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Summary

Course details

Course type:

Online course

Director of studies:

Dr Clare van Halsema

Director of studies email:

mylstm@lstmed.ac.uk

Duration:

5 weeks (online)

Home fee:

£295

Overseas fee:

£295

3 good reasons to study

Practical and patient-centred, this course provides the knowledge, skills and confidence needed to manage tuberculosis in any setting, from clinical assessment to management of contacts.

Despite curative treatment being available, many people continue to die from tuberculosis every year. By avoiding common errors in tuberculosis diagnosis and treatment, you can help reduce this burden.

LSTM houses numerous clinicians and researchers with expertise in tuberculosis, who teach both face-to-face and distance-learning courses. This course gives you the opportunity to learn from those with up-to-date knowledge and practical experience.

Course Outline

There is now a global move to end tuberculosis, with targets to reduce tuberculosis deaths by 95% by 2035. To achieve this, tuberculosis needs to be recognised, diagnosed, well-treated, cured and prevented – so building the knowledge and skill of healthcare workers is crucial.

This course has been developed as an introduction to tuberculosis for clinical practitioners from all settings. As a distance-learning course, it is a flexible way to study that can fit around your work. It uses a variety of learning materials and participative activities, facilitated by subject experts from LSTM.

It will develop healthcare professionals’ knowledge and skills in assessment, treatment and prevention of tuberculosis, and covers the disease in 4 main areas:

Tuberculosis infection and disease
Clinical assessment
Clinical management
Tuberculosis prevention and control

Entrance Requirements

Work experience:

The course is designed for healthcare workers who are new to TB, have TB as a part of their work or wish to refresh their knowledge. The material is best suited to those currently working in healthcare at a graduate level, either in a clinical or public health capacity but we will consider applications from students, allied health professionals and others. If you are unsure as to whether this is suitable for you, please e-mail mylstm@lstmed.ac.uk(link sends e-mail) to be put in touch with course tutors.

Students who have previously completed this course have a rich and varied background, including:

Epidemiologist for Ministry of Health, Argentina
Doctors from UK, USA & Taiwan looking to enhance their TB knowledge
Canadian Nurses working for Immigration, Refugee & Citizenship Canada
Doctor from Center for Disease Control & Prevention, China
Public Health Physician for Dept. of Health Western Australia
Migration Doctor for International Organisation for Migration
TB Nurses in UK, Africa and worldwide

English language requirements:

The course is taught in English. Students whose first language is not English should be aware that to gain maximum benefit from the course, you should have English language proficiency at the equivalent of an IELTS (International English Language Testing System) score of at least 6.5. More English language information can be found on our website - http://www.lstmed.ac.uk/study/how-to-apply/english-language-requirements

However, applicants will be considered if English Language competence is demonstrated by alternative means to the IELTS test. For example, this may include published papers in English, a work setting where English is the language of operation, or successful attendance on other courses held in English.

Other requirements:

IT system requirements for study

To enable you to participate and get the most out of the online course we recommend the following;

You will need access to a functioning desktop computer or laptop, Mac or Windows. Aspects of the course may be undertaken on an internet enabled portable device such as an iPad or tablet, however core learning will require a full computer with a keyboard, mouse and screen. Any typical computer produced within the last five years should be sufficient.

The computer will need to have a reliable internet connection sufficient for streaming online video content or two-way communication. This will require a minimum stable internet speed of 500Kbps (kilobits per second) usually provided through corporate LAN, broadband, ADSL, DSL, cable internet and most stable 3G connections. It is unlikely that dial-up modem connections will suffice. Internet speed tests may be undertaken online to determine your internet speed, for example www.speedtest.net/

You will need headphones or speakers connected to your computer. Standard earbuds will work fine. If you are unable to use audio devices, as part of LSTM policy we will make reasonable adjustment to the course such as providing transcripts of audiovisual media.

To get the most out of the course you will need to use a modern and up-to-date web browser such as:

Mozilla Firefox - Latest
Google Chrome - Latest
Apple Safari - Latest*

It is possible to use other browsers, but if you encounter problems we will ask you to try one of the freely available supported browsers listed above.

*If using Apple Safari, you may need to change your Preferences to allow all third party cookies.

Your web browser will need to have Javascript and Cookies enabled. You can conduct an automated system check to determine if you are using a supported browser, and to check if Javascript and Cookies enabled, here: https://brightspace.lstmed.ac.uk/d2l/systemCheck.

If Javascript and Cookies need to be enabled see http://enable-javascript.com/ and http://www.whatarecookies.com/enable.asp

Aims

This course aims to:

Recognise presenting features of TB and describe the route of infection and disease development in an individual.

Develop an appropriate plan of investigation for an individual with possible TB.

Develop a comprehensive management plan for an individual with TB.

Describe key factors and prevention measures in your setting.

Careers

The course is designed for healthcare workers who are new to tuberculosis, have tuberculosis as a part of their work, or wish to refresh their knowledge. The material is best suited to those currently working in healthcare at a graduate level, either in a clinical or public health capacity ,but we will consider applications from students, allied health professionals and others.

Testimonials

Having just finished this course yesterday [June 2017], I cannot recommend this course enough. It goes through the microbiology and pathophysiology of TB, followed by the clinical aspects, management, and then finally disease control; making it a great way to learn or revise the essentials of such an important disease; or to get a good update on current thinking and research in the field. - Joshua York, final year medical student, UK.

It is a great idea to have a real person as a TB case and create some video to help students get a real picture about the disease (January 2017 student feedback survey)

Dr Kathryn McGregor. Medical junior doctor in UK. Completed Core Medical Training, and taking time out from training to work as a clinical medical doctor in tropical low resource setting. I decided to do the course to refresh and update my knowledge on Tuberculosis as this will be a common disease seen in my next job, and whilst I had some experience in the UK I wanted to build confidence in managing patients with TB from diagnosis through to dealing with drug resistant and non pulmonary cases.

The course was excellent, well organised and supported by superb clinical staff providing learning materials and feedback online in addition to technical staff always on hand to assist with the online learning environment. It was simple to use the Brightspace forum, access materials and manage the course requirements around a clinical job. Online lectures were excellent, with clear learning objectives and signposting of where to find further detail as needed for individuals working in different contexts. The opportunity to interact via online forums with other students from a wide variety of backgrounds was a highlight and completing tasks as a group prompted interesting discussions. In particular the feedback and comments from the Course Director were incredibly helpful in consolidating learning points and guiding further self directed reading.

This course has helped to gain a clear understanding of the diagnostic and treatment techniques and challenges face with patients with TB and how to practically manage patients in a variety of settings. In particular I have learning resources I can refer back to when in a low resource setting, along with local guidance which I was encouraged to study alongside the course. I would advise others that the course is well organised, professional and incredibly informative, and provides an excellent basis for managing patients with tuberculosis with opportunity to learn from experienced faculty and other students from a wide range of clinical backgrounds. (2017)

Dr Yungui Zhang, a Physician working in Yunnan Provincial Infectious Diseases Hospital, China. Yunnan has the largest number of people living with HIV and has the highest burden of TB in China. This course has helped me in my work and I recommend participants should make full use of the discussion board to share experiences with each other. (2017)

Lectures were very high quality, and the group work where people contributed often was excellent. (January 2017 student feedback survey)

The structure of the course very logical. Great resources made available, ie articles and reference books. (January 2017 student feedback survey)

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Start date	End date	Home fee	Overseas fee
26 September 2018	23 October 2018	£295	£295	Apply

Start date:
26 September 2018

End date:
23 October 2018

Home fee:
£295

Overseas fee:
£295

Apply

Fundamentals of Tuberculosis