Welcome to The Royal Liverpool University Hospital

Information for BSc & CCC Audiology Students on Placement

Contact information

• Audiology DeptGround FloorRoyal Liverpool University Hospital Prescot Street Liverpool L7 8XP

• Telephone 0151-706-2533• Department mobile:07826873856

Accommodation in Liverpool • As the hospital is situated next to Liverpool University,

there are lots of student flats and houses within walking distance.

• Opal Court, Unite, Prospect Point, Cosmopolitan Student Homes all have buildings around the hospital.

• Smithdown Road is a popular place for Liverpool students to rent student houses.

Hospital Accommodation

• If accommodation is required, you may be able to arrange this through the Accommodation Officer, telephone 0151-706-2000

Student experience living in Opal Court on London Road

• I lived in a flat of 4 (another girl and two boys, all 3rd year Liverpool students) from September 2009 to the end of August 2010 on a 51 week contact (I was in Walton Hospital 1st 6 months and Royal 2nd 6 months). Its quite a big complex and very sociable. There’s 24 hour, 7 days a week security and the staff and security guards are very nice and really took care of me if I had any problems.

• I paid a bit extra (£100 for 6 months) and was able to use the gym. It was nice to go for a swim after a stressful day at work.

• Living so close to town, the hospitals and Lime Street Station was so convenient. There isn’t a big supermarket nearby, but the Tesco extra sold everything I needed. I did take the trip to the big Tesco in Old Swan a few times to do a big shop, but only 4 or 5 times throughout the year.

• Living in a different city for a year isn’t for everyone. Yes I did have a few sleepless nights before 3rd year started about going away but it’s honestly been a great experience. And Manchester is only 45 minutes on the train; there’s times where I’ve gone after work just for the evening and come back for work the next day. Having the opportunity to live in both cities has been brilliant.

Student experience living in Prospect Point on Prescot Street

• I am a 3rd yr student from Aston university in Birmingham.• I started my placement in April 2010 and will commence up until the

end of September 2010.• My accommodation was arranged through the hospital and university

where I was provided a leaflet and I rang the accommodation office in Liverpool who arranged my accommodation. I am currently staying at prospect point which is just across the hospital. It is very advantageous staying just across the road as limited amount of travel is necessary.

• My accommodation is ideal for any student comprising of: 24hr security, local amenities which are very near, free-internet access, on-suite facilities with shared kitchen and the floor is regularly cleaned. The price for the accommodation is fairly reasonable for all the facilities it does provide.

Travelling to and from the Royal • Public transport links to and from the

Royal are excellent.

• Train: nearest stations are Liverpool Central (if travelling from outer Liverpool) or Liverpool Lime Street (trains from Manchester run regularly and take 43 minutes)

• Both stations are a 10 minute walk away from the hospital.

• A return from Manchester to Liverpool at peak time without a railcard is about £12

• A return from Manchester to Liverpool at off-peak time without a railcard is about £10

Travelling to and from the Royal• Bus: as the hospital is near to the city centre, it is easily accessed by

bus.

• Car: you should use a car to travel to the Royal as a last resort as parking is limited and expensive. The hospital parking is only available to those with permits and these aren’t often given to students. There is a Q-Park across from the hospital which charges a daily rate of £7.90.

• Whichever way you decide to travel to the hospital, the transport direct website has a brilliant door-to-door route planner with service numbers and times: http://www.transportdirect.info/Web2/JourneyPlanning/JourneyPlannerInput.aspx

Dress code • All clinical staff, bands 3 to 7 wear tunics. Audiologists wear navy and

white striped tunics and assistant audiology technicians and students wear light grey tunics.

• Your supervisor will give you a few on your first day. They’re really easy to clean and you can put them in the tumble dryer as well.

• You’re allowed to wear your own black smart trousers.

• Smart shoes

• The bare below the elbow policy is in place in the department, so no bracelets, rings, watches etc are allowed.

• Most people carry their mobile phones on them during clinic, it’s especially useful on ENT clinic when signing in patients as you’ll need to know the time. Just try to keep it on silent.

Department opening times • Open: 0800 Monday – Friday • Close: 1800 Monday – Thursday,

1730 Friday

• Full time hours are 37.5 per week. • Hours for students are usually 9:00 till 17:00

Preparing for placement • It’s a good idea to brush up on your theory before starting

placement. You wont be asked questions that you shouldn’t know the answer to, so look over lecture notes and practical sheets to refresh your memory.

• Knowing things like BSA guidelines, BAA/BSA Direct referral guidelines inside and out now, will benefit you when it’s time for assessments.

• It’s a good idea to have a folder to carry around during the

day; having some space for session feedback forms, a paper version of your log book, scrap paper to make notes etc will keep you organised.

