Senior Audiologist

Job overview

You will be a vital member of our team and provide hearing assessments, hearing aid fittings and follow-ups for adult patients both within the Hospital as well as in the community. Core to this role is involvement with complex adult patients, adults with Learning Difficulties and vestibular clinics.

You will also have significant involvement with the paediatric service, for hearing assessments, hearing aid fittings and crucially ABR testing of newborn babies.

The position involves frontline patient contact and therefore highly developed interpersonal skills are necessary.  The role provides a significant opportunity for a talented candidate seeking a more advanced clinical post as well as a position within the departmental senior team.  We invest in further training and will facilitate further opportunities for motivated individuals.

Main duties of the job

• Perform a range of diagnostic audiological tests in adults, as well as fit and fine-tune hearing aids in accordance with national and local protocols
• Provide support for ENT clinics, including testing of children and adults with Learning Difficulties
• Perform hearing tests on children aged approximately five and above
• Fit hearing aids to children from birth
• Carry out ABR testing on newborn babies
• Carry out clinics in community locations across the local area
• Involvement in developing the RUH audiology service
• Demonstrate own duties to others and provide training to junior clinicians, when required
• Recognise problems beyond own area of knowledge and expertise and refer onwards or seek advice as required
• Update own professional knowledge-base of current protocols and recommended procedures
• Contribute to local departmental audits as well as research and development

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Clinical and Technical
• Perform hearing assessment and hearing aid fitting in adults and children, from birth, adhering to BSA guidelines.  Competence in behavioural testing, including play audiometry and modified techniques for pure tone audiometry with more complex patients is required.
• Extensive experience of independently carrying out electrophysiological testing, including ABR on newborn babies, plus ASSR, is essential to this role.
• Selection, fitting and evaluation performance of hearing aids to children of all ages, according to MCHAS guidelines.  Knowledge and experience with a range of hearing aids, as well as prescriptive fitting methods such as DSL version 5, is required, as is experience with verification techniques, i.e. REMS and RECDs
• Competence in adult rehabilitation, including assessments such as pure tone and speech audiometry with non-routine, complex patients is required
• Experience of counselling patients with tinnitus is required, as well as experience of working with multi-disciplinary teams involved in the treatment of patients with complex needs
• Ability to work independently and plan individualised management plans with the multi-disciplinary team, whilst ensuring that the patients’ needs are considered at all times
• Work closely with multidisciplinary and multiagency teams, including medical staff, audiology colleagues, and Hearing Therapy to ensure effective delivery of individual management plans
• Ensure clean and tidy working areas in accordance with local decontamination   and infection control protocols
• Participate in research and service development projects as required by the department
• Clerical and Administrative
• Develop and maintain a working knowledge of the hospital Patient Administration System (PAS)
• Record accurate, concise and timely information into the PAS following each patient contact.  Order and schedule appointments when required and provide support for queries from patients via telephone and email
• Assist with ensuring continuity of stock, maintaining stock databases, restocking consumables in clinic rooms and delivering effective and efficient hearing aid provision
• Preparation of stock as required for outreach clinics
• Assist with other administrative duties when required
• Teaching and training
• Develop own knowledge and skills in line with the Knowledge and Skills Framework for the post
• Ensure Trust mandatory training remains up to date and maintain CPD record
• To demonstrate duties to students, new staff and volunteers supporting the repairs service
• Attend appropriate training courses
• Training of junior clinicians and clinical staff
• Management and supervision
• Participation within the senior management team and facilitation of effective working relationships within the Trust and throughout the wider professional network
• Supervision of junior clinicians and audiology trainees and involvement in training courses provided by the Audiology Department to other professional groups