BSc Healthcare Science (Audiology) / Course details

The course unit will be taught by utilising clinical skills laboratories and work placement clinics. It is expected that students will become competent in assessing adult hearing loss and be working towards competency in managing subsequent rehabilitation. The work-based clinical placement will take place 2 days a week during term time with a short block over the summer vacation.

The unit aims to:

• Provide students with both laboratory and clinical experience in Audiology, so that they can acquire practical, clinical and professional skills appropriate to enter the workforce as a Healthcare Science Practitioner in Audiology.

Students will be able to:

Knowledge and understanding

• Understand and be able to discuss the theoretical basis for audiological practice.
• Understand the need to establish and maintain a safe practice environment.
• Critically review and evaluate departmental protocols in relation to care skills in health and safety, human rights, patient identification, communication skills and management, quality assurance.
• Discuss best practice requirements for record keeping within the NHS including accuracy of information recording within patient records.
• Understand the principles behind a patient centred care plan and ensure all assessments and management plans are considered within a patient centred environment.
• Know and understand the legal requirements with respect to equality and diversity.
• Discuss and plan assessment strategies appropriate for assessing hearing in adult patients.
• Discuss different management strategies available for a adults with hearing and/or ear complaints.
• Discuss financial aspects of hearing aid delivery.
• Discuss with a patient the benefits and characteristics of 'top end' hearing aid devices.

Intellectual skills

• Show development of clinical reasoning skills.
• Critically review and evaluate practice.
• Applying theory independently to new problems and situations.
• Synthesising and analysing information to propose new solutions to problems.
• Learning from feedback.

Practical skills

• Perform stage A checks/clinical calibration of equipment, and prepare clinic rooms adhering to all health and safety requirements.
• Retrieve patient records and referral information, check patient information and obtain and record a comprehensive case history to assist in devising an appropriate assessment and/or management strategy.
• Perform a range of assessment strategies, adhering to national and international standards, and use subsequent results to inform an appropriate management strategy, including: perform safe otoscopy and accurately report observations, pure tone audiometry, speech audiometry, tympanometry, Acoustic Reflex Threshold, uncomfortable Loudness Levels.
• Perform a range of rehabilitation strategies, including: safe ear impression techniques, and critically analysing the final product before selecting an appropriate ear mould; identification and repair of faults associated with hearing devices & ear moulds/flexitubes; application of real ear measurements in the verification of hearing aid fittings &/or follow up care; testing of electroacoustic responses of hearing aids, using British Standards and hearing aid specification sheets; effective communication regarding hearing device functions, maintenance, expectations; measurement and analysis of patient outcome measures (GHABP/COSI).
• Demonstrate skill development in performing objective tests of hearing including ABR.
• Work in ways that minimises risks to health, safety and security.

Transferable skills and personal qualities

• Communicate with a range of people, on a range of matters in a form that is appropriate to them and the situation.
• Improve their effectiveness of communication through the use of communication skills and constructively manage barriers to effective communication.
• Recognise that people are different and make sure that they do not discriminate against other people.
• Respect and uphold the rights, dignity and privacy of patients.
• Recognise and report behaviour that undermines equality and diversity.
• Manage personal workload and objectives to achieve quality of care.
• Take responsibility for own personal development through reflection and reviewing performance, and take an active part in learning opportunities.

• Health and safety- First Aid including Basic life Support, infection Prevention and Control.
• Case history.
• Otoscopy.
• Pure tone audiometry (not masked and masked).
• Speech audiometry.
• Tympanometry.
• Acoustic Reflex.
• Uncomfortable Loudness levels.
• Electro-physiological procedures i.e. ABR, OAE.
• Impressions.
• Outcome measures.
• Hearing aid repairs and hearing aid coupling.
• Real ear measurements.
• Electroacoustic tests in test box.
• Health and Care Professions Council, Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics, Standards of Proficiency for Hearing Aid Dispensers and Academy of Healthcare Science Good Scientific Practice.

The course unit will be taught by utilising clinical skills laboratories and work placement clinics. Those skills requiring clinical competency at the end of the degree programme will be taught primarily within the work place setting. Those skills that only require a general understanding and an ability to demonstrate them under the guidance of a tutor/educator, will be primarily taught within clinical skills laboratories. On-line demonstrations of basic skills and videos will also be used to help consolidate student knowledge. Students will access online core skills mandatory training.

1. PPLA group task (Semester 1, formative)
2. Session feedback forms (50-100 words in placement Semester 1 and Semester 2, formative)
3. PPLA Semester 1 (40%)
4. PPLA Semester 2 (60%)
5. Mandatory Training Core Skills update - BLS & Infection Prevention & Control, Information Governance (pass/fail)
6. IRCP - includes 4 DOP, 1 OCE (pass/fail)
7. Work placement report (pass/fail)
8. CORE OSCE* (pass/fail)

*Special resit regulations apply to OSCE assessment tasks, see clinical handbooks & programme handbook.

Written and/or verbal feedback on each element of assessment plus ongoing feedback from academic/clinical staff throughout clinical skills labs and placement sessions.

See Clinical Handbook and Practical Sheets as appropriate

BSA Recommended Procedures https://www.thebsa.org.uk/resources/ 

BAA Guidance documents https://www.baaudiology.org/professional-information/baa-documents/ 

NICE Guidance https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng98

BSHAA Guidance https://www.bshaa.org/bshaa-guidance/