Prosthetic Reconstruction, Rehabilitation & Surgical Planning —
Training activity: 11

Details

Lead an assessment for a newly referred paediatric patient requiring an auricular prosthesis who has a congenital deformity. Discuss individual patient requirements and prosthetic rehabilitation

Plan, design, manufacture and fit the final prosthesis. Provide aftercare support

Type

Developmental training activity (DTA)

Evidence requirements

Evidence the activity has been undertaken by the trainee​.

Reflection on the activity at one or more time points after the event including learning from the activity and/or areas of the trainees practice for development.

An action plan to implement learning and/or to address skills or knowledge gaps identified.

Reflective practice guidance

The guidance below is provided to support reflection at different time points, providing you with questions to aid you to reflect for this training activity. They are provided for guidance and should not be considered as a mandatory checklist. Trainees should not be expected to provide answers to each of the guidance questions listed.

Before action

• What are the unique communication and management considerations for paediatric patients and their families?
• Consider the key factors of assessing a paediatric patient for an ear prosthesis.
• What are the key aspects of fitting and aftercare for a paediatric auricular prosthesis?
• What will you learn about communicating with paediatric patients and their parents/carers about prosthetic options?
• What design and manufacturing considerations are important for a growing child?
• What are the specific challenges in fitting and ensuring retention of a prosthesis in a child?
• What are the key elements of aftercare and long-term management for paediatric patients?
• Have you researched congenital auricular deformities and the prosthetic options for children?
• Have you discussed communication strategies for paediatric patients with experienced colleagues?
• Have you reviewed fitting protocols and aftercare instructions for paediatric auricular prostheses?
• Consider the key factors in the positioning of an ear prosthesis for a patient with facial asymmetry.

In action

• While leading the assessment for a child, discussing requirements with parents/guardians, planning, designing, manufacturing, and fitting the auricular prosthesis, and considering aftercare, are you consciously adapting your communication and approach for a paediatric patient and their family? What immediate decisions are you making regarding materials, retention, and growth considerations? During discussions, are you ensuring clarity and addressing the specific concerns of the parents/guardians?
• Is your assessment effectively understanding the child’s deformity and the family’s needs and expectations? Are you encountering any unique challenges in designing, manufacturing, and fitting a prosthesis for a growing child? What immediate learning is occurring as you work with a paediatric patient and their family? How does this activity connect to your understanding of congenital anomalies, paediatric prosthetics, and family-centred care?
• If there are challenges with fitting the prosthesis or if the family has specific concerns about its management or the child’s acceptance, what alternative fitting techniques or prosthesis designs are you considering in real-time? Do you need to seek advice on paediatric prosthetic management or communication strategies for children and families? Are you ensuring that your approach is age-appropriate, sensitive, and ethically sound?

On action

• Describe the specific considerations when leading an assessment for a paediatric patient with a congenital deformity requiring an auricular prosthesis. How did you discuss requirements and rehabilitation with the patient and their parents/guardians? Describe the planning, design, manufacturing, and fitting process of the final prosthesis. What specific aftercare instructions were provided, considering the paediatric patient and their carers? How did they respond?
• What specific skills or knowledge did you develop or improve in assessing, planning, designing, manufacturing, fitting, and providing aftercare for paediatric auricular prostheses for congenital deformities? What did you learn about the unique challenges and considerations when working with paediatric patients and their families? Were there any unexpected challenges or successes during any stage of the process? What did you learn from these? How did the patient’s and family’s needs and the congenital nature of the deformity influence your approach?
• What areas for continued development have you identified in paediatric auricular prosthetics and family-centred care? How can you apply the knowledge and skills gained to future paediatric facial prosthetic cases? What resources or support might you need to further develop in this area, such as child-specific communication techniques or understanding of congenital conditions?

Beyond action

• Have you revisited experiences with paediatric auricular prostheses? How has your understanding of the unique challenges of providing prosthetics to growing children with congenital anomalies evolved?
• How have these experiences impacted upon your current practice in communicating with paediatric patients and their families, and in considering growth and development in prosthetic design?
• How might these experiences contribute towards your future practice in more complex paediatric craniofacial cases or the use of adaptable prosthetic solutions? What did you learn about retention methods and the psychological impact on children?

Relevant learning outcomes

#	Outcome
# 1	Outcome Deliver quality patient centred care with the best interests of patients in all elements of practice.
# 2	Outcome Practice in accordance with local and national health and safety policies, regulatory requirements and overall service governance.
# 3	Outcome Communicate effectively with patients, relatives, healthcare professionals and other stakeholders.
# 4	Outcome Identify patients who need further specialist support and refer to the appropriate healthcare specialist.
# 5	Outcome Analyse and interpret patient investigations, multimodal imaging and information.
# 6	Outcome Perform clinical investigations, formulate treatment plans and manufacture medical devices to a safe clinical standard.
# 8	Outcome Select appropriate biomedical materials and components/instrumentation used in the treatment of patients and the manufacture of custom-made medical devices.
# 9	Outcome Practice in partnership with other clinical specialisms as part of a multidisciplinary team and understand their roles and their impact on patient care and pathway.
# 10	Outcome Apply the principals of a quality management system to their professional practice.
# 12	Outcome Assess and interpret patients’ needs to provide customised treatment dependent on medical, physical, social and psychological requirements.