Benefits of Membership
BENEFITS OF MEMBERSHIP
CAA Membership Benefits Include:
The CAA membership is a great value at a significantly lower cost than other national associations where Audiologists are the only voices within the organization. The Board of Directors of CAA is comprised entirely of Audiologists and Hearing Health Scientists making decisions and contributing to outcomes to move Audiology ahead in Canada
The CAA Board of Directors, committees and administration strive to advocate for audiologists all over Canada by providing a unified perspective on issues related to the professional of Audiology and Hearing Health. For example, CAA:
- Contributes significantly to the advocacy work of the Canadian Infant Hearing Task Force (CIHTF). CIHTF has a multidisciplinary research and advocacy program aimed at making early hearing detection and intervention programs available across Canada. Progress: Research status of programs across Canada and published report in Canadian journal, National government and media announcements, 2 Canadian Paediatrics Society conferences and more planned, CAA conference, and planning a meeting with Federal Minister of Health.
- Participates in joint initiatives with federal health funding agencies to optimize funding of hearing health services and efficient processing of claims for consumers.
- Meets with Senators and both Federal and Provincial Members of Parliament to increase awareness of the impact of hearing loss.
- Supports regional projects to lobby for improvements in hearing health delivery.
- Works with the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association to connect with consumers.
- Participated in the work to build national standards leading towards entry to practise exams for Canadian and International Audiologists to practise across Canada.
- CAA is working with the Canadian Society of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery to implement direct referral of patients to ENTs in all provinces to improve patient outcomes.
- CAA is working towards a National Hearing Strategy and implementation with the Hearing Health Alliance of Canada including professional, industry, consumer and charitable organizations in hearing health across Canada. Planning a major event in Spring 2021 with Federal government. Progress to last year: we met with over 150 senators, MPs and MPPs and presented an invited talk to a House of Commons Standing Committee.
- Participated in activities leading to Bill C-81, the Federal Accessibility Act. Continuing to support implementation of recommendations.
- Published Accessibility support materials and articles.
- The Canadian Adult Coalition will be presenting at a Family Practise conference this year.
Standardized Professional Guidelines
Working alongside like-minded organizations, CAA plays an integral role in producing and maintaining practice and protocol guidelines that advance and protect the profession. In 2009, CAA, as part of the Canadian Interorganizational Steering Group for Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology, helped to develop and distribute Infection Prevention and Control Guidelines. In 2010, the team undertook the development of guidelines for the assessment and management of auditory processing disorders in children and adults.
Public Awareness and Marketing Support
- Over the years there has been a large outreach of public awareness of the impact of hearing loss at different stages of life and the importance of both preventing hearing loss and managing it. Awareness media through major digital journals resulted in above industry standard of 45% click through rate. Similar messaging ran for 1 week each in two CBC daily podcasts having the greatest download rate. CAA provides marketing tips and materials such as posters to help Audiologists support their own communication and promotional campaigns.
- Interviews on national and local TV/podcasts plus daily social media posts and standard. We field many queries through our Website and Journal and connect people to service providers.
SAVE! Professional Liability and Privacy Rates and Membership
- Exclusive to CAA members, the liability and privacy insurance plans have no administration fees and include great limits of liability and enhanced products.
Whether in person or virtual, CAA Conference & Exhibition are always a sought after, high-quality events. Members benefit with reduced fees.
- CAA members receive free access to CAA Educational webinars in real time or archived to view at your leisure.
- CAA members receive a 20% discount on the advanced online webinars designed for use in Canada provided by T. Still University.
CAA Members can sign up for this self marketing app. This will enable the public to ‘Find An Audiologist’ who serves specific age groups and specialties in a designated areas.
Education, Communication and Research
- CAA members receive significant discounts on registration for our internationally acclaimed CAA Conference and Exhibition with growing attendance.
- CAA members have free access to webinars with international & Canadian speakers.
- Members have free access to blogs and special articles of interest to Audiologists.
