Skilled Nursing Resource Site for Web-based Continuing Education

Evaluation: Audiology Forum: Video Otoscopy

Evaluation of the site linked here is part of a doctoral dissertation subject area guide project.
Comments are welcome.

• Authority, sponsorship, intended audience.
  Target audience is audiologists who utilize video otoscopy, and audiologists interested in learning more about the clinical topics discussed and illustrated in great detail on this site. Site states "case examples .. have been selected and edited for their relevance to the audiologial assessment of hearing, the selection, fitting and follow-up care of hearing aids and potential indications for medical referral.". Site maintained by Roy Sullivan, PhD, of R.F. Sullivan and C.A. Sullivan, Inc. Nine corporate sponsors are listed, hyperlinks provided. Sponsor information is clearly separated from clinical information.

• Accuracy.
  Criteria for case submission is provided. Disclaimer states "the material on these pages has been composed for viewing by audiologists who are solely responsible for the audiological care of their own patients ... .".

• Objectivity.
  Site contains a prolific selection of cases on many clinical topics across the adult life span. Site introduction states: "All verified and presumptive diagnoses listed herein have been provided by referring and consulting ENT, dermatology and primary care physicians who are responsible for the medical care of these cases."

  Contains two published peer reviews of this site (EAR and HEARING, 18(4), August 1997), in part "overall, this is an excellent site and is worth visiting." ... "The site is well-organized and acts as both a continuing education resource and reference for professionals.".

• Currency.
  Site initiated September, 1995. Statistical access information through January, 1996. Otherwise, updates not stated. Contains material through 1997.

• Browser and other concerns.
  This site contains a variety of graphics, so the novice computer user may not have all the software nor hardware required to run each and every still image and video clip media application. Some cases are viewable with basic equipment, so a visit is recommended nevertheless. A helpful feature is the "Viewing FAQ" (Frequently Asked Questions) section, giving details on computer requirements for viewing specific case illustrations. The main pages, such as table of contents and other information supplied by the author, are readable on any browser, although the organization of these pages are a little confusing.

• Continuing Education.
  The clinical content of this site is organized into sections such as "Pinna/Concha: Graphic Tutorial," "Hearing Aid Morphology," "Video Otoscopy Systems," and so on. Each section contains many topic subsets, each with numerous and varied case presentations. Some of the sections and individual cases contain quizzes and other learning aids, and some do not. Each case is submitted individually by practitioners around the globe, so the format varies, but all meet basic criteria for submission. References are given, and some hyperlinks to other sites are proved where applicable. This site is essentially read-only, however learning aids and tutorial formatting of some case presentations support computer based instruction. For some submissions, email addresses are provided. Site author is accessible via email.

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