The proposed master program in infectious diseases at Al-Quds University is a multidisciplinary programme that will work to bridging the fields of epidemiology, laboratory sciences, Antimicrobial stewardship and public health in the context of disease control.
In the programme, students will be trained in all aspects of the control of infectious diseases and will be equipped with specialised skills that will facilitate a career in the control of infectious diseases as staff of health ministries, health departments, and national or international disease control agencies.
Mission
It is designed to provide the students with the advanced disciplinary knowledge, models, methods, competencies and skills in infectious diseases through high quality accredited education, research and innovative initiatives. These competent graduates will be professionals who can develop policies for the prevention and immunity of infectious diseases, control, management and surveillance in a range of various settings and situations.
Programme Aim:
The aim is to provide a comprehensive analysis and understanding of the role of the biology of infective agents and hosts on the outcome of infection, and the application of acquired knowledge in combination with epidemiological and public health approaches. The program graduates will be equipped with the state-of-the-art knowledge and skills in infectious diseases that can safely and effectively practice in preventive and curative services at various settings, ultimately contributing in the development of rational strategies for the prevention and control of infections and the phenomenon multidrug resistance.
Programme General objectives
- To increase understanding of the principles of biology and how these principles apply to the understanding of infectious diseases and their control;
- To provide students with the proper knowledge of healthcare-associated infections, food and food borne infections, epidemiology of infectious diseases, infection prevention and control, vector and vector borne diseases, antimicrobial resistance; stewardship and use.
- To enable students to develop a critical awareness of the current issues that dictate the direction of current research in infectious diseases;
- To enable students to develop and apply knowledge of infectious disease biology, methodology and policy to systematically and creatively solve complex problems e.g. the design of control programmes.
- To enable students to discuss surveillance and the investigation of relevant infection
- To enable students planning and implementing disease prevention and control programs
- To enhance students abilities in critical evaluation and interpretation of research on the field of epidemiology of infections, infection prevention and control and antimicrobial resistance.
- To promote e independent critical and evaluative skills that can be used to apply prevention and management strategies of infections in a variety of health care / clinical settings and other institutions.
- To provide students with the skills to develop and conduct research projects
- To use computational biology (bioinformatics) for managing infectious diseases
Soon …
- Earned a bachelor degree in health specialty with an average of not less than 70% Students having a BsC in biology can apply to the program.
- Their application will be evaluated by the acceptance committee and a decision for pre-request courses will be the decision of the committee.
- At least 2 years of working experience in health.
- Competence in English language Successful completion of a personal interview.
Some of the following places of graduates’ work:
- infection control consultants e.g.in hospitals .
- health care workers (in hospitals, government departments and local councils).
- infection control and clinical immunology staff e.g. in hospitals.
- hospital epidemiologists.
- policy makers (in relevant fields).health and safety officers e.g. in tertiary institutions, industry, governments etc).
public health officers (in primary heath care centers, hospitals, government departments, - NRWA, non-governmental organizations and local councils).
- quarantine officers (at airports, shipping centers etc) .
- aid workers in health care programs, and Pharmaceutical industries.
The MID program is a part-time master program. The student must be available 2 days a week for taking courses. The student must finish his/her courses within 2 years of the program (4 semesters) according to the program implementation plan. The student can either have one of the program tracks: Thesis track and non-thesis track.
The MID program at Al-Quds University is a 38 hours’ program. It includes 12 credit hours core courses and 13 credit hours obligatory courses. In addition, the student has to select 4 hour courses or 8 electives depending on track.
