View Larger Image Along with faculty, students in the audiology and speech-language pathology programs gather for photo after the White Coat Ceremony.
Along with faculty, students in the audiology and speech-language pathology programs gather for photo after the White Coat Ceremony.

Audiology, Speech-Language Pathology Students Don White Coats in Ceremony

By Ben Boulden

| UAMS College of Health Professions Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology students slipped their arms into the sleeves of their white coats for the first time and celebrated the beginning of their postgraduate studies.

At the department’s White Coat Ceremony on Aug. 30, each student walked to the front of the auditorium, and two faculty members held up the coats as they put them on. Nine of the students at the gathering are studying for a degree in the Doctor of Audiology (Au.D.) program, and 20 are in the Master of Science (M.S.) in Communications Sciences in Disorders program for speech-language pathology.

Greta Robinson, Ph.D., a member of the department’s faculty, opened the ceremony and said, “I like to think of the white coats as cloaks of compassion, which is what they are.”

Dana Moser, Ph.D., director of the Speech-Language Pathology program, said, “You have picked a great profession and have been given a tremendous opportunity to enter a profession with a long history of helping individuals improve their communications abilities and participate more fully in their own lives.”

According to a U.S. News & World Report survey and ranking, speech and language pathology was rated 10th among Best Jobs overall and third among Best Health Care Jobs, she said.

Speech-language pathologists have a scope of practice that encompasses the full range of human communication from speech and language to social and cognitive communication as well as feeding and swallowing disorders. Speech-language pathologists provide diagnosis, prevention, assessment and intervention services across the lifespan.

“As a speech-language pathologist, you will acquire the skills to positively impact the world around you. You can help them achieve their goals through improved communication,” Moser said. “You can educate clients and health care professionals about speech, language and swallowing. You can listen with purpose and understanding and advocate for the needs of others.”

Charia Hall, Au.D., director of the Audiology program, explained the origins of the profession as a clinical field for the treatment of military veterans returning home from World War II, adding that like speech-language pathology, audiology has only grown more varied with time.

Audiologists have a wide scope of practice that can include pediatric and educational audiology, industrial audiology, electrophysiology, and clinical audiologists. The profession plays a vital role in diagnosing hearing and balance disorders, fitting hearing aids and other technologies, participating in cochlear implantation teams, monitoring inner ear surgeries, designing and hearing conservation programs and studies, she said.

“With millions of Americans experiencing hearing and balance issues, the demand for skilled audiologists is greater than ever,” Hall said. “Know that you have a bright future ahead of you. Your professors and preceptors will guide you, but you ultimately will shape the type of clinician you will become. Be curious, embrace new topics, settings and patient populations. Study hard, apply your knowledge and take care of yourselves.”

As the last of the speakers before the donning of the coats, College of Health Professions Dean Susan Long, Ed.D., reminded the students of their first responsibility — one that will help them stay on a positive course professionally.

“The greatest obligation you have is to yourself. It’s you who will hold you to the highest standards of professional practice,” Long said. “Your white coat is there to remind you of those responsibilities that you willingly assume and that you will spend time, money and sacrifices while you’re here. It’s a symbol.”

Doctor of Audiology (Au.D.) Audiology Program, Class of 2028

  • Emily Bennett
  • Cole Clift
  • Briley Evans
  • Elizabeth Grace Fitzhugh
  • Grace Hardin
  • Rayvern Lewis
  • Allison Morgan
  • Caroline Pickens
  • Madeline Sims

Master of Science (M.S.) in Communications Sciences in Disorders, Speech-Language Pathology Program, Class of 2026

  • Jacy Adams
  • Jasmine Brooks
  • Sierra DeCoux
  • Grace Doolittle
  • Khi Ellison
  • Ellyn Fier
  • Jaynee Claire Hill
  • Greenly Hill
  • Jessica Langston
  • Francis Linker
  • Myranda Pascual
  • Mary Margaret Rainer
  • Isabelle Robertson
  • Shawnee Ryan
  • Landri Schreier
  • Madison Siems
  • Tessa Spears
  • Dakota Sternweis
  • Chandler Webb
  • Kelsey Wilson