ENTRY REQUIREMENTS AND COURSE REQUISITES

The Professional Certificate of Clinical Procedures is ideal for medical professionals, overseas trained doctors, nurse practitioners and VR doctors who wish to further their surgical office-based knowledge by gaining an intermediate level understanding of a variety of common problems requiring surgical intervention. Participants will be equipped with valuable experience and practical knowledge to make them adept at dealing with common problems in daily practice. The course is suitable for general practitioners and the nurses who work under their supervision, as well as for International Medical Graduates. The course assumes no prior knowledge or training in the field.

COURSE CONTENTS

The content covers sections on theory plus hands-on practical sessions. This course is designed to assist GPs in developing confidence in various procedures and understanding their limitations without further practical experience.

The common surgical problems often encountered by GPs such as ingrown toenails, foreign bodies, lacerations, sebaceous cysts, etc. can be readily dealt within general practice. The program demonstrates and practices a range of surgical procedures, local anaesthetic approaches, post-operative care and simple and more complex suturing with valuable tips on obtaining good cosmetic outcomes. All techniques are demonstrated with expertly filmed videos from A/Prof Brygel's extensive media collection and practised on models and wet specimens.

In the management of ingrown toenails, successful surgical treatment depends on obtaining satisfactory local anaesthesia. The program teaches and practices digital blocks to enable surgical correction and addresses other nail conditions such as acute paronychia abscess and subungual haematoma. The surgery ranges from removal of the nail edge, avulsion of the whole nail in selected cases, and more complex wedge resection. In addition, the increase in the popular use of Phenol ablation is demonstrated and informed consent, safety precautions and multiple attempts at post-operative care are dealt with in detail.

Hands and feet are common sites for splinters, nails and other objects to be embedded. Apart from local anaesthetic and surgical approaches to a diverse variety of problems, the course addresses the management of the wound and possible infections.

Lacerations can range from a simple clean cut to a dirty, potentially infected wound. The program offers an overview on the management of different lacerations with the aim to obtain primary closure. Debridement of the wound is also demonstrated and practised to give the practitioner the ability to cope with the most type of lacerations in the primary care setting.

Sebaceous and pilar cysts are ubiquitous and can occur anywhere on the body. They may present as an infection or abscess around a previous lump. The course demonstrates local anaesthetic techniques in both the non-infected and infected sebaceous cyst with abscess and addresses several surgical methods depending on the sites on the body, the severity of the infection and the skill and experience of the practitioner. Particular care is taken to demonstrate the management of the resultant cavity following the removal of a cyst and instructions are given to avoid damage to underlying structures.

The experienced course presenters also show how to manage subcutaneous lipomata and share tips and tricks of doing this procedure simply and avoiding excessive bleeding.

The course also discusses the treatment of haemorrhoids and anorectal conditions. The anorectal program will use power point presentations and video to visualize the common or important anal-related conditions, including haemorrhoids, haematoma, abscess, fistula, fissure, and warts. In diagnosing these conditions it is very important to differentiate them from more sinister problems. The anatomical and pathological basis are presented, in particular, the classification of haemorrhoids and the development of a fistula. The history with appropriate examination is usually sufficient to give a precise diagnosis.

The course also dedicates a session to practise simple and more complex suturing, including inverted suturing, deep suturing and subcuticular suturing.

The theory and practical sessions cover:

• Lacerations, leg ulcers and lipomas
• Abscesses and sebaceous cysts
• Foreign bodies
• Ingrown toenails
• Warts, skin lesions and haematomas
• Haemorrhoids and anal-rectal conditions
• Local anaesthesia
• Simple and advanced suturing
• Post-operative care and dressing selection

Course participants will:

• Observe experts performing clinical procedures techniques on a large screen with close-up camera
• Perform procedural techniques in a simulated environment and receive feedback
• Participate in online discussion of patient cases, evaluate and make decisions
• Receive a comprehensive course folder and research/readings in the field
• Receive unlimited and ongoing access to free alumni learning resources, video lectures, and discussion forums, as well as invite-only events and special offers after completion of the course
• Receive ongoing support post-course through webinars and case review
• Have the opportunity to participate in optional clinical attachments at dedicated clinics

