Program Overview
The Postgraduate Certificate in Allergy and Clinical Immunology is a part-time, fully online program at University College Cork, Ireland. This program is open to healthcare professionals from various backgrounds and is designed to provide essential training in Allergy and Clinical Immunology. The program consists of three modules: Basics in Allergy and Immunology, Allergy and Immunology Skills, and Allergy and Immunology Practice and Methods I.
Program Outline
Degree Overview:
The Postgraduate Certificate in Allergy and Clinical Immunology is the first of three courses providing postgraduate training in Allergy and Clinical Immunology at UCC. It is a part-time, fully online course open to healthcare professionals from various backgrounds, including medicine, nursing, pharmacy, occupational therapy, speech and language, audiology, physiotherapy, psychology, dietetics, nutrition, and social studies. The program aims to address the growing demand for increased access to learning in allergy and immunology among healthcare professionals. It provides students with essential training and understanding of Allergy and Clinical Immunology problems in society today.
Outline:
The program is structured over three years, with the Postgraduate Certificate in the first year, the Postgraduate Diploma in the second year, and the MSc in the third year. Students can progress to the Diploma after completing the Certificate and to the MSc after completing the Diploma.
Year 1 - PG Certificate in Allergy and Clinical Immunology:
- Modules:
- MH6033 Basics in Allergy and Immunology (10 credits)
- MH6034 Allergy and Immunology Skills (10 credits)
- MH6035 Allergy and Immunology Practice and Methods I (10 credits)
- Learning Outcomes:
- Identify basic Allergy and Clinical Immunology and the most relevant principles of allergic and immunologic pathophysiology.
- Discuss the relevant allergic diseases and treatment options, with a particular focus on those elements essential for general practice management and allergy prevention.
- Summarize the basic practice and methodology in allergy, including nutritional development and management in food allergy patients.
- Identify basic diagnostic tests such as allergy tests, pulmonary function tests, anaphylaxis management, and inhaler techniques.
Year 2 - PG Diploma in Allergy and Clinical Immunology:
- Modules:
- Core Modules (20 credits):
- MH6036 Research Methods (10 credits)
- MH6037 Allergy and Clinical Immunology Practice & Methods II (10 credits)
- Elective Modules (choose 10 credits):
- MH6038 Allergy and Clinical Immunology Focused on Primary Care (5 credits)
- MH6039 Allergy and Immunology: The Nurse’s and Dietetics Perspective (5 credits)
- MH6040 Immunology Laboratory Research Applied to the Clinic (5 credits)
Year 3 - MSc in Allergy and Clinical Immunology:
- Module:
Teaching:
- Teaching Methods:
- Most classes are held via UCC's e-learning platform Canvas during the academic year.
- Students perform approximately 450 hours of self-directed learning, submitting module assignments and reports.
- There are live webinars/workshops facilitated virtually via Microsoft Teams.
- Faculty:
- The program will enable students to assume a position in their workplace with a focus on Allergy and Clinical Immunology patients and meet the demand for specialists in this area.
Other:
- The program is the first in Ireland that can be completed in a fully online format.
- The program is delivered entirely online.
- There is no clinical placement in this online program, but candidates should ideally be working in clinical practice.
- The faculty are available to advise regarding clinical placement opportunities within their professional experience.
- The program is likely to suit doctors and many healthcare professionals who might have difficulty getting a substantial amount of time off work to attend only face-to-face sessions.
