The 4^th year Audiology Externship at the University of Washington provides audiology graduate clinicians extensive experiences in pediatric  audiological care. and pediatric hearing research. The UW AuD Externship is a collaboration between the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) program at the Institute on Human Development and Disability (IHDD) and the Bloedel Hearing Research Center at IHDD. (IHDD was formerly called CHDD).

IHDD provides a wide range of services to infants, children, and adolescents including comprehensive diagnostic evaluations using behavioral hearing assessments, otoacoustic emissions, middle ear measures, and brainstem auditory evoked brainstem response testing.  Infants and children are fit with hearing aids and other hearing technologies and receive regular follow-up at IHDD; externs are involved in selection, fitting, verification, and outcome measures. Externs will participate in a number of IHDD interdisciplinary outpatient teams for children with developmental disabilities and special health needs: Child Development Clinic, Infant Development Follow-up Clinic, Down Syndrome Specialty Clinic, Cardiac Neurodevelopment Clinic, and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Clinic. Externs are enrolled in the UW LEND traineeship; the LEND program promotes leadership, research skills, and clinical expertise in graduate level health care professionals who intend to devote their careers to working with children, youth and adults with developmental disabilities. Audiology LEND Externs collaborate with other trainees in speech-language pathology, psychology, social work, physical therapy, occupational therapy, nursing, and developmental pediatrics. Leadership skills are developed through clinical practica, didactic seminars and hands-on workshops, participation in community organizations, advocacy projects, and a mentored leadership project.

Research experiences are provided with the Bloedel Hearing Research Center located in the IHDD building. Externs are provided opportunities to engage in research in both the Laboratory for Auditory Neuroscience Development (LAND) Lab. and in the Prosthetic Auditory Development (PADL) Lab. Externs are mentored in developing skills for assessing hearing and perception using both physiological and behavioral methods as well as research design and interpretation.

The externship is 12 months in duration, with a negotiable start and end date depending on the student’s program and the UW’s externship requirements. Ideally the student would start in early June and end in early June of the following year. A stipend is provided. Externs will be supervised by 2 to 3 experienced preceptors; all preceptors maintain ASHA certification.  An individualized plan of skill development will be developed for each extern and regular meetings will review the extern’s progress over the course of the 12 months.

UW AuD Externship sites expect the extern to have mastered these skills before they begin their clinical externship:

Candidates should have a solid foundation of clinical skills with experience in assessment of a full range of ages across pediatric and adult populations. Competitive candidates will have experience in diagnosis of hearing loss using a range of age-appropriate behavioral assessment measures and physiological measures. Candidates should have experience with selection, verification and fitting of a variety of hearing technologies. Competitive candidates will show strong academic preparation and experience demonstrating a passion for working with a pediatric population. Lastly, candidates will show a strong interest in family-centered, culturally competent care, and in developing strong partnerships in the care management process.

We expect the extern to learn/demonstrate these skills by the end of their clinical externship:

1) independently perform behavioral hearing evaluations including VRA, CPA, conventional audiometry, and speech audiometry using a variety of materials; 2) independently perform physiological measures using otoscopy, tympanometry, acoustic reflexes, OAE and ABR evaluations; 3) independently complete hearing aid consultations, evaluations and fittings with conventional and bone conduction hearing aids, as well as hearing assistance technology; 4) Communicate clearly with families and patients regarding the impact of hearing loss, hearing technology, and treatment options; 5) write clearly, accurately, and concisely in documentation and develop independent skills in use of electronic and paper medical records.

Application Process

Applications are due by the deadline listed on the Hear Careers posting. Applications will be reviewed and selected applicants will be interviewed by phone/video. Applicants are welcome to visit the U of WA at any time, but visitation is not required.

To apply, email the following documents to audxtern@uw.edu by the deadline:

1. Application in one pdf file consisting of:

• professional vita or resume that includes information in the following areas:
  • Clinical experience with dates and locations of each clinical practicum site and include a description of the practicum setting (community clinic, hospital, university audiology clinic, and information about the patient population). Please describe your experiences and responsibilities, and list the number of hours per week at each site. Include upcoming practica that are expected to be completed prior to starting the externship with estimated weekly hours.
  • Membership in professional organizations
  • Honors and awards, scholarships
  • Papers/posters published, presented, in press
  • Clinical and research interests
  • Research experience
• A transcript of your graduate work (unofficial or official).
• A letter of intent/personal statement describing your interests and goals for your Audiology Externship and why the UW Audiology Externship is a good match for you (no longer than 1 page).

2. Three (3) letters of recommendation on letterhead with at least one from your academic program professors/lecturers and two from clinical supervisors either within the academic program or in the community. Letters should be emailed directly from the supervisors and instructors/professors to audxtern@uw.edu.

Applicant Qualifications:

1. Applicants must be enrolled in an accredited AuD program and must have met all requirements for graduation with the exception of the Fourth Year Externship.
2. The student’s university program must provide professional liability insurance for the extern. Externs are required to provide proof of current vaccinations, and if the full panel required by UW is not current, then the extern will need to update vaccinations at his or her expense.
3. Final appointment to the externship position is contingent upon satisfactorily passing a background check that includes, but may not be limited to, criminal offender inquiry.
4. Persons with disabilities and/or diverse backgrounds are especially encouraged to apply: No participant, employee, student, beneficiary, or potential beneficiary of the University of Washington shall be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, disability, marital status, veteran status, or any other applicable basis in law.