The MID program has 2 tracks: thesis track (4 credit hours) and a non-thesis track (10 credit hours elective courses of which action research of 2 hours). Each student must finish an Internship period after registering the course (3 hours)
Program content
Student must complete 38 credit hours distributed as follows:
Core courses | 12 credit hours |
Obligatory courses | 13 credit hours |
Electives | 4 hours |
Thesis/non-thesis | 6 credit hours |
Internship period | 3 credit hour (120 training hours) |
Total | 38 Credit Hours |
Implementation plan
First semester= 9 hours for both tracks | ||||||
Course Number | Core courses |
Credit H |
Course type |
|||
8180601 | Microbiology of Infection prevention and control |
3 |
Core |
|||
8180602 | Immunity to Infectious diseases |
2 |
Core |
|||
8180603 | Fundamentals of Epidemiology |
2 |
Core |
|||
8180604 | Biostatistics and statistical packages |
2 |
core |
|||
Second semester = 10 hours for both tracks | ||||||
Course Number | Courses |
Credit H |
Course type |
|||
8180605 | Research methods in infectious diseases |
3 |
Core |
|||
8181606 | Epidemiology and vaccinology of infectious diseases |
3 |
Obligatory |
|||
8180607 | Antimicrobial resistance and infection control |
2 |
Obligatory |
|||
8180701 | Infectious Diseases in Clinical Practice |
2 |
Obligatory |
|||
Third semester = Thesis: 11 hours / Non-thesis: 10 hours | ||||||
Course Number | Courses | Instructor | ||||
8180702 | Antimicrobial stewardship: fundamental and competency | 2 | Obligatory | |||
8180703 | Healthcare-associated infections | 2 | Obligatory | |||
8180704 | Surveillance system and infectious diseases | 2 | Obligatory | |||
8180790 | Thesis 1 | 3 | Thesis track | |||
elective | 2 | both | ||||
8180788 | Action research project | 2 | Non-thesis track | |||
Fourth semester= Thesis: 8 hours Non-thesis= 9hours |
||||||
Course Number | course | Instructor | ||||
Elective | 2 | For both tracks | ||||
Elective | 2 | Non-thesis track | ||||
Elective | 2 | Non-thesis track | ||||
8180799 | Internship period course | 3 | Both tracks | |||
8180790 | Thesis 2 | 3 | Thesis track | |||
Elective courses (4 for thesis track and 8 for the non-thesis) | ||||||
8180620 | Occupational health and safety in healthcare | 2 | Theoretical | |||
8180621 | Nutrition, infection and immunity | 2 | Theoretical | |||
8180622 | Special Aspects of Environmental Health | 2 | Theoretical | |||
8180623 | Patient safety and risk management in health care | 2 | Theoretical | |||
8180624 | Diagnostic Microbiology | 2 | mixed | |||
8180625 | Introduction to bioinformatics | 2 | Theoretical | |||
8180626 | Principals and practice of health promotion | 2 | Theoretical | |||
8180721 | Current issues and emerging infectious diseases: prevention and control | 2 | Theoretical | |||
8180722 | Health ethics and human rights | 2 | Theoretical |
Course Number |
Course title |
Description |
8180601 | Microbiology of Infection prevention and control | This course provides students with an opportunity to advance knowledge and skills in infection prevention and control in contemporary healthcare practice. It focuses on the definitions, principles and practices of infection prevention and control. It aims to provide a global perspective of infection prevention and control, including knowledge on history and importance for healthcare, definitions of healthcare-associated infections and community associated infections, hygiene in the community and healthcare, hand hygiene, isolation precautions, environmental infection control, disinfection and sterilisation, the role of governance and leadership, risk assessment and management, organization of infection control programs, structure of the infection control committee, role and responsibilities of the infection prevention and control professional, health economics, legal, ethical and regulatory aspects. |
8180602 | Immunity to Infectious diseases | The course introduce the students to the molecular and cellular basis of the immune system, to understand how the immune system protects humans from infection intracellular and extracellular bacteria, viruses, parasites and fungi. It will also provide students with knowledge of how all the above infectious agents evade the immune system, More over students will gain the capacity to understand how pathogen-specific immune response contribute to disease in the host, and how immune based treatment and prevention strategies to combact infectious diseases. |
8180603 | Fundamentals of Epidemiology | This course will introduce the basic principles and methods of epidemiology. This unique branch of science is necessary to give the student an understanding of health and diseases among the population. The course is a set of basic lectures in epidemiology and a group of relevant exercises and case studies. It will allow the student to concept, analyze, and evaluate epidemiological studies relevant to the community. |
8180604 | Biostatistics and statistical packages | This course focuses on the statistical description of data and inference with applications to research in public health. Topics covered: descriptive statistics, graphical displays of data, introduction to probability, expectations and variance of random variables, confidence intervals and tests for means, differences of means, proportions, differences of proportions, chi-square tests for categorical variables, hypothesis testing, an introduction to analysis of variance, regression and multiple regression. Statistical software will be used to supplement hand calculation. |
8180605 | Research methods in infectious diseases | The students will gain knowledge on different methods commonly used in research in the field of infectious diseases. The course will also provide the skills to interpret and criticize research, in order to apply published evidence into everyday practice and to plan further research. |
