BAA 2019 Conference in Liverpool
Organised by the British Academy of Audiology, the 16th annual conference and exhibition took place on the 14th and 15th November 2019 at the ACC Liverpool.
Attracting nearly 500 delegates and 50 exhibitors along with an array of international speakers, BAA conference is the largest audiology conference in the UK.
The conference certainly was the place to be for announcements and launches this year. President, Sue Falkingham, opened the conference with an announcement about the discussions on the college of audiology. You can read her full statement here. What followed was two great days that included 55 lectures and workshops, 25 POD talks, 48 exhibition stands, 11 award winners, more than 100 posters and hundreds of audiologists, scientists, researchers, clinicians and students who were keen to learn about the latest research, best practice and technological innovations.
Our conference programme this year had a strong clinical focus as we feel this is what we do best in BAA and follows guidance from our delegate feedback from previous years. There were updates from the world of research, overviews of policy updates, exciting service innovations and examples of clinical excellence. Our main aim is always for delegates to leave the conference with a clear idea of how they can implement what they have heard in their own departments or careers. All our invited speakers summarised their talks with the popular ‘3 things to do on Monday’ message. Key sessions covered paediatric assessment, vestibular updates for both assessment and rehabilitation, how to deliver patient-centred care, implementing new technology in both the NHS and Private Sector and implantable devices.
We continued with our streamlined programme with only three main parallel tracks, there was a range of invited speakers and free papers and after lunch each day longer workshops. We had a number of new additions for 2019, on Thursday the walk-through dementia clinic was brilliant. Audiologists could review and find resources on display for their own clinic and speak to experts in the field. On Friday IDA Paediatric workshops was a sell-out. Friday afternoon brought the return of the successful CRN workshop for those looking to incorporate research into their clinical role. During the breaks the short presentations and demonstrations in our new Pods in the exhibition hall was welcome addition to the schedule.
A pod waiting for a Spark Talk
Conference Highlights include:
- The Adrian Davis lecture presented by John Day, Clinical Director of Audiology, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board
- The Bamford lecture presented by Professor De Wet Swanepoel, President of the International Society of Audiology
- Other Keynote speakers Professor Larry Humes, Indiana University Bloomington and Dr Sally Rosengren, University of Sydney
- Parallel sessions looking at all aspects of Audiology across all sectors from research to clinical practice, encompassing commercial aspects.
- Thursday walk-through dementia-friendly clinic room
- Friday IDA Paediatric Workshop
- Friday afternoon’s Clinical Research Workshop
- The closing keynote by Justin Osmond was an inspiration for all
Abstracts
Free paper and poster presentations form an integral part of the conference and are a fantastic way for those working within the audiology field to share best practice, research and network with colleagues. Winning poster submissions can be found here
Awards
Every year at the BAA Annual Conference, we take the time to acknowledge those individuals and teams who have excelled or shown exceptional commitment to the Audiology profession over the past year. A complete overview of this year’s winners can be found on the awards news page here
AGM
During our Annual General Meeting on the Thursday, we welcomed a new President, Karen Shepherd, and new Vice President, Kathryn Lewis. After two years as President, Sue Falkingham takes the position of Immediate Past President, with Board’s huge thanks and admiration for her dedidation over the last two years. You can find a two-page review of the year here
A more detailed overview of the conference will feature in our Winter magazine as the conference team have done a magazine take-over! Look for that coming through your door in January.
