title: The awareness of the profession of audiology among entering college students.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to develop and pilot test a survey of entering college students' awareness of the profession of audiology and to report the preliminary results of the survey.
  
  
  METHODS
  A survey was developed and administered in 2003 at the California University of Pennsylvania. A modified survey was administered in 2009. Survey questions asked students to identify what audiologists do and the education requirements to become an audiologist.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seventeen percent of the students self-reported that they knew what an audiologist did and were able to accurately describe the profession. Approximately 30% of the students learned about audiology from family/friends. Students reported selecting their major based on interest in a specific field and not on market-driven forces such as job opportunities and salary.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Future surveys should be conducted to confirm the extent of the lack of visibility of audiology as a profession and to serve as a metric for the efficacy of future marketing efforts in the profession.
authors.affiliation: Towson University, Towson, MD, USA. demanuel@towson.edu
authors.forename: Diana C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Emanuel
authors.forename: Jeremy J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Donai
authors.forename: Chris F
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Araj
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001298:Audiology / Q000193:education / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002321:Career Choice; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010414:Pennsylvania; D010865:Pilot Projects; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014495:Universities