Nurses working in primary healthcare regularly encounter individuals of all ages with conductive or sensorineural hearing loss. This is a particular challenge for those in rural or remote areas, as well as for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations, who face difficulties in accessing hearing prevention, assessment, and ongoing management services.
The Audiometry Nurses Association of Australia Inc. states that registered nurses are required to complete a postgraduate qualification in audiometry nursing to practice in this specialised field. Nurses who possess this qualification and work in the field play a critical role in improving the health and wellbeing of both children and adults affected by hearing issues. While audiometry nurses are primarily employed in community health centres, they may also work in medical practices or private audiology clinics, providing essential hearing services to their communities.
Their expertise allows them to address the specific needs of individuals with hearing disorders, ensuring timely and effective interventions are provided. By working closely with other healthcare professionals, audiometry nurses contribute significantly to the overall health outcomes of people with hearing difficulties.
Course overview
Course content
| Content | Intended learning outcomes for this unit/program
After completing this unit, the learner will be able to:- |
Assessment Tasks | ||
| Type of assessment
|
Weighting
(% of total marks) |
When assessed – academic week
|
||
| Theme 1: Foundational knowledge in audiometry | a) rationalise their professional, ethical and social responsibilities commensurate to the context of audiometry nursing practice | Assessment 1: Quiz | 10% | 4 |
| Theme 2: Audiometry in practice | b) critically analyse contemporary models of care that meet the specialised needs of the individual to optimise health outcomes | Assessment 2: Pamphlet with abstract | 30% | 10 |
| Theme 3: Advanced audiometry practice | c) perform comprehensive audiometry testing and interpret test findings to develop and implement evidence-based interventions tailored to individuals with hearing needs | Assessment 3: Portfolio for clinical information | 10% | 12 |
| d) evaluate available services and resources that support the management of a client with diverse healthcare needs | Assessment 4: case analysis with audiovisual presentation | 40% | 15 | |
| Assessment 5: Clinical placement | 10% | 15 | ||
Course structure
The course will take you about 150-225 hours to complete; this is made up of reading, studying and research associated with the learning guide, resources and completion of the assessments. The theoretical component of this course is conducted online using ACN’s learning platform — CNnect.
You are also required to complete a minimum of 60 hours of clinical placement. Students are supported by the professional development team at ACN.
Clinical placement
Submitting all required NSW state compliance documents is an essential part of the application process for students who wish to be accepted into a course. Preclinical Compliance Pack is a PDF document containing all the items required by the State Health to become compliant for clinical placement:
- A professional headshot photo or ACN student ID card (if available)
- National Police Check (valid 12 months)
- NSW Working with Childrens check (Apply for a Volunteer Working with Children Check (WWCC) at Service NSW).
- N95 Mask fit test
- Diptheria, Tetanus and Pertussis / dTPa (valid 10 years)
- Hepatitis B (evidence of completing an age-appropriate course of Hepatitis B vaccinations (an accelerated course is not accepted) AND a positive serology (blood test)
- Measles, Mumps, Rubella (evidence of having received two doses of vaccine, If you were born before 1966, or serology reports for Measles, Mumps, Rubella).
- Varicella (copy of a positive serology test, OR evidence of having taken two doses of vaccine).
- Tuberculosis (TB) Assessment Tool
- Current Season Influenza
- NSW Health Student Details form
- Signed NSW Health Code of Conduct
- Undertaking / Declaration form
While ACN will make every effort to secure you a clinical placement as close as possible to the home or work address that you have provided us, however in the event there are no placements available near you, you may be required to travel. Student may approach a facility to discuss their clinical placements.
Admission
Applicants need to hold a current registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA).
Textbooks and resources
Kramer, S. & Brown, D. K. (2021). Audiology: science to practice (4th ed.). Plural Publishing.
Award
Students who have successfully completed this course will be awarded with a certificate of achievement and 285 CPD hours.
Course dates
| Course code | Start date | Completing date |
|---|---|---|
| 13 366 2501 | 20 January 2025 | 2 May 2025 |
| 13 366 2507 | 7 July 2025 | 17 October 2025 |
How to apply
ACN members: $4,000
Non-members: $4,400
*Fees are subject to change without notice.
To get the most out of your experience on CNnect, you will need to have confidence with working online. If you can do the things in the list below, you should be fine – if not, you may need to seek some support from a friend or colleague.
- I have internet access
- I can send an email
- I can attach a file to an email
- I can open a browser
- I can navigate to a website using a browser
- I can download a file to my computer
- I can save a file to my computer
- I can use Microsoft Word and Microsoft PowerPoint
- I can cut/copy and paste from one document to another document
- I can change my screen resolution (make the page appear bigger or smaller on the screen)
Recommended minimum system requirements
| PC | Mac |
| 512 MB RAM | 512 MB RAM |
| 6 GB HDD | 6 GB HDD |
| 300Mhz Processor | Intel based processor |
| 1280 x 1024 resolution display preferred (notebooks may operate on other resolutions) | 1280 x 1024 display |
| Windows XP or later operating systems | OSX 10.5.x or later |
| CD/DVD drive | CD/DVD drive |
| Speakers (either in-built or external) and microphone (preferably external) | Speakers (either in-built or external) and microphone (preferably external) |
| Google Chrome (latest version), Mozilla Firefox (latest version) | Safari or Mozilla Firefox (latest version) or Google Chrome (latest version) |
| Ability to save files in Microsoft Office format | Ability to save files in Microsoft Office format or equivalent e.g. Open Office, Viewer |
| Latest version of Adobe Flash Player, and Adobe Acrobat Reader | Latest version of Adobe Flash Player, and Adobe Acrobat Reader |
N.B. Internet explorer is not recommended.
Contact us
For administrative related inquiries: customerservices@acn.edu.au
For course related inquiries: eva.liu@acn.edu.au or courses@acn.edu.au
