• Course information

    Place of training
    Cape Town, South Africa
    Duration
    10 days (2 weeks)
    Dates
    8 - 19 October 2018 and 20 - 31 May 2019 and 7 - 18 October 2019
    Number of participants
    12 maximum
    Language
    English
    Target group
    Exclusively for doctors and clinical officers from MSF and MoH (if approved by the mission). This training is not targeting nurses
    Application

    All applications should be sent to your pool manager/L&D unit then before 5th April 2019 and 23rd August 2019 to the SAMU Learning Unit Officer alexandra.meyer@joburg.msf.org

  • Background

    By offering an off-site training in a centralised venue:

    • We draw on the large patient base in local hospitals for bedside learning.
    • Participants benefit from easy access to experts in the field of HIV and TB to contribute to the trainings.
    • We offer trainings to participants from a wide range of contexts who might not otherwise have access to an on-site training.
    • We provide a higher level of training to a selected group of participants who will benefit most from this access to a greater body of HIV/TB experts.

    Target Group & Criteria

    • Exclusively for doctors and clinical officers from MSF and MoH (if approved by the mission). This training is not targeting nurses 
    • The ideal target participant is the non-specialist doctor or clinical officer with existing experience in HIV and TB. At least four months current clinical experience in management of HIV (not just TB) is required.
    • This is a clinical not a programmatic course, so the focus is updating or up-skilling participants in clinical knowledge and skills in HIV and TB management.
    • English fluency is essential (at least level B2 according to the standard MSF fluency guide).

  • Objectives

    General objective

    • To contribute to the provision of quality HIV and TB clinical care within a resource-limited context

    Intermediate objectives

    • To increase clinical knowledge and competencies in HIV-related disease seen in primary care clinic and district hospital settings, through classroom-based study and hospital-based bedside teaching 
    • To recognise MSF staff experiences and competencies, and through this training, allow them to access the examination for the nationally accredited South African HIV Management Diploma (SA college of Medicine)

  • Content

    This is primarily a clinical not a programmatic course. However, where appropriate to the clinical learning, programmatic elements are sometimes incorporated.
     

    In addition to the course content noted below, much additional literature is made available on a USB stick as well as by access to the SAMU website.

     

    HIV-related diseases

    • Neurology (focal neurology, TB and Cryptococcal meningitis, confusion, seizures )
    • Respiratory disease (PCP, Bacterial pneumonia)
    • TB diagnostics
    • Liver disease (Drug-induced liver impairment, Hepatitis B and C overview)
    • Gastroenterology (acute and chronic diarrhoea)
    • Renal disease (Acute kidney insult, HIVAN, chronic kidney disease)
    • Haematology (anaemia, low platelets and WBC)
    • Dermatology (common conditions, adverse drug reactions)
    • PMTCT

    Radiology

    • The use of a standard template in the evaluation of a chest xray
    • Chest X-ray features of TB, PCP, KS and pneumonia in HIV positive adults and children.

    Antiretroviral therapy (ART)

    • Common drug-drug interactions in HIV/TB medicine
    • Immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS)
    • The patient with a high viral load, including first and second line failure

    Paediatrics

    • ART in children
    • The child with a high viral load, including addressing adherence challenges
    • Diagnosis of TB in an HIV positive child
    • Acute respiratory conditions in HIV positive children

    Other

    • MSF programmatic overview
    • Antibiotic stewardship

  • Facilitators and Methodology

    Trainers

    The course is overseen by the SAMU clinical training team, drawing also on the expertise of other local TB/HIV experts to facilitate learning.

    Pedagogic approach

    • The two-week course consists of an integrated mix of classroom trainings and hospital-based hands-on learning opportunities.
    • Participants have the opportunity to interact with HIV/TB experts in the field and to do hands-on learning while seeing real patients with HIV-related conditions studied in the classroom.
    • Interactive methodologies, clinical case history reviews, group and individual work, the group as a peer-to-peer source of learning and the presenters as learning facilitators are all considered important pillars in the learning methodologies for this course