Mercy St. Louis 4th Year Pediatric AuD Externship 2027-2028

The Mercy Hospital St. Louis Pediatric Audiology Externship Program located in St. Louis, Missouri includes pediatric diagnostics, electrophysiology, and aural rehabilitation. Other programs at Mercy Hospital that externs may have exposure to include pediatric cochlear implants and osseointegrated device fittings as well as central auditory processing evaluations. Our externship program is known for its emphasis on mentoring, and our department is unique by offering various settings within one externship. Those settings include outpatient pediatric diagnostics and hearing aids, infant ABR (non-sedated and sedated), and a fast-paced high-volume pediatric ENT clinic. Potential opportunities with pediatric cochlear implants and osseointegrated devices are given on a case by case basis once core skills are deemed competent. Independence is earned through progressive responsibility grounded in best‑practice protocols and family‑centered care. By the end of the externship, our students are functioning at the level expected of entry‑level pediatric audiologists—prepared, confident, and clinically sound. Equally important is how that independence is built. Externs at Mercy receive intentional mentorship from experienced pediatric audiologists who prioritize teaching, real‑time feedback, collaborative case discussion, and professional growth within a busy hospital setting. We believe excellence in training comes from pairing high expectations with strong clinical support. To learn more about our program, visit us at our externship open house on August 7th, 2026, where faculty and students can meet our team, tour the clinic, and gain insight into the extern experience at Mercy Hospital St. Louis. This externship is for students seeking rigorous pediatric training with meaningful mentorship and real clinical autonomy. Application deadline is Wednesday, September 16th. Phone interviews will be scheduled on Friday, September 25 th . As part of our process, a phone or virtual meeting with the clinical coordinator is required prior to scheduling the phone interview. Initial offers will be made in October. Contracts will be reviewed by legal departments of both parties after student is accepted. We do not perform onsite interviews prior to making an offer, therefore if the student requires a site visit prior to accepting a potential offer, it is recommended a visit be scheduled prior to the application deadline. There will also be an open house for prospective externs on August 7th, 2026, 3-5pm at Mercy Hospital St. Louis Audiology.

Externship Information:

Primary Practice Setting:

Multi-specialty medical center Number of Audiologists at the site: 2 FTE Masters Degree 24 FTE Au.

D. 0 FTE

Ph.

D. 0 FTE

Other Doctorate (ScD) 0 FTE professional support staff (technicians/audiometric assistants) 11 FTE Clerical Support Staff Number of Audiology Students each year: 0 1st year AuD Clinical Rotations 0 2nd year 0 3rd year 1 4th year Externships Financial arrangements: Other - Please Describe Arrangements are made on an individual year basis pending department budget. We are estimated to be able to offer an hourly rate that equates to $22,000 over the course of the externship. worked. This number is affected by number of days worked/missed. Will interview travel be compensated?

No Vacation Days:

10 days Continuing education opportunities?

Yes Start Date:

5/17, 5/24, or 6/1 Expected hours/days a week: 40 hours/week Travel to satellite centers required? Yes Placements will occur primarily at Mercy Hospital St. Louis and Mercy Winding Woods in Ofallon, MO.

Local students preferred:

No Does the externship site provide orientation to relevant clinical policies and procedures? Yes Does the externship site provide instructions about patient's rights and providing patient education? Yes Does the externship site provide orientation to quality assessment, quality assurance and quality improvement? Yes Externship site expects the extern to have mastered these skills before they begin their clinical externship:

• Self-motivation
• Excellent organizational skills
• Able to work as part of a high functioning team
• Strong interest in pediatric population
• Previous experience with pediatric population is preferred
• Pure tone audiometry and basic masking procedures
• Basic hearing aid troubleshooting Externship site expects the extern to learn/demonstrate these skills during their clinical externship:
• Perform accurate adult diagnostic audiograms (must reach competent level prior to focusing solely on pediatric diagnostics).
• Fit and dispense hearing aids to adult population (must reach competent level prior to focusing solely on pediatric hearing aids).
• Perform accurate pediatric diagnostics including CPA and VRA testing.
• Perform accurate sleep-deprived and sedated ABR on infant population.
• Perform newborn hearing screenings.
• Function as a part of a diverse Audiology Department in a large hospital setting.

Clinical opportunities that will be given to the extern: Rarely Hearing Screenings Everyday Pediatric evaluations: infant/toddler Everyday Pediatric evaluations: school-age Everyday Adult hearing evaluations Everyday Tympanometry Regularly Acoustic Reflexes Rarely Auditory processing evaluations Rarely Hearing Screenings Regularly Evoked potential assessments Never Intra-operative monitoring cases Everyday Otoacoustic emissions Never Industrial/hearing conservation Never Vestibular assessments Never Vestibular rehabilitation Regularly Hearing aids dispensed Regularly Hearing aid selection/fitting Rarely Audiologic rehabilitation (group or individualized) Rarely Cochlear implant evaluations Rarely Cochlear implant rehabilitation Never Tinnitus assessments Never Tinnitus rehabilitation Rarely Cerumen management Research opportunities? No N/A Consortium or collaborative arrangements with other sites? No How frequently will the externship site communicate with the university during the externship? As Needed Communication or other support do expected or required from the university during the externship: A designated externship coordinator from the university's program must establish contact prior to scheduling of phone interview, at time of agreement, as well as maintain regular contact throughout externship year.

Application Deadline:

September 16th, 2026

Application Requirements:

Letters of Recommendation Resume Transcript Letter of request/intent Other Curriculum vitae, transcripts, letter of intent, and 3 confidential letters of recommendation required in application. Letters of recommendation need to be emailed directly from letter writers. Transcripts required from undergraduate and graduate program. Unofficial transcripts are accepted, but must be copies or electronic versions of the official transcripts. Letters of recommendation will NOT be accepted after the application deadline of September 16th, 2026. Mercy Hospital requires flu vaccination as well as adherence to future vaccination requirements, in order to be accepted as an extern. Please be prepared to provide vaccination documentation prior to externship start date. Steps for the student/university to follow in the application process: Please submit application electronically by September 16th to include: letter of intent, curriculum vitae, unofficial undergraduate and graduate transcripts, and 3 confidential letters of recommendation. Please submit by email to blair.cristel@mercy.net. Letters of reference need to be emailed directly from the letter writer. Virtual interviews will be scheduled on September 25th, 2026. Contracts will be reviewed by legal departments of both parties after student is accepted. We do not perform onsite interviews prior to making an offer, therefore if the student requires an onsite visit prior to accepting a potential offer, it is recommended a visit be scheduled prior to submitting an application.

Contact Person:

(preceptor, supervisor or extern coordinator) Blair Cristel, AuD - blair.cristel@mercy.net Are all externs supervised? Yes Application deadline is Wednesday, September 16th. Phone interviews will be scheduled on Friday, September 25 th . As part of our process, a phone or virtual meeting with the clinical coordinator is required prior to scheduling the phone interview. Initial offers will be made in October. Contracts will be reviewed by legal departments of both parties after student is accepted. We do not perform onsite interviews prior to making an offer, therefore if the student requires a site visit prior to accepting a potential offer, it is recommended a visit be scheduled prior to the application deadline. There will also be an open house for prospective externs on August 7th, 2026, 3-5pm at Mercy Hospital St. Louis Audiology.