Professional Certificate of Chronic Disease & Conditions (Online)

COURSE OUTLINE

Module 1: Communication skills in general practice

This module focuses on applying effective communication strategies to enhance history-taking and outlining management plans in order to optimize the patient’s understanding, compliance and satisfaction. The 10 steps include preparation for the consult; connection or re-connection; information gathering on history and examination; responding to patient’s thoughts, feelings and expectations; formulation of a diagnosis and treatment plan; patient education, managing behaviour change; closing the consult; and preparation for next consult.

Module 2: Congestive cardiac failure (CCF)

This module begins with an overview of congestive cardiac failure including classification guidelines and prevention strategies. The diagnosis, pathophysiology and investigation of heart failure are outlined including charts, diagrams and images. Causes of heart failure including myocyte damage and loss, abnormal loading conditions and arrhythmias are covered. Further information on aetiology and ongoing assessment in CCF where causes of heart failure are not apparent from the history, examination and investigations are outlined. The management and co-morbidities of these symptoms are discussed. The module concludes with a discussion on the management and prognosis of acute heart failure including end of life care.

Module 3: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

This module begins with an explanation of COPD, including the aetiology and pathogenesis of this condition. The module then discusses the COPD-X guidelines to assist with the diagnosis and management of COPD. The COPD-X guidelines include Case finding and confirming diagnosis, Optimising function, Preventing deterioration, Developing a plan of care, and management of eXacerbations. The module concludes with the diagnosis and management of adult asthma, including when asthma and COPD overlap.

Module 4: Diabetes mellitus

This module focuses on diabetes mellitus. This chronic and progressive disease is described, including screening guides and pathology testing to assist with diagnosis. It discusses how to initiate and plan long-term management with the goal to achieving glycaemic control. It also outlines a step-by-step approach in explaining the diagnosis and management to patients. To cover all aspects of care, the diabetes management is broken down into components, including glycaemic and weight control, diet and exercise, lifestyle choices, renal function, eye and foot health, blood pressure, lipids, and comorbidities. The module concludes with the medical management of glycaemia.

Module 5: Gastrointestinal complaints

This module outlines the prevalence of common gastrointestinal complaints and the impact they have on those affected by them. It contains diagnostic and management tools and considers management options when complications occur. An overview of the GI tract and classifications of gastrointestinal disorders are detailed. There is focus on the symptoms of gastrointestinal disorders including coeliac disease, GORD, inflammatory bowel disease, diverticular disease and irritable bowel syndrome. Clinical cases are presented for each disorder with suggested approaches to diagnosis, investigations, treatment and management of these conditions.

Module 6: Chronic kidney disease

This module begins with an overview of chronic kidney disease and discusses the method of detecting and evaluating this condition. It then explains the diagnosis and management of this disease. Ways to delay the progression of chronic kidney disease including lifestyle choices, how to prevent an acute kidney injury, and management of blood pressure and albuminuria are outlined. Possible complications including hypertension, anaemia, mineral and bone disorder, oedema and metabolic acidosis are discussed in detail. The module concludes with the management of chronic kidney disease in the context of multi-morbidity and outlines commonly prescribe drugs that can exacerbate kidney function.

Module 7: Osteoarthritis

This module outlines how to diagnose and manage osteoarthritis to achieve functional gains, utilising lifestyle changes and appropriate pharmacological treatment. It includes how to conduct an examination and assessment of osteoarthritis and discusses the diagnostic criteria in diagnosing knee and hip osteoarthritis. It explains the role of imaging, differential diagnosis and investigations used to diagnose this condition. The main goals of osteoarthritis management including non-pharmacological therapies, patient education and goal setting are discussed in detail. The module concludes with a case study that focuses on developing an osteoarthritis management plan to achieve treatment goals.

Module 8: Managing the provision of chronic health care

This module describes the steps in implementing a coordinated model of care for the management of chronic disease. The definitions of chronic disease are outlined including the benefits and limitations of guidelines. Patient-centred and collaborative care approaches based on evidence-based medicine are discussed. The module then focuses on the use of chronic disease management models and outlines the major components of high-quality chronic illness care. The module concludes with the discussion of a case study focusing on the preparation of a general practice chronic disease management plan.