Overview

(A) GOAL

The aim of teaching the undergraduate student in Tuberculosis and Chest Diseases is to impart such knowledge and skills that may enable him/her to diagnose and manage common ailments affecting the chest with the special emphasis on management and prevention of Tuberculosis and especially National Tuberculosis Control Program.

(B) OBJECTIVES

(i) KNOWLEDGE

At the end of the course the student should be able to:

• Demonstrate sound knowledge of common chest diseases, their clinical manifestations, including emergent situations and of investigative procedures to confirm their diagnosis.
• Demonstrate comprehensive knowledge of various modes of therapy used in treatment of respiratory disease;
• Describe the mode of action of commonly used drugs, their doses, side-effects/toxicity, indications and contra-indications and interactions;
• Describe commonly used odes of management including medical and surgical procedures available for treatment of various diseases and to offer a comprehensive plan of management inclusive of National Tuberculosis Control Program.

(ii) SKILLS

At the end of the course, the student should be able to:

• Interview the patient, elicit relevant and correct information and describe the history in chronological order;
• Conduct clinical examination, elicit and interpret clinical findings and diagnose common respiratory disorders and emergencies;
• Perform simple, routine investigative and office procedures required for making the bed side diagnosis, especially sputum collection and examination for etiologic organisms especially Acid Fast Bacilli (AFB), interpretation of the chest x-ray and respiratory function test;
• Interpret and manage various blood gases and PH abnormalities in various respiratory diseases.
• Manage common diseases recognizing need for referral for specialized care, in case of inappropriateness of therapeutic response;
• Assist in the performance of common procedures, like laryngoscopic examination, pleural aspiration, respiratory physiotherapy, laryngeal intubation and pneumo-thoracic drainage/aspiration.

(iii) INTEGRATION

The broad goal of effective teaching can be obtained through integration with departments of Medicine, Surgery, Microbiology, Pathology, Pharmacology and Preventive & Social Medicine.