Jerry Northern is Keynote Speaker at Gallaudet White Coat Ceremony

Jerry Northern, Ph.D., Director of Professional Services for Starkey, was the keynote speaker at Gallaudet University's White Coat Ceremony sponsored by the Hearing, Speech and Language Department's student organization, the National Association of Future Doctors of Audiology (NAFDA). Dr. Northern urged the students to treat each of their patients with as much care and concern as they would if that person was an immediate family member; to be meticulous and methodical in their work and services; and to be fully aware that their actions and clinical decisions may serve as important turning points in the lives of their patients.

In addition to the keynote presentation, Dr. Northern presented a lecture called, "It's a great time to be an audiologist" and presented a $5,000 check from Starkey signifying Gallaudet's first place ranking in the Starkey Student Knowledge Challenge hosted during AudiologyNOW! in Dallas, Texas, in early April.

About the White Coat Ceremony

The White Coat Ceremony marks the completion of the audiology graduate student's third year of study and the beginning of the fourth-year externship. The student externship is a year of clinical training generally separate from the university. The White Coat Ceremony is a traditional rite of passage for students studying to enter healthcare careers as doctors — including medical, dental, nursing, veterinary, osteopathy, podiatry and audiology. It represents a major step towards a life-long commitment of service to compassionate care of patients in need of special health services.

About Gallaudet University

Gallaudet University is a unique college campus in Washington D.C. for students who are severely hearing-impaired or deaf. The graduate program specialises in training teachers of the deaf, audiologists and speech-language students. Gallaudet University is a federally funded program established in 1874. Dr. Northern is the third generation of his family to earn a degree at Gallaudet University, and he currently serves on their Graduate Student Advisory Board.