Postgraduate Courses for Physicians in Occupational Medicine

Postgraduate Training in Occupational Medicine

There are 2 options to become an occupational physician in Latvia – three year post-graduate studies in occupational medicine or postgraduate training courses for qualified physicians and family doctors with work experience longer than 3 years who want to certify as an occupational physician and to provide pre-employment and regular medical check-ups in Latvia.

The aim of post-graduate specialisation in occupational medicine is to prepare high-qualified specialists in occupational medicine in Latvia. The length of post-graduate studies is 3 academic years consisting of:

The head of the programme is the director of the Institute of Occupational and Environmental Health of the Riga Stradins University, professor Maija Eglite.

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The training courses for qualified physicians and family doctors are organized by the Latvian Association of Occupational Physicians in close collaboration with the Faculty of Postgraduate Education of the Riga Stradins University. The length of the course is 300 academic hours, including lectures, seminars, practical work (200 hours and a workplace visit) and individual work (100 hours). The courses are held twice a year, with the beginning in February and October. Physicians have to attend classes twice a week (on Tuesdays and Wednesdays) every second week that allows them to take part in the courses meanwhile going on with their practical work. The course leader is the president of the Latvian Association of Occupational Physicians, Professor Maija Eglite, the course secretary – Evita Dandena. Among the lecturers you can find the top specialists of occupational medicine in Latvia – physicians working at the Centre of Occupational and Radiation Medicine of P.Stradins Clinical University Hospital as well as academic staff of the Institute of Occupational and Environmental Health and Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine of Riga Stradins University. After active participation in the course and successful pass of the course examination, course participants are certified as occupational physicians and are allowed to practise as occupational physicians in Latvia for the next five years.

Contact information for questions and application:

Course programme

Lectures

Occupational hygiene

1. Definition and goals of occupational medicine.
2. Occupational diseases and work-related diseases.
3. List of occupational diseases. The diagnostic procedure for occupational diseases in Latvia.
4. Pre-employment and regular medical check-ups.
5. Social guarantees in case of an occupational disease or workplace accident.
6. Ethical aspects in occupational medicine.
7. Introduction to occupational hygiene. System of occupational health services in Latvia.
8. Industrial dust. Classification. Detection of dust level in workplaces. Preventive measures in places with high dust levels.
9. Risk assessment of hazardous chemicals in workplaces.
10. Hazardous physical factors in workplaces (radiation, vibration, noise).
11. Indoor air quality. Sick-building syndrome.
12. Personal protective equipment.

Occupational diseases

1. Health effects of dust exposure. Pneumoconiosis. Types of pneumoconiosis.
2. Dust bronchitis.

1. Occupational allergic diseases.
2. Vibration disease.
3. Occupational hearing loss.
4. Musculoskeletal disorders.
5. Ergonomics. Work with visual display units.
6. Health effects of occupational exposure to hazardous chemicals.
7. Pesticides. Characteristics, poisoning.
8. Toxic metals in workplace. Health effects. Pb, Hg etc.
9. Solvents, poisoning with solvents.
10. Toxic effects to peripheral nervous system.
11. Microclimate. Heat and cold disorders.
12. Occupational skin problems.
13. Eye diseases.
14. Infectious diseases.
15. Occupational cancer.
16. Occupational factors and reproductive health.
17. Stress. Burn-out syndrome.
18. Hazardous factors in health care. Health effects.
19. Women, work and health.
20. Place of pathologist in the diagnostics of occupational diseases.
21. Place of immunologist in the diagnostics and treatment of occupational diseases.
22. Health effects of ionising radiation in Chernobyl clean-up workers.

Seminars

1. Organising of regular medical check-ups.
2. Occupational lung, infectious diseases. Health effects of unfavourable microclimate.
3. Occupational diseases caused by chemical factors.

Practical work

1. Workplace visit (3 different companies).
2. Practical work at the Centre for Occupational and Radiation Medicine.

Individual work

1. Workplace evaluation.
2. Preparation of an anamnesis an occupational patient.