Research for Better Patient Care

Under the mentorship of Dr. Elizabeth Sedunov, clinical audiologist at the Pennsylvania Ear Institute (PEI), Doctor of Audiology students, Jessica Giacomelli and Sara Kabach, encountered a patient at the University’s on-site clinical facility in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania - who was diagnosed with Otodental Syndrome (ODS).

“It was something that we had never heard of before,” said Giacomelli. “It piqued our interest to look into it a little bit further and how we could dive into the audiological management of his progressive hearing loss.”

In the resulting poster by the duo, titled “Audiological Management of Otodental Syndrome,” they found that ODS requires lifelong audiologic monitoring, timely amplification updates and interdisciplinary collaboration, as well as genetic counseling and family engagement.

“Even though the focus of the poster is on audiology, this specific syndrome also involves other systems of the body, like vision and teeth, so ophthalmology and dentistry need to be involved in the management of a patient with a diagnosis like this, as well as counseling in genetics,” said Kabach.

The two were among Audiology students who presented recently at the Audiology Grand Rounds poster presentations for students in the Osborne Audiology program at Drexel University.

Each week throughout the semester a different aspect of creating a poster along with presentation skills were introduced and applied. According to Dr. Bre Myers, associate professor and associate program director of Didactic Education at Osborne Audiology and clinical audiologist at the PEI, the students did an excellent job of researching and presenting their posters. She added that it was a great way to present clinical information and give them practice talking in small groups, explaining the science and building the confidence they need and will need for the development of their careers post-graduation, specifically in patient care.

“It’s a really unique learning opportunity,” said Dr. Myers. “There was a lot of peer review, too, so every time the groups would create something, I would collect the information and do blind peer reviews where the students could receive feedback. Of course, they are in constant contact with their mentors as well.”