Dear In relation to COVID-19 and further to my email of 16 March, I wanted to keep you informed of ongoing developments. The health and safety of our members, their families and clients is paramount and we are currently following the advice of state and federal health departments and are monitoring the situation for new developments daily and making operational decisions in accordance with that information. Once again, thank you for your ongoing professionalism and patience as we've worked through these changing circumstances, and attended your phone calls and emails to ensure we can best support you as you care for your clients and patients. 1. CPD cycle (1 July 2019 - 30 June 2020) As outlined in my email of 16 March, with COVID-19 impacting on members’ abilities to be able to engage in CPD activities, we have determined that all Audiology Australia Accredited Audiologist Members will be granted a 5-point reduction under the hardship allowance for the current cycle. This means you now need to achieve 15 points by 30 June 2020, instead of 20 points. These 15 points can be achieved in any category (or categories) without restriction. If you have confirmed a previous arrangement for a greater than 5 point reduction based on hardship or personal circumstances such as maternity leave, those arrangements will stand. E.g if you had previously arranged a 10 point reduction, your rate will remain at 10 points. If you had previously confirmed a reduction of fewer than five points (e.g 2.5 points), you now will receive the full 5 point reduction and need to meet 15 points by 30 June. If you need to speak to a member of the Audiology Australia team about your CPD requirements, please email info@audiology.asn.au or call 03 9940 3900. 2. CPD support To support your professional development needs and meet your 15 points by 30 June, there are a number of options available including:
There is a range of Audiology Australia online learning webinars that are recorded, available on-demand and cover a range of topics. Click here for a full listing of available courses. You can also use your three, free online learning vouchers to attend online learning sessions. To redeem your vouchers, click here.
A number of external providers have online courses and webinars endorsed by Audiology Australia and therefore are eligible for CPD points. For a full listing of these events and courses, click here.
You can complete the Audiology Now Quiz for Issue 78 (open until 30 March). You can read the magazine and complete the quiz here.
You can read and reflect on peer-reviewed texts. You can find examples of such articles you could choose to read, along with a template for a reflective statement here.
You can gain points by providing a meeting overview and agenda of clinical meetings and a reflective statement outlining how you could apply what you’ve learned in day-to-day clinical practice. For further information, refer to the CPD handbook. 3. The AudA 2020 Conference The AudA 2020 Conference has been postponed. This was a challenging decision, but we feel it was the right one in the current environment, and we appreciate the many members who have offered their support for a rescheduled event. We are currently examining potential dates and further information will be communicated in the coming days. We thank you for your patience as we work through the considerable logistics involved in finding new dates. We are also developing a 'virtual conference' experience to be held during May to support members to access professional development opportunities in the current cycle. Further information will be available soon. For further information about the Conference, visit https://auda2020conference.asn.au/covid-19/ 4. Exams for overseas applicants Exams for overseas-trained audiologists were due to be held on 31 March, but these have now be postponed. Applicants have been informed of the change of date and will be advised of a new date when this has been confirmed with the Universities. 5. Endorsed events If you have registered for any in-person events that are endorsed by Audiology Australia, but hosted by another company or organisation, please keep an eye on our website for any updates or contact the provider directly to determine if these events will still be taking place. 6. General information about COVID-19 For general information, relevant links and advice on COVID-19, please refer to our website. Some recent additional information on this page includes:
This page will be updated as further information becomes available. 7. Communication, help, and support: we're here for you I will continue to be in contact with you via email over the coming days with further updates as the situation unfolds. I do encourage you to also keep an eye on our website and Members Hub for further updates. We are here to support you. Please email info@audiology.asn.au or call 03 9940 3900 with any concerns or questions you may have. Please take care, and thank you for all you are doing to support clients and our health system at this challenging time. Yours sincerely Dr Tony Coles CEO Audiology Australia |