Please tell us about Ear Care Academy and its purpose
Unlike other microsuction courses, Ear Care Academy provides a gold standard, fully accredited ear microsuction course in conjunction with West Middlesex Hospital (part of Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust) and Charing Cross Hospital (part of Imperial College Healthcare Trust).
Our courses are delivered in world class Teaching Hospital settings – West Middlesex and Charing Cross Hospitals – in the ENT/Audiology Department, and the course trainers are all highly experienced senior doctors of Medicine and Audiology.
A typical two-day course has between 10-12 delegates with 80-100 real patients booked, to provide maximum clinical experience to trainees.
Each trainer trains 2-3 delegates and our course setup results in an unparalleled microsuction teaching experience. We do not provide “equipment packages” which are often seen on other courses, as we believe these detract from the main element of a gold standard course, which is to teach you about all aspects of delivering microsuction.
One-size-fits-all equipment packages are inevitably not fit for purpose and are composed of sub-par equipment. Our course covers business/clinic/equipment setup elements and our trainers are on hand to help you decide what equipment you might need as each clinic requires a tailored approach. We are also able to advise on suitable equipment suppliers.
What can attendees expect from your training events?
Our course enables eligible professionals to perform aural microsuction in your own clinic immediately following completion of the course.
It is one of few - if not the only - course, which delivers training on live patients with routine and complex ears. It also provides full practical training on the usage of ENT microscopes, as well as microsuction equipment to remove ear wax, and it is delivered on real patients – with typically 80-100 patients booked per two day course.
Additionally, it is run by some of the most experienced microsuction practitioners in the country, and provides both insight and support into ear microsuction clinic setup.
What is microsuction and why is it something trainees should consider upskilling in?
Using microsuction for wax removal allows clinicians to see inside the ear canal in greater detail, while having minimal physical contact with the earlobe. This means ear microsuction can be much more comfortable for patients than other methods of ear wax removal, such as syringing. What's more, patients do not usually need to prepare their ear wax with olive oil drops before undergoing a microsuction procedure - but doing so may make ear microsuction faster and more comfortable.
Ear microsuction works by essentially suctioning out ear wax and other debris from the ear canal, using either an ENT (ear, nose and throat) binocular operating microscope, or specialised magnification loupes, similar to the type that dentists use. This allows the clinician to see inside the ear canal in greater detail.
Once the clinician has a good view of the ear canal and its contents, the microsuction procedure can begin, using a very fine sterile suction device to remove the wax. A low level of pressure is used, which means the whole process is similar to using a tiny vacuum to remove wax from the ear. If the ear wax is particularly hard or stubborn to remove, clinicians may need to use other instruments to remove this, such as Jobson Horne probes or micro forceps but, despite this, ear microsuction is typically more comfortable and more effective than ear syringing for patients.
It’s a very worthwhile area for healthcare professionals to increase knowledge in and learn how to set up clinics for, especially as currently ear wax removal services are not widely funded by the NHS and the majority of the work is done privately.
And finally, what part has DP Medical played in the success of your courses?
DP Medical has been great since the inception of Ear Care Academy and delivered professional level of training venue set up with great microscopes for training purposes. Our trainees enjoyed using their microscopes and trainees have built relationships with DP team to set up their private and NHS microsuction clinics. We continuously meet to review feedback, discuss business growth and collaborations.
To find out more about Ear Care Academy, as well as ear microsuction, visit https://www.earcareacademy.co.uk
To learn more about DP Medical’s affordable microsuction equipment, please visit: www.dpmedicalsys.com/products/microscopy/kaps-ent