• Allow extra time for your first trip into placement. Nothing ever seems to go right on the first day, allow time for hiccups.

In the morning • Everyone congregates in the office in the morning. There are

lockers for bags and coat hooks.

• The office has a small fridge for packed lunches.

• There is also a kettle and everyone brings in their own mug.

• Tea money is 50p a week (caffeinated tea bags and milk) or bring your own.

• Open mugs aren’t allowed in clinical areas, if you’d like to bring a hot drink in with you remember to put it in a flask.

Before clinic starts • You should check who you are

meant to be with on Practice Navigator the night before using the schedule book window.

• [Rehab] means appointments such as fittings, DRs, reassessments, fine tunes, exchanges etc.

• [ENT] is ear, nose and throat clinic, so PTAs and tymps.

• [Repairs] is self explanatory

• [DV] is home visits

Rooms in the department • The clinic rooms are located behind M clinic

(ENT clinic) and off the main corridor

• The tinnitus room is off the main corridor and is used for hearing therapy.

• Repair rooms:– Repair 1&2 are off the main corridor and

are usually used just for repairs.

• Clinic rooms (booths 1-5):– These are behind M clinic– Used for rehab and ENT clinic– Rooms 1&2 are the white booths– Rooms 3&4 are the blue booths – Room 5 is next to the voice therapy room and

is not sound treated (not the best for PTAs)

Map of the department

Setting up for clinic • Everyone has their own bag of tools which consists of:

– An otoscope– Scissors– Pliers– Reamer and threader– Oticon programming shoes– Small screwdrivers– Stetoclips– Otolight

• Remember to bring your bag with you. If you lose or are missing anything, talk to one of the AAP’s.

• Try to collect the earmolds, hearing aids, fitting packs etc you’ll need before appointments start.

• If you know you’ll be using the audiometer and tymp machine, perform stage A checks before the patient comes.

During clinic • In the beginning of placement, you’ll mainly be observing and

performing parts of appointments ie. PTA, imps etc. When you’re ready, you’ll take the whole appointment under direct supervision.

• Make use of observing different staff, because everyone does things differently and you can pick out their good bits.

• Make one big crib sheet for each appointment. This will help you when it’s time for you to take the appointments later on.

• Try to get stuck in. The first repair appointment I took was a few weeks into placement- it was so shaky and sloppy but being thrown into the deep end gave me a massive boost in confidence. Don’t be scared to have a go, if you mess up or forget something, staff will help you out.

After clinic • Students are required to fill in session

feedback forms after every session (1 in the morning and 1 in the afternoon)

• Try to think of one thing you can take away from the session, however big or small.

• They’re a good tool to have for reflection in PPLA.

• Impressions to be sent away go in the envelope in reception.

At lunchtime • Lunch is at 12.00 or 12.30 (depending on what you’re

doing in the afternoon) and lasts about 30 minutes.

• Most people bring in packed lunches and eat in the office.

• If you want to warm up your lunch, there's a microwave and toaster.

• There’s also a WRVS down the corridor which sells sandwiches, jacket potatoes, hot and cold drinks and snacks.

• The canteen is downstairs and sells jacket potatoes, salads, sandwiches, pasta, cereal and the meal of the day. Curry Thursdays are quite good. A meal with a drink will cost about £4.00.

• Unfortunately there isn’t a sink in the office so most people use the sink in repair room 1.

Finishing time • Your finishing time will have already been

arranged before your first day.

• If you’re with a member of staff who finishes later than you, just excuse yourself between patients.

• Make sure you’ve completed your session form and make a note of procedures which members of staff need to sign off on your logbook. Most staff prefer a note in their tray or an email.

• University will have told you to fill out your PPLA as you go along and not leave it to the last minute- and they’re right! One reflection every 1-2 weeks will mean 20-30 odd by the end of the year. It takes maybe 30 minutes at the end of the day and you’ll be glad you don’t need to do them all in August.

Additional information about working at the Royal

Library sessions and study areas • Students are allowed a half day every week

to study. This can arranged with your supervisor at the beginning of placement.

• You don’t have to stay in the hospital during your study

• If you decide to stay, occasionally there are spare computers in the office which you can use, or in any rooms which are free.

• Alternatively, the hospital library is located in the clinical sciences department. You will need to sign up for a membership, you can do this at the beginning of placement.

Sickness and absences • If you’re not feeling well enough to

come into work, ring the office mobile on 07826873856 and let someone know.

• Remember you’ll have patient contact throughout the day at work, so if you are ill it’s best to stay off until you’re 100% better.

• Any sickness lasting over 7 days (Saturday and Sunday included) will need to be verified by a doctor’s note.

