SAA Student Scholarship Spotlight: Megan Bartoshuk

Megan Bartoshuk is a second-year audiology student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a recipient of the 2018 Empowering Students Scholarship. We asked Megan a few questions to get to know her and her thoughts about the profession.

What inspired you to go into Audiology?

I was born with a cholesteatoma and grew up going to Audiology and ENT appointments. As I got older, I became more interested in the field and realized how special it would be to relate to future patients with hearing loss. My ENT invited me to spend a summer shadowing with him and his audiology staff, and after that summer I fell in love with the job.

If you could go back to your first day of grad school, what would you tell yourself?

Be more confident in yourself, in clinic, even as a first year.

What has been your favorite audiology-related memory so far?

Watching a 5-year-old boy get hearing aids for the first time. As soon as we turned the hearing aids on his eyes got huge, he looked at his parents and said “no way, you guys hear like this all the time?!”. Mom and dad were both crying and thanking the audiologist I was working with.

What does patient-centered care mean to you?

Patient-centered care means the goal is to meet the patient’s needs. It’s important to remember that an Audiologist’s responsibility is to provide the patient and their family with all the information and tools they need to make the best decision.

What advice do you have for undergrads interested in audiology?

Try and get to know some individuals with hearing loss. Knowing what your patients go through on a more personal level will help you optimize treatment, management, counseling, etc.

If you had to eat one meal every day for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Thai food

What is your favorite Emoji?
….

You have to sing karaoke, what song would you sing?

“Ryan Started the Fire” by Dwight Schrute

The Empowering Students Scholarship is awarded to five (5) students who show exceptional promise as a clinical audiologist and is generously underwritten by Oticon, Inc. The application for 2019 scholarships will be made available on the SAA website in early Spring.