Aurora, IL, August 30, 2023 –At Phonak, audiology is at the heart of everything we do, so we take great pride in supporting audiology student education and outreach. Phonak U, an annual event focused on the needs of upcoming audiologists, is the crown jewel of our outreach offerings.
Phonak U was established in 2004 for audiology students as a way to educate, experience real-world situations, gain insight on current technologies and best practices, and build trusted partnerships with Phonak.
Over the years, Phonak U has connected with thousands of audiology students to increase their value as an audiologist and deepen their professional skillset outside of the classroom.
In 2023, Phonak U brought together more than 53 students and professionals from 36 different university programs around the country and “stepped into the spotlight” with the help of Second City! This virtual event was a great opportunity for students to enhance their counseling skills through improv.
Second City Works is the professional services arm of the Second City comedy theater that brought forth superstar talents like Tina Fey, Jimmy Fallon, Mike Myers and so many more. This renowned program works with businesses and professional organizations using “yes, and” and other improvisational techniques to facilitate positive and effective communication. Clearly there is a direct connection between the improv techniques and the counseling methods hearing care professionals use when working with patients. For this reason, the organizer of the event, Steve Hallenbeck, AuD, recruited the Second City Works teams for an evening where students honed their counseling skills through improv while learning, laughing and networking.
The feedback from the event was wonderful and students have remarked:
“This event was a lot of fun! When I went to the clinic after the event, I found myself implementing some of the skills we had practiced and my appointments were very successful! I think using improv to improve clinical skills is a fantastic idea and was well worth the time!”
“After this training, I feel more confident in my abilities to connect with my patients in the future, and I am excited to be able to apply what I have learned to the clinic!”
Along with the live virtual improv session, Phonak U provides curated self-paced online learning content to deliver the necessary audiological and technical information to make the event truly unique and special. Phonak is continuing to make the self-paced learning available at Learning.PhonakPro.com
To learn more and access the Phonak U 2023 learning resources, click here.
Stay tuned for next year’s event by joining our Student AuDience Newsletter mailing list. Click here to sign up.
If you have any questions about Phonak U or need assistance, please contact Steve Hallenbeck, Audiology Manager, at Steve.Hallenbeck@sonova.com.
