Case studies : Audiologist: Aman Bhambra

Aman works as an audiologist for Charing Cross Hospital. Her career involves utilising the latest digital technology and techniques for diagnostic and clinical testing.

Aman wanted to join an emerging and diverse healthcare profession which provided the opportunity to progress further into a more specialist role. Her career involves utilising the latest digital technology and techniques when fitting a digital hearing aid, as well as early detection of a hearing impairment through diagnostic and clinical testing. Early detection can provide more information on the nature, cause and location of the impairment or lesion. She finds that having the opportunity to be involved in the management process of the hearing impaired is very satisfying.

Her training as a student at Charing Cross Hospital during her clinical placement year in 2007/8 helped her to gain entry into the audiology profession. Also important were hard work, dedication to her job and forming good relationships with her fellow colleagues throughout her training. She saw an opportunity to apply for a vacant full-time position soon after graduating and was offered her current post.

Aman advises that to get into the audiology profession, you should show commitment and dedication to the job and form good professional and social relationships with all members in the department. Being able to take criticism constructively and apply it whilst practising in order to provide a high standard of care to all patients in the NHS is important. She also advises that you show enthusiasm for continuing professional development by attending further courses and training.

During her degree studies, Aman felt the most important skill she gained was the ability to empathise with the hearing impaired and understand the impact this can have on their daily lives. Other important skills she gained were the ability to trouble-shoot during digital/general repair scenarios, finding solutions to overcome the presenting complaint, the ability to work as a team as well as using her own initiative, understanding how a department runs, understanding the various roles and levels involved which help it function, developing active listening skills and projecting her voice clearly and concisely during class presentations.

It is a requirement to have a minimum qualification of a BSc degree or equivalent to gain entry into the audiology profession. Her employers were very proud to learn that she had achieved a First Class BSc (Hons) degree from University College London which may have contributed towards securing her current position!

As Aman’s role has developed, it has diversified more. As well as being a very technical job, clinical scientists are also involved in preventing hearing impairments and hearing conservation. They also may participate or lead research projects or clinic audits within their departments or take on a teaching role to BSc/MSc students and other professionals. There is a higher demand for audiology specialists now as a majority of the population is 55 years and upwards, and hearing impairment is significantly associated with ageing.

Aman’s role encompasses many diverse specialties - adult audiological rehabilitation including digital hearing aid fittings, paediatric habilitation/rehabilitation, vestibular rehabilitation, clinical and diagnostic testing – adult and paediatric, covering ENT (ear, nose and throat) clinics, hearing and vestibular therapy, cochlear implantations, Bone-anchored Hearing aids (BAHA), domiciliary visits, attending out-reach/satellite clinics, in-patient ward visits, managing stock levels within the department, equipment calibration, writing referral letters and reports to other professional bodies, and training BSc students as part of their clinical training.

Most of all, Aman enjoys working as part of a wider healthcare professional team comprising many other professionals such as ENT doctors and consultants, paediatric doctors, neurologists, psychiatrists, nurses, speech and language therapists, hearing and balance therapists, product managers/representatives, educationalists, as well as the varying levels of audiologists within the department. She also enjoys meeting patients from all walks of life, who have varying needs and present with a wide range of other medical conditions. Aman became fully qualified fairly recently and says, 'There has not been a dull moment at Charing Cross Hospital – my fellow colleagues make my job very enjoyable!'

Career progression is very important to Aman. She is very keen to continue onto higher education or training, to enable her to gain advanced skills and knowledge as well as a more senior status within her profession, particularly in the field of advanced vestibular assessment and rehabilitation and advanced audiological assessment.