would like to share my experience here at JHBI. It’s been a very challenging year for me but I have enjoyed the process a lot. When I look back a few months ago I can say that I have learned, developed skills, and grown as a person a lot. Definitely JHBI is a great place to do a final year rotation before going out to the real world as a professional. With JHBI being a very comprehensive clinic, it gives me the opportunity to experience multiple areas of audiology that include diagnostic evaluations, balance testing, implantable devices, amplification, tinnitus, etc. Something that I enjoyed from my time here is that every day I will be doing something different within the scope of audiology. That helped me to determine which areas I like the most and will like to focus on after graduation. I want to thank the audiology staff for teaching me during this year. I have learned so much about how to be an audiologist following best practices and offering the best care to patients.
I will be graduating this summer from A.T. Still University in Mesa, AZ. My plan after graduation is to go back home to Puerto Rico to start my professional career. I decided that I want to have a focus in my career in the areas of diagnostics, evoked potentials, vestibular, and amplification. I am happy to have the opportunity to be able to go back home to practice the profession of audiology but also to be closer to my family.
I want to end by giving the thanks to JHBI for the opportunity that they gave me to be able to do my final year of school here in the clinic. I am very thankful to all the JHBI staff for making me feel comfortable during my time here and helping me to succeed. I will be always very grateful to the staff but especially to the audiology department for their support and being patient with me and helping me to be more confident.
Thank you for your hard work this year Edi, and congratulations on your upcoming graduation! We wish you the best as you start your professional career!