8180606 | Epidemiology of infectious diseases and vaccines | Introduces the basic methods for infectious disease epidemiology and case studies of important disease syndromes and entities. Methods include definitions and nomenclature, outbreak investigations, disease surveillance, case-control studies, cohort studies, laboratory diagnosis, dynamics of transmission, Case-studies and student presentations focus on acute respiratory infections, diarrheal diseases, Measles, hepatitis, tuberculosis, sexually transmitted diseases, and others new emerging diseases. This course provides students with information related to the principles of immune response against infectious agents, the history of vaccines, vaccination programs, types of vaccines, and adverse immune reactions and disorders. Besides, providing students with an understanding of immunisation principles, the impact of vaccination on the epidemiology of vaccine preventable diseases (VPDs), how to assess the need for new vaccines and how to implement and monitor a new vaccination program(s).Problem-based sessions are incorporated for discussing and understanding of basic and applied aspects of vaccinology, and enhancing group collaboration and communication. |
8180607 | Antimicrobial resistance and infection control | This course covers content related to antimicrobial resistance: the origins of antimicrobial resistance, dissemination and mechanisms. The course also will cover the genetic basis of antimicrobial resistance including mutation resistance and horizontal gene transfer (HGT). Students will equip with knowledge on how infectious diseases contributes to the global risk of antimicrobial resistance. Also, it will explore the growing problem of antimicrobial-resistant infections in health and social care settings and methods for antimicrobial susceptibility testing and detection of specific resistance in the microbiological laboratories. |
8180701 | Infectious Diseases in Clinical Practice | This course is designed to provide students with an introduction to common human infectious diseases caused by different organisms. The course covers common infectious diseases in community and health care settings. This course has a strong emphasis on the practical aspects of infectious disease and is important to those who are working or pursue their career in the fields of epidemiological investigations, public health surveillance, and other public health responses that are related to microbial infections. The course will be taught via lectures and case-based approach, which requires student’s commitment to read and prepare ahead of each lecture, and to participate in the discussion during the lecture. |
8180702 | Antimicrobial stewardship: fundamental and competency | The course will provide the students with the necessary background on the significance of antimicrobials and helps them conceptualize the various considerations of antimicrobial use and antimicrobial stewardship. The course will help students analyse the different components of an antimicrobial stewardship program. Through demonstration of case studies and analysis of relevant literature, the course will address and evaluate the multiple implications of antimicrobial use and the application of antimicrobial stewardship. |
8180703 | Healthcare-associated infections | The aim of this course is to give students the necessary knowledge to be able to develop a strategy to prevent healthcare associated and hospital infections. The goal of infection prevention is to protect the patient and protect the care giver and visitors in a cost-effective manner. This course is designed to provide participants with an overview of contemporary infection prevention and control practices for a variety of settings |
8180704 | Surveillance system and infectious diseases | The course will provide theoretical and practical knowledge to design, implement, and evaluate effective public health surveillance programs. Topics scheduled for presentation include an overview and history of surveillance systems; planning considerations; sources and collection of data; analysis, interpretation, and communication of data; surveillance systems technology; ethics and legalities; state and local concerns; geographic information system, infectious diseases rates, risk factors, validity of data, Health Care-Associated Infections in Hospitals and future considerations. |
8180620 | Occupational health and safety in healthcare | The course describes modes of transmission of occupational exposures of infectious diseases and methods of protection and prevention of these exposures. The course will also introduce the principals of risk assessment, hazards identification, risk characterization and its management in occupational settings. Moreover, application of HACCP approach and bio-safety measures will be emphasized. |
8180621 | Nutrition, infection and immunity | This course provides knowledge of the interactions between nutrition and immune function is fundamental to understanding risk of both infectious and chronic diseases. It also provides an overview of the relationships between nutrition, infection, and immunity, with a focus on established and emerging public health problems. Reviews assessment methods for immune function in the context of public health nutrition research. Discusses the impact of the immune response on nutrient metabolism, nutritional status, and interpretation of biomarkers. Examines the deleterious effects of under nutrition on host barrier defenses and innate, humoral, cell-mediated immunity, and mucosal immunity. Presents case studies on the synergistic and antagonistic interactions between the infection, immunity and under nutrition. Provides self-study materials covering the basic tenets of immunology and nutritional status assessment for students with limited background in immunology or nutrition. |