Taking annual leave • Students have 13.5 days of annual leave during their

6 month placement at The Royal.

• You can carry over a maximum of 4 days annual leave from a previous placement or over to your next placement.

• Annual leave needs to be booked 6 weeks in advance

• It’s a good idea to keep a few days of leave reserved for between placements and after your assessments. Some time off will ensure you don’t burn out as both can be quite stressful.

Other bits and bobs• Patient management system: the

department uses Practice Navigator. If you haven’t used PN before don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it quickly. See the PN User Guide for steps and instructions.

• Hearing aids used: Mostly Danalogic with many Siemens and Oticon aids still in service. It’s up to you which you use, but it’s a good idea to know how to manage all.

• Phonak Naida aids are also available for patients who are suitable, but this should be discussed with an audiologist first. The aid will be fitted by a senior.

Other bits and bobs

• Name badge: you’ll need to get a hospital badge during your first week of placement. Name badges are done every Tuesday and Thursday. Your supervisor will fill out a form which you’ll have to bring upstairs. They’ll take your picture and give you your new badge on that day. Your badge must be worn on a NHS neck strap or off your pocket with a clip. If you lose your badge, tell someone as soon as you can.

• Computer log-in and email: Your supervisor will fill out a form and send it to IT for them to generate a log in and email for you. Your email can be accessed via Outlook on your desktop. This cannot be accessed outside the hospital so it’s best to use your Manchester address for more important emails.

Registering at the Royal

• You will have to register with the volunteers department at the beginning of your placement

• The department can be found to the left of the top of the escalator in the foyer of the hospital.

• They will issue you with a form to fill in and return

Other bits and bobs • Department induction: you will have a short

induction with your supervisor during your first week on placement, giving you information which is department specific.

• Trust induction: students are also required to attend the trust induction which lasts 1 day. It goes over things like fire and security protocol, confidentiality, infection control etc. This is a good experience to reflect on in your PPLA. Your supervisor will book you onto the induction after you’ve started placement

• The trust induction takes place on Derwent House on London Road (next to Lidl). Tea and coffee is provided.

Other bits and bobs • Fitting packs: The department supplies fitting packs for each

new patient who receives a hearing aid. This contains:– Brown NHS battery book with patient address label– List of health centres that issue batteries– Information about repair services– Specific hearing aid instruction booklet– Additional resources sheet– Written instructions on how to insert hearing aid

• Fitting packs can be found at the bottom of the earmould stackers. If there aren’t any made up, the sheets are in the drawers underneath the fax machine and you can make up your own.

Other bits and bobs

• Trays: everyone has a tray in the office. You should have your own tray on your first day with your name on it. If you can’t find it ask someone to show you where it is.

• Any letters you enter on PN will print out in the office and be left in your tray for you to fill in and sign. Envelopes are to the right of the earmold stackers at the bottom and the outgoing post is behind the desk at reception

Writing Letters • Instructions on how to access ‘letter

contacts’ in PN can be found in the PN User Guide.

• Letters can be confusing. To make sure you send out the right letter, see the table on the next slide. You can copy and paste the slide onto your desktop and refer back to it when you need to.

• If you need to write a letter to a GP with lots of additional information, it may be best to do a custom letter. For this, use word.

Appointment type

Reason for letter Address to Letter type

Direct referral Patient does not fit TTSA referral guidelines and hearing aid recommended

GP GP Letter DR Rec HA No ENT appt reqd

Direct referral Patient was within normal limits

GP GP Letter DR WNL

Direct referral Patient fits TTSA referral criteria and needs to be seen by ENT

GP GP Letter DR Fail TTSA

Direct referral Patient did not want a hearing aid

GP GP Letter DR HA Declined

Fitting Hearing aid has been fitted

GP GP Letter HA Fitted

Reassessment Patient fits TTSA referral criteria and needs to be seen by ENT

GP GP Letter General Refer to ENT Requested.

Other bits and bobs

• Occluding wax: if a patient presents with occluding wax, we can refer them to the dressings clinic. To do this, you need to fill out a Dressing Room Referral form which can be found in each room. Also supply the patient with a dressings clinic opening times sheet as it is on a drop-in basis.

• Earmoulds: when taking bilateral impressions, 1 earmould box should be used for both impressions. A label for each impression should be put on the box.

Tips and tricks • Add both the office number and

mobile number in your phone, you don’t know when you may need it.

• There is a student folder on the j: drive with lots of information for you. Save this on your desktop for easy access.

• You can find HEI checklists on the j: drive. When you are competent to take whole appointments, have staff members fill one out for each appointment. They’re a good tool to help you improve your skills and it’ll be practise for your assessments.