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Abstract
Objective: This study was designed to test whether cue utilisation might be employed as a tool to assess the diagnostic skills of audiologists. The utilisation of cues is a characteristic of expertise and critical for successful diagnoses in clinical settings. However, neither in training nor in practice, is there a means by which the diagnostic skills of audiologists can be assessed objectively and reliably.
Design: The study comprised a pre-post training evaluation, controlling for prior exposure to the diagnostic testing tool.
Study sample: Three cohorts of trainee audiologists were evaluated, one of which was tested prior to, and following a two-year training programme (16 participants), while the other two groups acted as controls (23 participants and 20 participants, respectively).
Results: Consistent with expectations, cue utilisation increased from the initial to the final stages of training and this effect could not be attributed to cohort nor learning effects.
Conclusions: At an applied level, the outcomes provide the basis for a cue-based diagnostic assessment tool that can provide both trainee and practising audiologists with detailed feedback concerning their diagnostic skills.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.