QMU Audiology graduate wins Student of the Year Award
A graduate of Queen Margaret University’s Hearing Aid Audiology programme has been presented with a Student of the Year award for her academic successes and ‘people-centred’ approach to healthcare.
Elizabeth Deeney, from Clydebank, recently graduated from QMU with a Diploma in Higher Education in Hearing Aid Audiology, which she has been putting into practice in her role as a hearing aid dispenser across four branches of Specsavers in the west of Scotland.
Elizabeth first started as an optical assistant at the Dumbarton store in 2014, before embarking on the course at QMU in 2015. She is now working as full-time hearing aid dispenser in Specsavers stores in Clydebank, Milngavie, Dumbarton and Braehead following her graduation in July of this year.
In only a matter of months, she’s built up a loyal customer base, with two clients proudly displaying cuttings of local press coverage of Elizabeth’s success on their fridges at home!
Elizabeth said: “I love audiology so much because every single day and every single person is so different. As a hearing aid dispenser, you get to see people on a long term journey.
“I get bored easily so I’ve tended to change jobs quite often, but being a hearing aid dispenser is the only job I’ve done that I absolutely love.”
Speaking of the QMU course’s role in cementing her career choice, Elizabeth said: “[It] really confirmed that audiology was for me.
“I enjoyed working with other students and patients, going into the lab with a group of students to work on different techniques. It was challenging but very rewarding.”
Dr Christine Johnson, Lecturer in Audiology at QMU, said: “Elizabeth was a great student representative and exhibited both good academic and technical skills. Where she really shone as a student was in her attitude to others.”
“Elizabeth is inherently ‘person-centred’ and is genuinely interested in other human beings and how she can contribute to their wellbeing. This is an essential quality when working in a healthcare setting and we are delighted that she is now running her own hearing aid dispensing clinics.”
Margaret Black from Starkey, a hearing aid technology company which generously sponsored the award, added: “We at Starkey are proud to support the ongoing education and training of all new audiologists and dispensers taking part in the courses offered at QMU.
“Elizabeth is a true ambassador for our cause with her passion for caring and helping all her patients, and they clearly appreciate it. It’s the first time I have heard of a dispenser’s story in a newspaper making it to the door of a customer’s fridge!
“We have presented this award to QMU for several years now and have not only been impressed with the technical/theory standard achieved by all the winners, but also their commitment to giving people with a hearing loss a better quality of life.”
Professor Fiona Coutts, Dean of Health Sciences at QMU, said: “Hearing loss can have a profound effect on people lives, with reduced hearing loss often leading to social isolation and depression. We are delighted that Elizabeth has not only been able to progress her own career within the audiology profession, but has developed skills that positively impact the lives of others.
“It is thanks to organisations like Starkey that we can recognise the contribution that students make to the reputation of the audiology profession and to the community of people who benefit from its services.”
Notes to Editor
For further media information please contact Karen Keith, Media Relations and Content Officer at Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, E: kkeith@qmu.ac.uk T: 0131 474 0000.
