BSc Healthcare Science (Audiology) / Course details

Through lectures, discussion and group work, students will explore the issues affecting Audiologists working as Health Care Science Practitioners modern NHS. They will consider the professional skills needed for effective practice and will prepare for the transition from student to newly qualified practitioner.

The unit aims to:

• To prepare students for the workplace on qualification at the end of the course.
• To enable students to consolidate what they have learnt, both academically and clinically, and for this to inform thinking regarding the reality of practice as an Audiologist.

Students will be able to:

Professional skills

• Demonstrate an awareness of government and NHS driven agendas affecting the healthcare professions including the reform of the NHS, service provision and commissioning, the NHS Constitution and operating frameworks, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and regulation. Through using the CQC framework, students will explore how services meet the fundamental principles and standards of safe, caring, effective, well led and responsive. Students will be able to describe clinical governance and understand their role as a healthcare professional in implementing the quality agenda, including service evaluation and patient and public involvement.
• Know the current quality improvement structure and processes within the NHS.
• Define the following Standard Operating Procedure, Protocol and Guidelines and understand the purpose of and difference between each document.
• Know the process for distribution of documentation.
• Show an ability to describe and appraise models of service delivery, including involving patients and the public and different working practices within audiology and healthcare science services.

Clinical skills

• Demonstrate an awareness of legal and professional responsibilities when working in the NHS and especially with vulnerable people.
• Develop knowledge of how to produce a personal statement, apply for posts and prepare for interview; have clear expectations of an employer in terms of service delivery, clinical support and continuing professional development.
• Develop an awareness of the contemporary issues affecting Audiologists.
• Explain the importance of innovation across healthcare science in particular in the improvement of quality and patient care.

Study skills

• Be fully orientated to expectation of level 6 studies, including information gathering, critical appraisal of information and data, report writing and presentation skills.

Communication skills

• Develop strategies for enhancing communication in the workplace.
• Consider their own skills as leaders and managers.

Transferable skills and personal qualities

• Develop and maintain effective working relationships, including effective functioning in a multi-disciplinary team
• Show awareness of their personal and interactional attributes and modify them as necessary in a professional environment.
• Develop effective communication skills in oral or written interaction with a range of service users, cares and colleagues, either individually or in groups.
• Prioritise their workload and manage their time effectively.
• Continue to engage in self-directed learning that will promote professional development.

• The Modern NHS, review and reform – including service provision and commissioning.
• Clinical governance and the quality agenda; Safe: health and safety, consent, safeguarding, legal issues within clinical practice; Caring: person centred care, practicing with dignity & respect; Effective: clinical audit and evidence based practice, fundamental standards; Well led: service regulation and monitoring, management and leadership in healthcare professionals; Responsive: models of service delivery and caseload management care pathways.
• Documentation including the purposes and differences related to SOP, Protocol and Guidelines and distribution.
• Models of service delivery, caseload management and importance of innovation across healthcare science particularly related to quality and patient care.
• Legal issues within clinical practice, clinical audit and evidence based practice.
• Management and leadership in healthcare professionals.
• Professional issues around working with vulnerable people.
• Recruitment, selection, professional regulation and professional standards.
• Experience of the first year of work and continuing professional development.
• Contemporary issues affecting health care professionals.

Online learning, seminars, discussions, role play and workshops plus self-study.

Students will monitor their own learning through application of knowledge to contemporary issues and regular media–based discussions.

1. Written assignment - propose and plan innovation (2000 words, 90%)
2. Personal statement (500 words, 10%)

The nature of Professional Studies across all four years of the programme means that you receive formative feedback on your progress throughout the semester. This may take various forms: e.g. peer feedback, comments on your written work or presentations, comments from the lecturer on your group work during synchronous sessions, your own contributions to group discussions. You are encouraged to be proactive in paying attention to feedback in order to inform your written reflections which are central to PCS studies.

Students are expected to read professional literature regularly and to be familiar with the Department of Health and professional and regulatory bodies' websites.

A full reading list will be provided.