MODULES 4 OBJECTIVES

Each session deals with a specific topic and is organised and presented with the following headings:

These appear at the top of the first screen for each section.

Objectives include the knowledge or competencies that it is intended you achieve after you have completed each session. At the end of each section you should ask yourself whether you feel you have mastered the material and whether you have been able to complete the self test questions on the last page of each section (not every session has one) in such a way that you really understand what is going on, and are happy that in your case the objectives at the beginning of the session have been met. Only then is it recommended that you go on to the next section. At all times you can contact your designated tutor by email or by phone to ask questions. You should not wait and struggle but rather ask questions as soon as you have difficulties.

For each sections a list of activities is suggested to assist you in reaching the objectives. These include a range of resources and materials from hardcopy texts to web-based and other electronic resources (on CDROM or videotape), worked examples and exercises. These resource materials are supplied at different levels - introductory and more detailed and specific and in-depth. You are encouraged to direct your own learning by going further into topics and into the scientific literature and reference texts. There is therefore no limit to these activities other than your interest and time availability. However, you do need to complete all of the basic informational activities. Hyperlinks to relevant websites will be inserted where appropriate, when the source material does not appear on the CD.

In order to help you evaluate your performance,  self-test exercises appear in some sections. Try to answer these questions by yourself. It is a way of checking that you have reached the objectives. Answers to the exercises are built in. You can repeat these exercises again and again until you feel that you have mastered the content of the sessions.

As homework assignments you will receive tasks that will be marked and constitute part of your year's mark record.

Reference materials:

References are divided into hardcopy and web references. You must try your best to access all the reference materials. We have tried to keep them short in order not to overload you with too much material. However, there is much more to read than just these required readings. You are also strongly encouraged to look further afield for relevant references - this is the essence of self-directed learning.

This second occupational medicine module concentrates on the respiratory system, including important pneumoconioses and other lung and skin disorders. Practical skills transferred relate to pulmonary function testing and interpretation of the ILO classification of radiographs of pneumoconioses, testing for allergy, distinction between irritant and allergic asthma and dermatitis, the diagnosis of common work-related conditions, factory visits evaluating health hazards and medical services, and the clinical recognition of important work-related adverse health outcomes. Systematic approaches are provided for targeted medical surveillance and supporting preventive legislation with another input on the workers' compensation system. The factory visit aims to consolidate and apply these approaches.

Module 4 Objectives

1. To continue the introduction to the practice of occupational medicine.
2. To continue to develop the following skills as the course progresses and build on thereafter, so that you are able to:
1. Use an interdisciplinary clinical approach to evaluating and managing occupational medical problems.
2. Read and interpret chest x-rays for pneumoconioses, using the ILO Classification
3. Request and interpret spirograms (lung function tests)
4. Request and interpret relevant allergy tests
5. Request and interpret skin patch tests
6. Design an industrial hygiene and medical surveillance programme after performing a walkthrough risk assessment of a workplace with the aim of evaluating hazards affecting the respiratory and dermatological (skin) systems.
3. To continue the introduction to the disciplines of occupational toxicology and occupational medicine so that you have some:
1. Knowledge of occupational lung diseases important in South Africa, related to asbestos, silica, coal, metals, and organic dusts, and their epidemiologic and clinical features.
2. Knowledge of the biological mechanisms (acute and chronic) underlying occupational  disease.
3. Knowledge of the work-relatedness of common diseases such as allergies and asthma, tuberculosis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
4. Knowledge of common occupational skin diseases and the management of skin problems at work.
4. To introduce the Occupational Diseases in Mines and Works Act, with an emphasis on those sections you will need to know in detail for occupational health practice and to revisit some pertinent regulations under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (Asbestos Regulations)

Postgraduate Diploma in Occupational Health (DOH) - Modules 3 – 5: Occupational Medicine & Toxicology by Prof Rodney Ehrlich & Prof Mohamed Jeebhay is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://www.healthedu.uct.ac.za/