8180622 | Special Aspects of Environmental Health | This course focus on the health, hygiene and sanitation of specific aspect of environmental aspects. Aspects of food safety and hygiene, water sanitation and vectors and vector born diseases. Students will be presented with knowledge and skills needed to identify, investigate and prevent food-borne diseases. Emphasis will be given to foodborne diseases, their epidemiology and the most common causative microbial hazards, basics of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure in the context of public health. Drinking water quality and quantity, appropriate water sources, and water treatment options will be discussed. In addition, students will be exposed to the essentials of hygiene and preventive practices and behaviour change techniques in sanitation and hygiene as well as methods and rules for prevention and control. In addition, This course aims to introduce the students to vector born diseases and their transmitting vector characterization and control, their causes and risk factors, epidemiology, transmission and control. Emphasis will be put on the biological vectors, general biology of the disease cycle elements and their interaction (pathogen, animal, human and vector), the epidemiology, transmission dynamics, diagnosis and the control of the disease. |
8180623 | Patient safety and risk management in health care | The course describes patient safety and improvement concepts that can be directly applied in the health care setting. These concepts are: unsafe care, burden of unsafe care, adverse events and medical errors, safety culture, safety improvement process, patient safety solutions, planning patient safety programs. Moreover, the course introduces students to risk management concept and process. It includes identifying risks, quantifying and prioritizing/ ranking risks, mitigation and reduction strategies, monitoring and assessing risks, and developing risk management plans. |
8180624 | Diagnostic Microbiology | Diagnostic Microbiology course focuses on medical aspects of Microbial pathogens, and their identification using techniques such as Microscopy, cultural, biochemical, serological, and molecular that aid in the process of identification of microbial pathogens. In addition, antibiotic susceptibility studies and the correlation of the presence of microorganisms to health and disease will be discussed. |
8180625 | Introduction to Bioinformatics | This course explores the theory and practice of biological database searching and analysis. In particular, students are introduced to integrated systems where a variety of data sources are connected through internet access. Information retrieval and interpretation are discussed, and many practical examples in a computer laboratory setting enable students to improve their data mining skills. Methods included in the course are searching the biomedical literature, sequence homology searching and multiple alignment, phylogeny, gene prediction, protein sequence motif analysis and secondary structure prediction, and several genome browsing methods. |
8180626 | Principal and practice of Health promotion | This course introduces students to the concepts and applications of health promotion and education. Topics include: concepts of positive health, principles of health promotion and education, health promotion strategies at the individual, community and society levels, practical aspects of health promotion programs, social concept of health education, in addition to methods of planning for health promotion and health education programs. |
8180721 | Current issues and emerging infectious diseases: prevention and control | The course focuses on the analysis and presentation of specific topics related to infection prevention and control. The topics will be selected each semester, expected to have a direct or an indirect relationship with current issues and trends in the field such as new resistance patterns, emerging infectious diseases, recent outbreaks, population movement-related infections, new trends in infection prevention and control practices and others |
8180722 | Health ethics and human rights | The course focuses on ethical theories and bioethical issues relevant to the impact and control of infectious diseases on individuals, communities and populations . Moreover, the course covers concepts and principles of human rights, their relationship to and impact within health sector.
The course will cover a range of bioethical challenges and conflicts. These conflicts include those confronted by individuals, families, health care providers, researchers and policy makers. Students will also examine and discuss key decisions related to infectious disease such as preventions, treatments, research, and policy making. |
8180790 | Thesis | This course aims to familiarize students with all necessary actions in preparing, submitting and performing a research project. These steps include submitting a research proposal, preparing a research protocol, performing primary or secondary research, summarizing findings, reviewing the literature, developing and implementing authorship abilities and presenting research. |
8180788 | Action research project | This course is designed to enable students to use evidence in offering solutions to a relevant issue. Students will be encourage to study an issue relevant to their area of specialty and do a baseline study and looking to possible solutions. The next step will be implementing a feasible solution to address the issue, followed by conducting end-line assessment to ascertain whether the intervention has addressed the concerned issue or not. This exercise will allow students develop creative evidence based solutions. |
8180799 | Internship period | The Internship period program is a period where student will be able to have practical learning experiences and will have the opportunity to work alongside professionals in their field. Internship periods are beneficial for students and employers. Students will be able to apply skills and knowledge they gained in their learning process. They may develop their Internship question or work with a those professionals or agencies on a project. Students typically work with a preceptor, who is a professional in the field or a member of the faculty. Preceptors guide the student’s work, providing suggestions and reviewing findings. Internship period placements will be of 16 days duration for 8 hours a day (120 on site hours). |