EDUCATION. In the autumn, a unique education programme in Infectious Disease Control and Infection Prevention and Control will commence at the University of Gothenburg. The education programme is being provided on the initiative of the Nordic Council of Ministers and is aimed at both healthcare professionals and people with a Bachelor’s Degree in relevant subjects.
Since the Nordic School of Public Health closed in 2014, there have been few opportunities to train in the field of Infectious Disease Control and Infection Prevention and Control in the Nordic countries. This is according to Agnes Wold, Professor of Clinical Bacteriology, who is one of the people responsible for putting together the education programme.
“The University of Skövde admittedly offers an education programme in Public Health that includes that specialization. However, our programme has a stronger focus on microbiology and basic knowledge of infections, and how infection is spread. For example, the students will learn how antibiotic resistance arises and spreads, and why a group of bacteria can be resistant to certain antibiotics but not to others. They will also be trained in the scientific approach so that they can think critically and not believe the different myths that are disseminated in society. They should be able to find out for themselves whether nail polish is really unhygienic and whether or not surgical masks during operations provide any benefit or not.”
The education programme consists of four courses and will be part-time.
“Three weeks of homework assignments will be interspersed with campus meetings from Monday to Friday,” explains Eva Sjögren-Nilsson, administrative coordinator. “We will use modern, interactive teaching methods, including video lectures, group exercises and tests that the students correct themselves. After three weeks, when we meet, the students will have to present what they have done at home before we move on. We have been in contact with an inexpensive hotel at Nya Varvet where any students who need accommodation will be able to stay.”
There will be around 30 places on the programme, 20 of which are reserved for contract education and the other 10 are for applicants with a suitable Bachelor’s Degree, who can complete all or part of the programme. How the places will be allocated is not yet clear, but we hope there will be a mix of people from the five Nordic countries, as well as people with different professional experience, such as doctors and nurses but perhaps also veterinarians and biomedical analysts.
“Since the education programme is based on real-life experiences, where theory is intertwined with practice, it is a great advantage if the students have different experiences that they can share,” explains Agnes Wold.
The need for education in the field of Infectious Disease Control and Infection Prevention and Control is considerable, says Anneli Ringblom, hygiene nurse.
“In Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands, we have few problems with antibiotic resistance. The situation is considerably worse in the United Kingdom and Southern Europe, for example. But considering how much we travel, and how serious the problem may become in the future, it is important to be well prepared.”
The fact that the Nordic Council of Ministers decided to give the assignment to Sahlgrenska Academy is due to their first-class facilities, the close collaboration with the clinic and, equally important, its lecturers’ high level of skill.
“Over 80 per cent of the lecturers have PhDs and several are professors with combined roles in academia and the healthcare sector,” says Agnes Wold. “We also collaborate closely with clinical microbiology at Sahlgrenska University Hospital, as well as with Vårdhygien och Smittskyddsenheten (Infection Prevention and Control and the Infectious Disease Control Unit) in Västra Götaland region. So the programme has all the conditions in place for achieving excellence.”
TEXT: EVA LUNDGREN / GU JOURNALEN
PHOTO: JOHAN WINGBORG
