.
Occupational Medicine and Diseases
Study Course Description
Course Description Statuss:Approved
Course Description Version:6.00
Study Course Accepted:28.03.2022 10:47:06
| Study Course Information | |||||||||
| Course Code: | AUVMK_001 | LQF level: | Level 7 | ||||||
| Credit Points: | 2.00 | ECTS: | 3.00 | ||||||
| Branch of Science: | Clinical Medicine; Public Health | Target Audience: | Medicine | ||||||
| Study Course Supervisor | |||||||||
| Course Supervisor: | Jeļena Reste | ||||||||
| Study Course Implementer | |||||||||
| Structural Unit: | Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine | ||||||||
| The Head of Structural Unit: | |||||||||
| Contacts: | Riga, 16 Dzirciema Street, avmk rsu[pnkts]lv, +371 67060816 | ||||||||
| Study Course Planning | |||||||||
| Full-Time - Semester No.1 | |||||||||
| Lectures (count) | 4 | Lecture Length (academic hours) | 2 | Total Contact Hours of Lectures | 8 | ||||
| Classes (count) | 8 | Class Length (academic hours) | 3 | Total Contact Hours of Classes | 24 | ||||
| Total Contact Hours | 32 | ||||||||
| Study course description | |||||||||
| Preliminary Knowledge: | Chemistry, biochemistry, physics, microbiology, environmental health, internal medicine, neurology and physiology. | ||||||||
| Objective: | To acquire knowledge of the role of various occupational risk factors (physical, chemical, biological, ergonomic, mechanical); their identification, evaluation, control, prevention or reduction and their influence on the health of employees. To acquire skills in occupational disease etiology, pathogenesis, prevention treatment and rehabilitation. | ||||||||
| Topic Layout (Full-Time) | |||||||||
| No. | Topic | Type of Implementation | Number | Venue | |||||
| 1 | Occupational health and occupational medicine. Occupational diseases. | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 2 | Occupational diseases of health care workers. Occupational health problems of young people, women, and elderly. | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 3 | Biological risk factors in the work environment. Occupational infectious diseases (tuberculosis, viral hepatitis). Occupational oncological diseases. | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 4 | Occupational stress. Psycho-emotional burnout syndrome. | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 5 | Risk factors in working environment. Hazard, harmful situation, harm, risk. Risk evaluation, management. Workplace preventive measures. Ergonomics. Personal protective equipment. | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 6 | Hygienic assessment of the non-medical professions and working objects. Reports on problems and improvement of working conditions. | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 7 | Health care establishment environment as patient’s treatment factor. Characteristic hazards at work of the medical personnel. The pending matters in different specialties in health care sphere. | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 8 | Tasks of Occupational medicine, legislation. The role of the family doctor in occupational medicine. Obligatory health examination of employees. List of occupational diseases. Principles of investigation and registration of occupational disease. Register of occupational diseases patients and the Chernobyl nuclear power plant (NPP) accident victims. | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 9 | Occupational respiratory diseases resulting from dust, irritant and chemical substances. Diseases of upper respiratory tract. Pneumoconiosis. Asbestosis and other asbestos related diseases. Bronchitis caused by dust. Occupational diseases resulting from organic dust exposure. | Classes | 1.00 | clinical base | |||||
| 10 | Occupational allergic diseases. Occupational diseases resulting from chemical exposures. Poisoning to heavy metals, mercury, chromium, cadmium, and lead. Poisoning to organic solvents. Occupational oncological diseases. Biological risk factors in the work environment. Occupational infectious diseases (tuberculosis, viral hepatitis). | Classes | 1.00 | clinical base | |||||
| 11 | Physical overload related occupational diseases. Occupational musculoskeletal and connective tissue diseases. Diseases of peripheral nervous system. Compression neuropathies. Psycho-emotional overload and occupational stress. Psycho-emotional burnout syndrome. | Classes | 1.00 | clinical base | |||||
| 12 | Occupational diseases caused by vibration, noise and other physical factors. Vibration disease. Ionizing radiation induced acute and chronic health problems. The main health problems of Chernobyl NPP accident clean-up workers. | Classes | 1.00 | clinical base | |||||
| Assessment | |||||||||
| Unaided Work: | Acquisition of extended knowledge, skills and competence from the training materials in e-study environment, from presentations, discussions on the students’ reports, essays and research. Hygienic inspection of health care institution (hospital’s in-patient, out-patient department, etc.) and development of a project for improvement of treatment environment and workplace conditions. Analysis of clinical case reports and situation tasks. | ||||||||
| Assessment Criteria: | In the assessment of student’s knowledge, the total individual contribution and quality of work during the whole course is taken into account: • participation and activity in practical classes, successful implementation of lecturer's assigned tasks (35%); • topicality of the independent work and quality of presentations (35%); • regular tests on issues of occupational medicine and occupational diseases during the course and at the end of the course (30%). Method of testing: cumulative exam | ||||||||
| Final Examination (Full-Time): | Exam | ||||||||
| Final Examination (Part-Time): | |||||||||
| Learning Outcomes | |||||||||
