Chessie EganPresident, NZ Audiological Society, NZ
I started Audiology in 2003 after completing my Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Auckland in Psychology and Physiology, completing the Masters of Audiology Programme in 2005.
I started my early career at a private practice in Auckland before moving to Hamilton to take a role at Waikato DHB for a number of years where I gained valuable experience in paediatrics and complex adult diagnostics and rehabilitation. During this time the UNHSEIP (Universal New Born Hearing Screening and Early Intervention Programme) programme was being launched and piloted at Waikato Hospital which was an exciting time in Audiology to be part of. I recall working at Waikato Hospital alongside our ORL colleagues with great fondness. |
I later moved onto private practice working primarily with adults and older children before having our first child and deciding to move back to Auckland where I continued working in private practice with adults and children. I had the pleasure of working with great people across both sectors and gained valuable experience in leadership, managing clinics and teams whilst maintaining a clinical load.
In 2017, with the sale of the company I was with to a larger international group, I decided to start my own independent audiology clinic with my base clinic in South Auckland to provide after hours service and a focus on helping our local community. I continued to work in the public sector and travelled to Waikato Hospital part time from 2017-2019 to continue providing support to the team there. Nowadays, I enjoy a much shorter commute to Waitemata DHB where there is much need for supporting audiological service. One of the passion projects I have also initiated is providing highest level of custom noise protection to workers that are exposed to excessive occupational noise exposure. Since starting the initiative in Jan 2019, we have protected approximately 1000 employees; many of whom are engineers and construction workers within Auckland.
In 2019, I stepped into the NZ Audiological Society role as in-coming President and then into the President role in June 2020 while navigating through the uncertainty of Covid-19 including lockdowns. I have continued to mentor Audiologists and Audiometrists within our profession and spend a lot of my voluntary time on many sub-committees of the NZAS including membership supervision and examination and the editor for our membership publication: Bulletin.
I am passionate about advocacy for equitable services across the country and a future focussed and progressive hearing sector to continue to find more effective ways to utilise our current workforce to continue to tackle the un-met need within our population. We also need to continue to advocate for better understanding about hearing loss, including prevention and the impacts on health additionally, looking beyond the audiogram at issues such as auditory processing disorders in children and adults. One of my special interests includes tinnitus rehabilitation and management.
I am grateful to be part of the 2021 NZOHNS conference and look forward to continued collaboration between our professions towards a collaborative and future focussed hearing and health care model for NZ.
In 2017, with the sale of the company I was with to a larger international group, I decided to start my own independent audiology clinic with my base clinic in South Auckland to provide after hours service and a focus on helping our local community. I continued to work in the public sector and travelled to Waikato Hospital part time from 2017-2019 to continue providing support to the team there. Nowadays, I enjoy a much shorter commute to Waitemata DHB where there is much need for supporting audiological service. One of the passion projects I have also initiated is providing highest level of custom noise protection to workers that are exposed to excessive occupational noise exposure. Since starting the initiative in Jan 2019, we have protected approximately 1000 employees; many of whom are engineers and construction workers within Auckland.
In 2019, I stepped into the NZ Audiological Society role as in-coming President and then into the President role in June 2020 while navigating through the uncertainty of Covid-19 including lockdowns. I have continued to mentor Audiologists and Audiometrists within our profession and spend a lot of my voluntary time on many sub-committees of the NZAS including membership supervision and examination and the editor for our membership publication: Bulletin.
I am passionate about advocacy for equitable services across the country and a future focussed and progressive hearing sector to continue to find more effective ways to utilise our current workforce to continue to tackle the un-met need within our population. We also need to continue to advocate for better understanding about hearing loss, including prevention and the impacts on health additionally, looking beyond the audiogram at issues such as auditory processing disorders in children and adults. One of my special interests includes tinnitus rehabilitation and management.
I am grateful to be part of the 2021 NZOHNS conference and look forward to continued collaboration between our professions towards a collaborative and future focussed hearing and health care model for NZ.