EDUCATION IN AUDIOLOGY

Chair: Kajsa-Mia Holgers

Panellists: Birger Kollmeier, Linda Luxon,Tiago Ferrão

Already from the foundation of European Federation of Audiology Societies (EFAS) in 1992, it was concluded that an important step for the organisation was to identify the status of the audiological training in Europe. The overview of the situation during the 90:ties led to the General audiologist model, presented in 1999, where almost all EFAS member countries were represented in the working group. There were other initiatives taking place to promote audiological education. To respond to the needs for higher education reform in Central and Eastern European countries, following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, EFAS was involved in the process to reform the audiological education together with the local EFAS representatives and local universities.

Even though EFAS has presented a model for general audiologist, this model needs to be discussed further and updated based on new knowledge that emerges.

There are differences in how the various areas in Audiology training are emphasised in the national curriculum between countries. This is a challenge for the exchange of students between countries but it may also be seen as an opportunity.

We also need to establish guidelines and a consensus on the levels of knowledge and skills needed to practice audiology at specialist levels. In the UEMS ORL section, which is the link to the European Commission for the education of physicians, a work is on-going to construct a common curriculum for the Otorhinolaryngologists’ training in Audiology to establish a subspecialisation in Audiology. Another training pathway exists in the UK for the speciality of Audiovestibular Medicine and in some countries a combination between Audiology and Phoniatrics exist. Engineering and physics are also basic areas which play an important role as the
technical development has been evident both with regard to equipment for diagnostic
procedures and to signal processing and outcome assessment in the field of hearing aids,
cochlear implants and other means of technical rehabilitation. Psychology is another area of
 importance, both with regard to the interplay between auditory function and
cognitive abilities and in terms of providing a basic understanding of the handicap
experienced by hearing loss and how this can be ameliorated.

A meeting was held in 2008, in Bad Zwischenahn, Germany in order to further analyse and revise the concept of the "general audiologist" and the "audiological specialist" as defined by EFAS, and another follow-up meeting is planned to take place in 2010.

At this session we will discuss the continuing development of a curriculum and the pros and cons for adopting a general audiologist program as well as a specialist program will discussed. All delegates are welcome to take part in the discussion and to present examples on how the General audiologist programme has been used. We will also discuss possibilities to formalise continuous professional development (CPD).