Australian Dermatology Diploma

                           Delivered by the Australian Institute of Dermatology    

Thank you for your enquiry about the Australian Dermatology Diploma. The course is open to all Medical graduates in Australia or overseas and can also be made available to Rural nurse practitioners working in remote areas of Australia or overseas. It will commence in Feb 2010 and run over two semesters of 14 weeks each. It will be structured around Habif’s textbook on Clinical Dermatology but will emphasise skin diagnosis and treatment. There will be a weekend introductory course on the 6th and 7th Feb at the John Flynn Private Hospital on the Gold Coast,  to orientate you and to discuss and familiarise you with the technologies involved in the course delivery, including photography, internet broadband connections, teleconferencing, and online case presentation and to give you some novel algorithms for skin diagnosis and some introductory lectures on common skin diseases.

Course Hardware Requirements   Mac running Leopard operating system or PC Computer running XP or Vista or Windows 7 with a broadband internet connection, preferably ADSL 2 or a good wireless connection.  A digital camera such as the Canon Powershot or the Sony Cybershot series which are easy to use and have excellent macros for taking close up images.

Course Software and Books  You should purchase a copy of Clinical Dermatology by Habif. Get the e edition with website access although the book itself is all that is required for the course. A new 5th Edition is due out shortly so I would suggest you wait until November 2009 before purchasing it. You should also have an Image management programme such as ACD See or similar or the web based Picasa

Course Delivery  The course will be delivered by Dr Ian McColl, a Fellow of the Australasian College of Dermatologists, using the My Skin Consult website www.myskinconsult.com  over 14 two weekly modules, 7 in each semester. In the first week of each module you are expected to read the online module and the relevant chapters in Habif and listen to the module Podcast. At the end of each module there are some MCQs and a written module assessment which you complete online. The second week of each module is presented online via the Learn Dermatology blog at www.myskinconsult.blogspot.com  where there will be daily cases illustrating features of the topics discussed in the module and a daily podcast. This blog provides a forum for discussion by the students and their tutor.

Teleconferences  There will be two one hour video teleconferences , 1 each week, for each  module. These are video teleconferences using the Go To Meeting facility during which you will be able to see my monitor screen and interact during my talk. You can also take over the mouse and point and comment on the images. These  teleconferences will be recorded and made them available as a Podcast . This will be useful if you are unable to make a particular online meeting. We hope to run these on Thursday evenings  from 8.30-9.30pm, Eastern Australia Standard Time.

Assessment  You will be assessed on your module MCQs and written module questions on an ongoing basis. You are also required to present 5 cases each semester from your own practice. These are presented by you in the Virtual Clinical Meeting section of the My Skin Consult website, where I will comment on them.

There will be two live online examinations during the course, one at the end of semester 1 and the second shortly after the completion of the course.

Successfully passing the Diploma will entitle you to spend 1 week in my rooms handling office dermatology and surgery.

Cost of the Diploma  The fee for the Diploma, including the weekend meeting, will be $3630 (Aus) including GST  if you register for the course before the 1st December 2009 or $3995 including GST after that date.  Upon completing the Diploma the fee for attending a week in my rooms if so desired will be $1000.

The initial deposit to secure a place in the course is $500 with the balance payable in full before the cut off date of 1st December for the earlybird rate or 4 weeks before the course commences ie 6th January for the full rate. See the Enrolment form for payment details.

The option of paying for the course with 4 monthly payments of $1000 in the first semester is also available. Profits from the Diploma are distributed each year to charitable organizations involved in medical education.

Registration

 The course registration form can be downloaded from THIS LINK

Diploma Course Module Content

Semester 1

Module 1A  Introduction to skin morphology and diagnosis .

Module 1B Topical Therapy and Topical Steroids

Module 2A Eczema and Hand Dermatitis

Module 2B Contact Dermatitis and Patch Testing

Module 2C Atopic Dermatitis

Module 3A Acne vulgaris and related disorders

Module 3B Rosacea and related disorders

Module 4A Psoriasis and the other Papulosquamous Diseases

Module 4B Psoriasis and the other Papulosquamous Diseases

Module 4C Psoriasis and other Papulosquamous diseases

Module 5A Bacterial Skin Infections

Module 5B Sexually Transmitted Bacterial Infections

Module 6A Sexually transmitted viral infections and AIDS

Module 6B  Warts, Herpes Simplex and other Viral Infections

Module 7A Superficial Fungal Infections

Module 7B Deep fungal infections, Mycobacteria and Leishmaniasis

Semester 2.

Module 8A  Viral Exanthems and Drug Eruptions

Module 8B Other Pediatric skin diseases

Module 9A Infestations and Bites

Module 9B Vesicular and Bullous diseases

Module 10A Connective Tissue Diseases

Module 10B Urticaria and Angioedema

Module 10C Hypersensitivity Syndromes and Vasculitis

Module  11A  Light Related Diseases and Disorders of Pigmentation

Module 11B  Benign Skin Tumours

Module 11C  Pre-malignant/malignant non melanoma skin tumours and Lymphomas

Module 12A  Nevi and Malignant Melanoma

Module  12B Vascular tumours and malformations

Module 13A  - Hair Diseases

Module 13B -  Nail Diseases

Module 14A  Cutaneous Manifestations of Internal disease

Module 14B – Dermatological surgical and cosmetic procedures.

The Learn Dermatology Blog  www.myskinconsult.blogspot.com  will be used to illustrate and describe cases relevant to each of the modules being discussed. Daily cases will be posted here in the second week of each module. A podcast will accompany each case.

Continuing Professional Development  Points have been awarded by the relevant Colleges including RACGP and ACRRM. The Diploma has been assessed by the Chief Censor of the Skin Cancer College of Australia and New Zealand as satisfying the dermatology component of their Fellowship.

Starting Dates  The course will commence with a Weekend Meeting at the John Flynn Hospital on The Gold Coast on Sat 6th and Sunday 7th of February 2010 . The first examination online will be at the end of the first semester on 16th May and the second online examination shortly after the completion of the course after the 5th September.

Note  The course is limited to 40 places to ensure each participant receives individual attention

Important  This Diploma has no standing with Medicare or other funding or licensing State or Federal authorities. It does not allow you to practice in Australia as a Specialist Dermatologist. It should however give you an excellent grounding in the subject and allow you to be a reference doctor re skin diseases in your practice or local community.

If you have any other questions contact me at imccoll@ozemail.com.au