"Dedicated Audiologist & Mom"
Adirondack Audiology Associates - Audiologist Hometown: Peru, NY Age: 38 Education: B.A. University of Maine, Doctor of Audiology, University of Buffalo
A devoted mother of three, Erin returned to the North Country to be closer to her family and build something special. A full-time career in the world of audiology allows her to bring quality of life to her patients and their families. Erin provides a warmth and welcoming presence in her daily interactions.
How does company culture impact you and what do you do to contribute to your company culture? Our company culture is delivering exceptional care to improve our patient’s quality of life through better hearing. We believe great care includes establishing strong relationships with our patients. Treating hearing loss is an ongoing journey to ensure best communication success. This culture motivates me to continue to expand my knowledge with rapidly improving hearing aid technology so I can consistently provide our patients with superior hearing healthcare. I believe I bring a patient first mentality complete with enhanced knowledge and true compassion for our patients. This ensures our promise to deliver maximum hearing benefit coupled with exceptional patient care.
What strategies do you use to approach the day? I like to start each day with making my bed and exercising. I find that completing these tasks first thing in the morning motivates and inspires me to tackle whatever life throws at me that day. I just need to be better about hitting that snooze button a little less often.
What is something no one would guess about you? I played Division 1 softball as a walk-on at the University of Maine. I earned a softball scholarship by the end of my sophomore year and ended my career as a Senior Captain.
What important lesson have you learned in your career? “Never get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life”. I pride myself on being a great audiologist without letting the relationships with my loved ones suffer. Establishing a healthy work life balance has significantly improved all aspects of my life. I am a better audiologist, wife, Mom, daughter, co-worker, and friend for it.
What is the biggest risk you have ever taken? Moving back home to be closer to family without a job lined up for myself. I was 31 weeks pregnant with my first child at the time. My husband had a job so we at least had one source of income. I interviewed for my current position three days before my due date. Thankfully, my personal values and the values of Adirondack Audiology lined up perfectly. I have now worked there for 11 years. I’m grateful every day for my wonderful co-workers, our amazing patients, and the joy we all bring to each other’s lives on a daily basis.
How can the North Country improve its Gen IQ? (Gen IQ defined as an ability to lead, market to or innovate with multi-generational workplaces and marketplaces)? I think the foundation for maximizing Gen IQ is being able to acknowledge and respect the unique skill set and challenges experienced by each generation. Allowing people to share their stories and experiences helps people from different generations understand the changing values. I feel the Strictly Business magazine does a great job at allowing a variety of local businesses and employees of all ages to share their stories. Another idea would be create a taskforce to visit local businesses. This taskforce could give a presentation highlighting the unique traits and values associated within each generation. Each presentation could conclude with an open forum to address the different generational employees and how their place of work is influenced by those differences. This provides the opportunity to brainstorm ways to bridge the generational gap to address their unique needs as a unified team.
Tell us about your community involvement. Honestly, I wish I had more to share on this topic. I recently joined Rotary to increase my community involvement and be a better member of this great North Country. Up until now, parenting my three children (ages 12, 9, and 2) has taken precedence of all my “free” time. Most of my community involvement so far has been with sports – coaching T-ball and softball. I have also participated in highway garbage cleanups and fundraisers for others.
What would you do if you have 3 hours off from work and could not go home? I would probably visit my Mom. To me, there is nothing more important than time spent with family and loved ones. I am so appreciative of the time I get to spend with them.
What attracts you to your peer group? The knowledge that we audiologists are doing our best to improve others’ quality of life through better hearing. I am a lifelong learner. I love attending audiology conferences and online audiology chat groups to expand my knowledge and discover a variety of solutions to treat each patient’s unique communication needs. I love surrounding myself with other professionals who are motivated to do the same.
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