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28 April - 30 May 2025 (Online)
Live online sessions: 30 April & 7, 14, 21, 28 May 2025

Course details

  • Duration:  5 weeks
  • Live online sessions: 
    - 30 Apr 2025: 2.00 - 4.00pm
    - 7 May 2025: 2.00 - 4.00pm
    - 14 May 2025: 2.00 - 4.00pm
    - 21 May 2025 (tbc)
    - 28 May 2025: 2.00 - 4.00pm
  •  Fees:
    - £495
  • Venue: Online
  • Contact us
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This short course synthesises core scientific knowledge with practical clinical scenarios to encourage a deeper understanding of infectious diseases in neonates and children, and to help you to develop your own framework to address any clinical infection problem. The course will encompass the common and important pathogens causing infections in children, the host and pathogen factors which contribute to severity and spread of infection, and the ways in which medical interventions, health systems and societal factors can influence the outcomes of infections.

Throughout the course you will be helped to develop confidence in accessing and critically evaluating relevant basic science and clinical research literature. You will also be encouraged to critically appraise the basis of your own clinical practice, from cognitive biases to the evidence base for the guidelines employed in your day-to-day work, and to consider the consequences of each practice for individual patients and for public health.    

The programme has been designed for paediatric health or allied health practitioners who are interested in infectious disease management within the field of paediatrics. It is anticipated that many of the attendees will be postgraduate Specialty Trainee doctors in Paediatrics, however this online programme will be specifically designed to be multidisciplinary and therefore also suitable for other healthcare professionals working with children and young people.

The course is part of a range of short courses spread throughout the academic year which are available both to students who are enrolled on the MSc Applied Paediatrics course and as stand-alone CPD accredited programmes for all healthcare professionals.

More information

Course content

The programme offers the best of paediatrics at Imperial College and our healthcare partners and will include the following topics:

  • Causes of infection in children and neonates
  • Overview of the immune system and immunodeficiency
  • Interactions between host and pathogen
  • Severe infection and sepsis
  • Infection in the immunocompromised
  • Common infection scenarios and approaches
  • Non-infectious inflammation
  • Supportive care for severe infection
  • Infection prevention and control
  • Vaccination
  • Cognitive bias in infectious disease
  • Antimicrobial susceptibility, resistance and stewardship
  • Emerging infections
  • Future challenges and solutions
Learning outcomes

For delegates who have successfully completed the course, the learning outcomes will be:

  1. Propose the most likely pathogens causing common and severe infection syndromes in children
  2.  Relate host-pathogen interactions to the severity of infectious diseases in children
  3. Appraise the influence of individual and societal behaviours on infectious diseases in children
  4. Critically evaluate the benefits and risks of current and developing approaches to diagnosis, prevention and management of infections in neonates and children
Course structure & delivery

This fully online course is run over 5 consecutive weeks and you are expected to conduct ~ 7 - 10 hours per week of guided and self-directed asynchronous learning, which also incorporates group work online. There are also planned synchronous sessions during the course to discuss ideas, present group and individual work and to facilitate further learning.

The course consists of several synchronous sessions on a video-conferencing platform, where you will experience active learning, as well as weekly online tasks and related activities for you to complete individually or in small groups. These learning tasks will cover the cutting edge of issues in paediatric infectious disease. This is supported by case-based learning and practical guidance. 

The Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) hosts guidance and support with resources and tasks that you can study at your own pace within the suggested parameters. The VLE supports your academic journey and helps you to connect with other students for networking, community building and active co-construction of your learning.

Evidence of sufficient participation will be required to obtain a course certificate.

Live online sessions

The course consists of several synchronous sessions on a video-conferencing platform held on the following dates (UK time)*: 

  • Wednesday, 30 Apr 2025: 2.00 - 4.00pm
  • Wednesday, 7 May 2025: 2.00 - 4.00pm
  • Wednesday, 14 May 2025: 2.00 - 4.00pm
  • Wednesday, 21 May 2025 (tbc)
  • Wednesday, 28 May 2025: 2.00 - 4.00pm

*Dates may be subject to change

 

Who should attend?

Who should attend?
This course will benefit paediatricians, GPs, nurses, therapists, and other healthcare professionals involved in Child Health.

As the course is a multi-professional programme, students will develop an understanding of how their own individual behaviours, and those of the teams within which they work, can have a significant influence on the quality of care delivered.

Optional assessment

Participants have the option of completing an assessment component and on completion will be provided with an official Imperial College London transcript of results. Details of the assessment and deadline for submission will be given during the course. Please note that there is an additional assessment fee payable in full prior to submission date. Please contact us for further information.