| Knowledge: | Students will obtain basic knowledge of occupational medicine and occupational diseases and they will be able to describe: • the significance, principles, trends and challenges of occupational medicine and occupational health; • the impact of occupational hazards on the human body; • forecasting of occupational risk factors, methods of measurement, basics of assessment, laws and regulations related to occupational health; • key issues of ergonomics, the role and the methods applied in different working environments; • elaboration of preventive measures and work safety monitoring; • preventive measures against nosocomial infections; • the risk of occupational diseases caused by occupational factors, their etiology, pathogenesis, treatment, rehabilitation and prevention. | ||||||||
| Skills: | Students will be able to: • find necessary information in literature and Internet data bases about occupational hazards and occupational medicine issues; • measure, evaluate and interpret the impact of various environmental and occupational factors on the human body and health; • inspect the hygienic conditions of various occupational objects, revealing hazardous occupational factors for the human health; • evaluate the changes in human body in relation to impact of occupational hazards; • recognize the signs of occupational diseases caused by most widely spread physical, chemical, ergonomic, biological and psycho-emotional factors; recognize the typical symptoms and forms of occupational diseases, choose the most appropriate method of treatment and rehabilitation. | ||||||||
| Competencies: | Students will be able to: • classify and assess the level of risk for patient, employee, society and environment; • advise people on occupational hazards, patients’ rights, the process of occupational expertise, and prevention of occupational diseases; • work out preventive measures of reduction of occupational hazards; • apply the main laws, regulations and documentation related to the issues of occupational health and occupational medicine; • discuss issues of occupational health and occupational medicine within the occupational health team and participate in its work; • elaborate proposals, plan and introduce measures for improvement of treatment and working conditions, reduce gaps in work organization. | ||||||||
| Bibliography | |||||||||
| No. | Reference | ||||||||
| Required Reading | |||||||||
| 1 | Eglīte, M. 2012. Darba medicīna. 2. izd. Rīga: RSU. (latviešu plūsmas studijām) | ||||||||
| 2 | Eglīte, M., 2008. Vides veselība. Rīga: RSU. (latviešu plūsmas studijām; latviešu valodā pieejamā grāmata, kas ietever kursam nepieciešamo informāciju) | ||||||||
| 3 | Dundurs, J. 2015. Environmental & Occupational Medicine. Rīga: RSU. | ||||||||
| 4 | Smedeley, J., Dick, F., and Sadhra, S., eds. 2022. Oxford Handbook of Occupational Health. 2nd ed. Oxford University Press. Iegūts no: via EBSCOhost Web | ||||||||
| 5 | LaDou, J., Harrison, R. J. 2021. Current Diagnosis & Treatment: Occupational & Environmental Medicine. 6th ed. McGraw-Hill. Iegūts no: via Access medicine | ||||||||
| 6 | Ārvalstu studentiem/For international students: | ||||||||
| 7 | Dundurs, J. 2015. Environmental & Occupational Medicine. Rīga: RSU. | ||||||||
| 8 | LaDou, J., Harrison, R. J. 2021. Current Diagnosis & Treatment: Occupational & Environmental Medicine. 6th ed. McGraw-Hill. Iegūts no: via Access medicine | ||||||||
| Additional Reading | |||||||||
| 1 | Baxter, P., Aw, T.C. et al., eds. 2010. Hunter's Diseases of Occupations. Taylor & Francis Group. Iegūts no: ProQuest Ebook Central | ||||||||
| 2 | European Commission Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities. 2009. Information notices on occupational diseases: a guide to diagnosis. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities. | ||||||||
| 3 | Kaļķis, V. 2008. Darba vides risku novērtēšanas metodes. Rīga: Latvijas izglītības fonds. | ||||||||
| 4 | Roja, Ž. 2008. Ergonomikas pamati. Rīga: Izdevniecība SIA “Drukātava”. | ||||||||
| 5 | Ārvalstu studentiem/For international students: | ||||||||
| 6 | Baxter, P., Aw, T.C. et al., eds. 2010. Hunter's Diseases of Occupations. Taylor & Francis Group. Iegūts no: ProQuest Ebook Central | ||||||||
| 7 | European Commission Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities. 2009. Information notices on occupational diseases: a guide to diagnosis. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities. | ||||||||
| Other Information Sources | |||||||||
| 1 | Rosenstock L., Cullen M.R., Brodkin C.A., Redlich C.A. Textbook of Clinical Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 2nd ed. Philadelphia: Elsevier Saunders; 1994. 1338 p. | ||||||||
| 2 | Safer water, better health: costs, benefits and sustainability of interventions to protect and promote health. World Health Organization, Geneva, 2008. | ||||||||
| 3 | International Labour Organization. Encyclopaedia of Occupational Health & Safety http://www.iloencyclopaedia.org/ | ||||||||
| 4 | National Institute of Health. Information on Hazardous Chemicals and Occupational Diseases https://hazmap.nlm.nih.gov/ | ||||||||
| 5 | Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ | ||||||||
| 6 | European Agency for Safety and Health at Work https://osha.europa.eu/en | ||||||||
| 7 | Eiropas darba drošības un veselības aizsardzības aģentūra./European Agency for Safety and Health at Work. Publikācijas. http://osha.lv/lv/publications | ||||||||
| 8 | World Health Organization. Health topics. Occupational health. http://www.who.int/topics/occupational_health/en/ | ||||||||
| 9 | WHO Regional Office for Europe. Occupational health http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/environment-and-he… | ||||||||
| 10 | International Labour Organization. Publications. http://www.ilo.org/global/publications/lang--en/index.htm | ||||||||
| 11 | WHO International Agency for Research on Cancer. Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans. http://monographs.iarc.fr/ENG/Monographs/PDFs/index.php | ||||||||
| 12 | WHO International Agency for Research on Cancer. Classification of the carcinogens. http://monographs.iarc.fr/ENG/Classification/ | ||||||||
| 13 | National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Workplace Safety & Health Topics https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/ | ||||||||
