MORE EDUCATION IN PEDIATRIC AUDIOLOGY NEEDED FOR CHILD-WELFARE CLINICNURSES AND DOCTORS

Opinions on formal and further education in paediatric audiology were surveyed by interviewing nurses and doctors in 28 Finnish child welfar e clinics. Over half of the nurses recalled that they had been taught hearing screening during their period of practical training. Regarding formal teaching in paediatric audiology, the majority of doctors refe rred to courses in either otolaryngology, paediatrics or both. None of the doctors and only three of the nurses had taken part in any updati ng courses dealing with paediatric audiology during the last three yea rs, and it turned out that no such courses had been arranged in three of the five hospital districts. However, 17 out of the 27 doctors and 23 out of the 28 nurses expressed their interest in further education. The present amount of formal education in paediatric audiology was as certained from all five Finnish medical faculties and the five nursing schools in the provinces of Oulu and Lapland The university departmen ts of otolaryngology carry the major responsibility for teaching in pa ediatric audiology, which includes one to two hours of lectures and no ne to four hours of tutorials, depending on the faculty concerned. The amount of audiometric training at nursing schools varies from none to five hours and that of lectures in otolaryngology from three to twent y hours. Better co-ordination between departments of otolaryngology, g eneral practice and paediatrics is needed when arranging teaching in p aediatric audiology for medical students. Trainee child welfare nurses seem to need more guided practice in audiometry, and there is an obvi ous need for increasing the amount of practice in audiological departm ents. Specialist clinics should plan and implement a programme for upd ating training in paediatric audiology, including evaluation of the pr ogramme.