- Guidelines, Scoping articles and position papers are available on our website.
- CAA membership supports the Canadian Audiologist journal,the most read online audiology journal in Canada.
- Posts to our newsletter, website and social media keep our community up to date.
- CAA provides an annual grantof $5,000 or 2 X $2,500 for clinical research.
Audiologist’s Marketing and Engagement Resources
- The Audiologist’s Marketing Toolkit provides an overview of basic marketing principles and ideas relevant to clinical audiologists.
- Videos, slide shows and posters are available for Audiologists to promote hearing health in their community activities.
- Audiology fact sheets are available to educate your patients/clients
- Audiology101 is a member only PPT presentation for Audiologists to teach Family Practitioners and others about Hearing Health and Audiology services.
Supporting Future Audiologists
- CAA encourages the growth of our profession by supporting audiology students and early career practitioners.
- 5 student academic award winners receive a free conference registration
- 25 student volunteers receive free conference registration
- Popular face to face annual networking/mentorship activity (virtual in 2020)
- Opportunities to submit posters and contributed conference talks
- Students save on membership and conference registration
- Students gain valuable experience as members of Board committees
- Students have published in the Canadian Audiologist online journal
- A bursary assists with conference travel expenses for one or more students
- Early career graduates have lower conference registration and membership fees
- CAA facilitates career mobility by providing an active career board and introducing members to leaders in the profession.
Advocating Change to Legislators, Industry and Education
CAA collaborates with many organizations and associations to initiate reforms in the profession.
Ongoing relations with Federal Healthcare Partners (FHP), Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC), Third Party Payers such as Blue Cross, and the NIHB Secretariat, enables CAA to affect positive change (e.g., fees) for patients/clients of audiologists. Ongoing issues discussed, but not limited to, include:
- Client eligibility for hearing aids
- Response time related to requests for prior authorization
- Ability of audiologists to prescribe hearing aids for our third-party payers, in particular our Non-insured Health Benefits clients
- Appropriate fees for services
CAA’s Disability Tax Credit (DTC) Committee has also been established to advocate change to the wording contained in the eligibility criteria under the DTC as it applies to individuals who are hard of hearing. CAA has been working closely with CHHA, providing audiological expertise and support around matters related to the DTC. CAA Members download the Tax Tips.
As part of the Concerned About Classrooms Coalition, CAA is helping to enhance the learning environment of millions of children and the vocal health of Canadian teachers.
Advocacy Activities of the CAA with the Hearing Health Alliance of Canada
Canadian Academy of Audiology is a highly engaged member of Hearing Health Alliance of Canada (HHAC) as of April 2019. HHAC is a group of hearing health professional, industry, service, foundation and consumer organizations whose primary focus is to advocate to raise awareness of the impact of unmanaged hearing loss, the need for prevention of hearing loss and the urgency to act towards building and implementing a national strategy for hearing health.
The governance of the Alliance is founded on the principle that many professions, consumers, fund raisers, researchers and companies have roles in ensuring a healthy and vibrant hearing health system in Canada. All these organizations have one major objective in common: to raise awareness and to address solutions to our failing hearing health care system in Canada.
The Hearing Health Alliance of Canada (HHAC) is planning a major advocacy event this spring 2021 to take a step closer to building and implementing a National Hearing Health Strategy.
More Awareness Building Activities
- Places articles and advertising about Audiology and hearing health in national publications distributed to millions of Canadians through digital and print media.
- Interviews on national and local TV, CBC podcasts plus daily social media posts. We field many queries through our Website and Journal and connect people to service providers.
- The cais a member-only benefit to connect the public with Audiologists.
- Audiology 101is a member-only PPT presentation for Audiologists in teach Family Practitioners and others about Hearing Health and Audiology services.
CAA members Receive a 20% Discount on A.T Still University Graduate Webinars
Join Or Renew Your Membership Today!
If you join CAA in the month of February, it will be valid for March 1, 2021 – Feb 28, 2022 year.
