MSc/PGDip Advanced Audiology Studies

This unit will provide you with in-depth and systematic knowledge and comprehensive understanding about transition and transfer into adult services; fluctuating hearing loss; congenital and pre-lingual deafness in children and the ability to analyse and manage the implications of ethical dilemmas and work pro-actively with the families and other professionals to formulate solutions.

The unit aims to enable you to analyse, synthesise, evaluate and apply appropriate knowledge and perform a relevant assessment and treatment to patients and demonstrate the attitudes and behaviours necessary for an audiology professional within a patient-focused service. In particular you will be able to:

• Understand the processes of management of a young person with audiovestibular problems through the process of transition and transfer into adult services.
• Work with other clinicians and professionals to detect, investigate, diagnose and manage fluctuating deafness, including otitis media with effusion, in children.
• To work with other clinicians and professionals to identify, diagnose and manage congenital and pre-lingual deafness in children.

• Demonstrate critical understanding of the research evidence pertaining to the history, assessment, management and multidisciplinary support for fluctuating hearing loss.
• Show knowledge of the epidemiology and identification of congenital and pre-lingual deafness; developmental, medical, educational, socio-psychological and cultural issues surrounding deafness, its diagnosis and management; multiagency.
• Show knowledge of amplification options and a range of predicted potential outcomes, methods of assessing benefit and problems with amplification.

• Critically reflect on the challenges of applying research to practice in relation to transition and transfer to adult services and suggest improvements, building on a critique of available evidence.

• Demonstrate a critical understanding of current evidence and its application to the performance of the technical skills whilst critically reflecting and applying in practice a range of clinical and communication skills to advise and communicate sensitively, age-appropriately and effectively with young people and their families, carers and other healthcare professionals.
• Seek the views of service users and pursue opportunities to improve services; critically evaluate benefits and challenges of intervention; reflect on the challenges of applying research to practice in relation to these areas of practice and suggest improvements, building on a critique of available evidence.

• Critically reflect on your own response to both normal and complex situations within the limits of professional competence referring as appropriate to senior staff.
• Recognise the patients' and their families' need and right for evidence-based accessible information and empathetic advice.
• Recognise the challenges and opportunities and respect the confidentiality and boundaries, recognise the cultural issues and parental views with regards to deafness and its management and respond accordingly.
• Recognise the value of the importance of multi-disciplinary and multiagency working and audit.
• Be committed to and support continuous improvement of therapeutic services, with particular reference to auditing practice, evidence based practice, new and improved technologies.

Written feedback.

http://www.ndcs.org.uk/professional_support/transition.html

Clarke, R. 2008. Part 12: Paediatric otorhinolaryngology. In: Gleeson, M. et al. Scott-Brown's Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery (Vol. 1). 7th ed. London: Hodder Arnold.