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Hybrid course: live teaching sessions - 29 April, 13 & 16 May 2024
Online course materials available from - 15 April 2024

Course details

  • Duration: Live online and in-person teaching plus 10 weeks access to course materials
  • Fees:
    - £425
    - 10% discount for ICHNT staff
  • Venue: Online (MS Teams)/ St Mary's Campus
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This course will be delivered in a hybrid format. This includes pre-recorded materials, live online sessions, and you can also attend in person teaching or choose to follow this online. 

This course will cover advanced aspects of allergic diseases in childhood, from the mechanisms underlying the ‘atopic march’ to difficult clinical scenarios such as multisystem allergic disease, immunodeficiency, adolescent transition and psychological or safeguarding issues. Practical workshops on infant weaning, food challenges and immunotherapy will be available.

This course forms part of a range of short courses in Allergy which are available both to students who are enrolled on the MSc in allergy programme, and as stand-alone CPD programmes for GPs, specialist trainees and consultants, nurses, dietitians and other healthcare professionals wishing to improve their ability to manage allergic patients in daily practice.

This is an advanced course and not suitable for those with little or no knowledge of paediatric allergy.

More information

Course aims

By the end of the course you will be better able to:

  • Evaluate the epidemiology and pathophysiology underlying multisystem allergic disease
  • Propose a differential diagnosis and diagnostic work-up based on the clinical history and examination in children with complex and/or uncommon allergy presentations.
  • Integrate the findings of the clinical history, examination and diagnostic tests to formulate a proposed diagnosis and management plan in children with complex and/or uncommon allergy presentations.
  • Design management strategies to address difficult scenarios in practice, both independently and as a team, such as poor patient concordance, safeguarding or mental health issues. 5. Reflect on the value of a multidisciplinary team for the care of children with complex multisystem allergic disease, and involve allied healthcare professionals when required
  • Plan the required steps for an effective transition of adolescents with asthma and allergies into adult care
  • Critically appraise the literature in the field of Paediatric Allergy and communicate your findings to an audience.

Course structure & delivery

Teaching delivery format
This course has been devised in an attractive and innovative format combining asynchronous materials (e.g. pre-recorded sessions, reading lists and web-based resources) as well as live interactive sessions. A range of formats will be used to encourage active learning, including ‘meet the expert question & answer’ sessions, focused discussions, interactive case-based sessions as well as group work. Practical ‘hands-on’ elements will be covered on the optional on campus half day.

A ‘course launch webinar’ will be held in April for registered participants to introduce the course and help you get organised to maximize your learning experience. 

Key dates & provisional times (UK time): 

  • 15 April 2024,  (3.20pm, 20 mins): Launch webinar (online)
  • 29 April 2024 (approx. 2.30 - 6.00pm): Live online teaching
  • 13 May 2024 (approx. 1.00 - 6.00pm): Live online
  • 16 May 2024 (approx. 1.30 - 6.00pm): Live teaching – students can choose to attend online or on campus*.

*The on-campus teaching will be held at our St Mary's Campus – where possible, live streaming of the sessions will be made available for those that are not able or do not wish to attend the face to face teaching sessions. 

Planned topics & sessions

Practical management:

  • Keynotes in Pregnancy and Infant Feeding Advice
  • Food challenges
  • Food and inhalant immunotherapy in practice
  • Practical Management of Drug Allergies
  • Reactions to vaccines in childhood
  • Difficult asthma in children and teens
  • Adolescent transition
  • Case-based sessions, including group work and student-led sessions (e.g. ‘bring your tricky case’)
  • Setting up and developing an allergy service
  • Myth-busting in Paediatric Allergy

Psychosocial aspects:

  • The impact of allergic diseases in children and their families:  How to address the problem
  • The role of the psychologist in difficult asthma
  • Health inequality in allergy
  • Safeguarding in the allergy clinic

Complex allergy:

  • Complex allergy case studies
  • Is it allergy? Differentials in Paediatric Allergy
  • Immunodeficiencies for the paediatric allergy clinician
  • Complex non-IgE-mediated food allergy – the role of a multidisciplinary team

Other:

  • Diagnostic tests in paediatric allergy
  • Update on epidemiology of allergic diseases in childhood
  • Sleep & allergic disease

CPD approval & certificate of attendance

CME approval from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) will be sought.  All participants will be awarded an Imperial College London Certificate of Attendance on completion of the course.

Who should attend?

The course is suitable for doctors (GPs, specialist trainees and consultants in Allergy, Paediatrics, Gastroenterology, Dermatology), as well as nurses, dietitians, health visitors and other healthcare professionals wishing to improve their ability to manage children with allergies in daily practice.

This is an advanced course and not suitable for those with little or no knowledge of paediatric allergy.

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. Please note that there is an additional assessment fee payable in full prior to submission date.

The assessment will take place usually 2-4 weeks after the course dates and it consists of the preparation of a 'Grand Round’ type oral presentation using slides, plus an accompanying document containing an abstract and academic referencing.

You will be asked to give a 10 minute presentation using slides in an online webinar platform. This should cover a somehow complex clinical allergy case in a child with more than one allergic condition. Challenging aspects in the diagnosis or management, and/or how to tackle them (involving the multi-disciplinary team), should be discussed. For instance, aspects like impact on quality of life or diet/nutrition, safeguarding concerns or transition needs. How this case fits into the classical concept of the allergic march and our current understanding of allergy pathophysiology should be discussed. The presentation will be followed by 5 minutes of questions from the examiners.

Full details of the assessment and deadline for submission will be given during the course. Please contact us for further information.