Content of Courses
Course Offerings:
Course:
Foundations
of Occupational Health Practice
Advanced Course:
Clinical
Occupational Medicine and Medical Surveillance
Advanced Course:
Management
in Occupational Health Practice
For some samples of assignments
and case studies, which
we will use in this program, please click
here.
Course:
Foundations
of Occupational Health Practice
Duration: 10 weeks
Learning Objectives: At the end of this
course, the participants will be able to:
- Recognize and assess different hazards and risks, use
practical assessment tools and interpret their findings
to develop practical solutions for the company
- Describe principles of exposure assessment, exposure
pathways and methods of risk reduction and control
- Take an occupational medical history and use investigative
questions in the medical practice
- Apply principles of disease and accident prevention and
recommend corrective and preventive actions
- Describe and apply principles of ergonomic workplace
design and develop practical solutions
- Describe psychosocial factors at work, interpret observations
and advice employees and management on possible solutions
- Describe basic methods of accident/injury investigation,
and conduct preliminary accident investigations
- Use the internet and other resources for information
finding and improvement of quality of their work
Topic |
Introductions
Case/problem presentations by
participants
Using the Internet for
Occupational Health
Information gathering on the web for Occupational
Health practice: finding information, resources, articles
and databases
Note:
Skill will be used throughout the courses |
Principles of Occupational
Health:
Hazards Identification, Risk Assessment
and Control
Concepts of risk assessment (RA) in environmental and
occupational health
Principles of prevention: risk reduction and control
Exposures, Effects and Control Options
Overview on effects of chemical, biological, physical
exposure to risks
Note:
occupational infections will be addressed in the Advanced
Course on Clinical Occupational Medicine
Exposure pathways (physical, chemical, physical)
Principles of exposure evaluation and assessment
Principles of toxicology:
Pathways and systems, metabolism, excretion & storage,
principles of risk assessment in toxicology: threshold
limit values, finding and understanding of Material Safety
Data Sheets (MSDS or ICSC), guidelines and recommendations.
Case studies for common chemical exposures
e.g. solvents, heavy metals, biologically active chemicals
(pharmaceuticals, pesticides, endocrine disruptors)
Practical risk assessment tools in the company:
Practical exercises with tools such as checklists and
formulas e.g. for hazards identification, chemical safety,
chemical control tool kits ("control banding"),
physical exposures.
Note: Tools will be used throughout the courses. |
Taking
the Medical Occupational History
The medical and workplace history in occupational
health
Concept of "risk factors" and "causes" in
occupational medicine |
Introduction
to Ergonomic Workplace Design
Physiological aspects of work
Principles of ergonomic design of work stations:
anthropometry, illumination, temperature, workload
Practical risk assessment tools in the company:
Practical exercises with tools such as checklists
and formulas for hazards identification, manual handling
of heavy loads, evaluation of ergonomic risks |
Introduction
to Psychosocial Factors and Work Organisation
Concepts of stress: "distress" and "eustress",
demand and control
Psychosocial risk factors at work
Principles for design of work organization: shift-
and night work, management styles |
Principles
of Injury and Accident Investigations and Preventive
Programs
Root-Cause-Analysis concept
Economic impact of injuries and accidents, direct
vs. indirect cost
Human and management factors in accidents
Overview on accident investigation techniques
Examples of accident prevention programs: education
programs, essential safety procedures (log-out/tag-out,
confined space entry, working at heights) |
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Advanced Course:
Clinical Occupational Medicine and Medical Surveillance
Duration: 8 weeks
Learning Objectives: At the end of this
course, the participants will be able to:
- Recognize work-related and occupational disorders and
diseases
- Recognize risks and recommend corrective and preventive
action
- Conduct medical surveillance and workplace selection
in an evidence-based and ethical manner
Section |
Occupational
Diseases and Disorders
Common causes of work-related diseases
Clinical diagnosis of occupational diseases caused
by exposure to
- chemical (acute and chronic poisoning),
- biological (allergies and infections),
- physical agents (vibration, noise, heat, cold),
- ergonomic risk factors
Preventive strategies and treatment options |
Practice
of Occupational Medical Surveillance and Personnel & Workplace
Selection
Medical surveillance programs (pre-employment, pre-placement,
periodic & pre-retirement examinations)
Guidelines and resources for fit-for-work evaluations
Concepts of biological monitoring
Principles of travel medicine
Resources, reference centres and updates in travel
medicine
Guidelines for pre- and post travel examinations
Vaccinations in travel medicine |
Legislations,
International Codes of Conduct and Professional Ethics
Ethical considerations for medical screening
Ethical questions in occupational health practice
Professional codes of conduct of Occupational Medicine
International conventions and guidelines |
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Advanced Course:
Management in Occupational Health Practice
Duration: 8 weeks
Learning Objectives: At the end of this
course, the participants will be able to:
- Design and manage health programs in a company
- Contribute to company goals and participate in company-level
management activities
- Support management in certification efforts such as ISO
22000 or OHSAS 18001
- Conduct preliminary outbreak investigations
- Design and monitor a food safety program
- Describe and apply principles of emergency preparedness
for the company and specifically for the Occupational Health
clinic
- Describe principles of industrial hygiene measurements
and selection of personal protection equipment (PPE)
Section |
Integration
of Occupational Health Services into Management Processes
Planning & management of prevention programs
(e.g. noise, infection)
Health promotion programs at the workplace
Role of Occupational Health Center in certifications
(OSHAS 18001, SA 8000, ISO 26000 Draft) |
Introduction
to Epidemiology & Biostatistics
Useful epidemiology methods for company-level practice:
measures of disease frequency and comparisons of
groups (rates & ratios)
Outbreak Investigation:
Strategies, procedures, checklists, data collection,
data analysis, reporting |
Principles
of food safety and water hygiene
Common problems of food safety in mass catering
Water hygiene
Surveillance programs and practices |
Emergency
preparedness
Principles of emergency preparedness for a company
(including logistics, alarm sequences, transport
and communication)
Training requirements for the medical staff and other
company employees (level and contents of training,
numbers to be trained)
Organization of the medical team to handle accident
victims (pre-hospital trauma management, stabilization,
transport)
Medical Guidelines for Treatment
of Accident Victims in a Company
Medical treatment standards for trauma patients
Medical treatment standards for chemical accident patients |
Introduction
to Industrial Hygiene
Principles of exposure evaluation and control, principles
of measurements of airborne particles + gases,
selection of sampling equipment & methods,
principles of protection
Principles of measurement of environmental hazards:
thermal comfort, heat stress, noise, illumination,
dust counting, personal samplers
Personal Protective Equipment
Use and limits of PPE
Selection and adaptation of PPE for individuals |
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