COURSE OUTLINE

Saturday

Time	Session	Topic
8:00am – 8:30am	Registration
8:30am – 10:00am	Session 1	Principles of wound healing and managing Small procedures in general practice theory
10:00am – 10:30am	Morning Tea
10:30am – 12:00pm	Session 2	Closing the wound Theory and practical
12:00pm – 1:00pm	Lunch
1:00pm – 2:30pm	Session 3	Lacerations Theory and practical
2:30pm – 3:00pm	Afternoon Tea
3:00pm – 4:30pm	Session 4	Foreign bodies

Sunday

Time	Session	Topic
8:15am - 8:30am	Arrival
8:30am – 10:30am	Session 5	Ingrown toenails Theory and practical
10:30am – 11:00am	Morning Tea
11:00am – 12:00pm	Session 6	Diagnosis and management of anal rectal conditions
12:00pm – 1:00pm	Lunch
1:00pm – 3:00pm	Session 7	Lumps and bumps Theory and practical
3:00pm - 3:30pm	Afternoon Tea
3:30pm – 4:30pm	Session 8	Managing infected lesions

COURSE DELIVERY AND ASSESSMENT

The Professional Certificate of Clinical Procedures is designed as a face-to-face course that is supported by online materials. There are eight units in a HealthCert Professional Certificate program. Course learning materials will be available for 15 weeks. There will be pre-reading activities, an intensive weekend program with expert demonstrations and practical hands-on activities, online materials and further readings, individual assessment tasks and finally two online examinations.

Online assessment

In order to meet the requirements of professional and academic learning, the course assessment includes two online examinations:

• 88 knowledge questions based on a scenario of a medical practitioner undertaking special interest training.
  • 11 per module
    Example: The medical practitioner believes that 10% of the population … Is he correct? Yes/No
• 88 authentic scenario based questions based on cases of patient care at a clinic
  
  • 11 per module
    Example: A patient arrives at your clinic with this problem … What should you do? Multiple choice images based on patient cases.

The knowledge-based examination is worth 50 per cent and the application-based examination is worth 50 per cent. The overall pass mark is 80 per cent. It is therefore not possible to pass this course on knowledge alone. Knowledge must be successfully applied to patient cases in order to pass the course.

HealthCert recommends completion of the assessment at your convenience within three months of the completion of the course (or enrolling in the online course).

CERTIFICATION AND ACCREDITATION

Upon successful completion of the exam, course participants will receive the Professional Certificate of Clinical Procedures.

RACGP: 40 Category 1 QI&CPD points
ACRRM: 30 ACRRM PRPD + 30 MOPS points + Approved for 2 days Rural Procedural Grants Program

This certificate course:

• Provides CPD points from the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP).
• Provides PRPD points from the Australian Council of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM).
• Is recognised by the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners (RNZCGP).
• Qualifies for Clinical Attachment in France at the University of Lyon.
• Qualifies for Clinical Attachment in Austria at the University of Vienna.
• Has been independently developed with subject specialists and does not receive education grants from any pharmaceutical company.

EDUCATION PATHWAYS

Postgraduate Diploma in Minor Surgery studied through the Rila Institute of Health Sciences and awarded by the University of Plymouth (UK).

There are three modules in the Postgraduate Diploma. Medical professionals who successfully complete the HealthCert Professional Certificate of Clinical Procedures and the Advanced Certificate of Clinical Procedures will be eligible to apply for Accreditation of Prior Certified Learning (APCL) for module 2.

The Postgraduate Diploma is mainly delivered online. No practical workshops will be required due to the APCL from the HealthCert qualifications. Overall there will be a time saving of 40 per cent of the postgraduate program due to the APCL. Exams will be held in Perth, Western Australia.

When the Postgraduate Diploma has been successfully completed, doctors can apply for credit from the Postgraduate Diploma to the Master of Science in the specialism awarded by the University of Plymouth.

Upcoming intake dates are 6 February 2019 and 24 September 2019. For more information please click here.
 

Certified Clinical Attachments Pathway

Clinical Attachments are optional and available on a 1:1 basis. These provide the opportunity to observe clinical procedures and ask questions of the expert performing the procedures. Clinical Attachments are available for Skin Cancer Surgery (only for graduates of the Professional Certificate of Clinical Procedures). These are available in Australia and overseas. The clinical attachments are 1:1 in Australia and they are in small groups at university teaching hospitals and clinics overseas. HealthCert certificates and university statements are awarded for participating in clinical attachments.