Occupational Medicine, 7.5 credits

Specific entry requirements: Nurse degree of 180 HE credits or Bachelor's degree in nursing and at least two years professional or vocational experience after completed education. English and Swedish language skills equivalent to English A and Swedish B at Swedish upper secondary school are also required.

After the course, the student should be able to:

• describe important chemical, physical and microbiological agents and their importance for the development of diseases in working life
• analyse work and worksites from an occupational medical perspective in respect to risk for disease and reduced work ability in general but also for individuals with specific vulnerability
• plan appropriate occupational medical preventive actions and other risk-reducing measures both on an individual worksite and organizational level and be able to critically analyze and evaluate the advantages and limitations of the methods
• describe the different requirements and recommendations found in the working environment legislation especially concerning medical controls, and be able to plan, document and communicate appropriate control programs considering quality assurance requirements
• describe relevant occupational medical research results and evaluate these critically in order to work with evidence-based methods

The main contents in this course includes health risks as a consequence of exposure to chemical, physical, and microbiological agents in working life. This can be divided according to the following:

• occurrence (gases, fumes, particles, dust/smoke, vibration, noise, ionising and non-ionising radiation, indoor -/outdoor climate etc)
• short-term and long-term health risks (poisoning, cancer, lung diseases, skin injuries/diseases, allergy/hypersensitivity, vibration or noise induced injuries, eye injuries/impaired vision, problems related to work in cold or hot environment etc
• preventive measures on an individual -, workplace - and organizational level including personal safety equipment
• the pregnant or breast-feeding worker and other with specific vulnerability
Furthermore, focus will be on statutory Medical controls in working life as these constitute an important basis for the work of the occupational health services.

The learning activities consist of a combination of distance education and scheduled teaching at the campus. The learning activities at campus  include lectures, seminars and group assignments. In order to give the students an opportunity for reflections, the days at campus are ended with a summation and discussions about the activities of the day.
The distance education includes literature studies, group assignments, individual field studies etc. The course management will be accesible throughout the distance education periods.

The teaching at campus requires compulsory attendance.

The examination is based on a written take-home examination and several written assignments followed by oral presentations of the material. The examination of the written assignments are assessed both regarding the written contents and the oral presentation.

The grading scale is Fail/Pass/Pass with distinction. To obtain the grade Pass on the course; Pass on all exams is required. All exams should be sent within allocated time. To obtain the grade Pass with distinction on the course Pass with distinction is also required on the written take-home examination.

Compulsory attendance
To obtain the grade Pass/Pass with distinction attendance at compulsory lectures (campus teaching) is required. The course director assesses if and in that case how absence can be compensated. Before student has participated in compulsory lectures or compensated absence in accordance with the course director's instructions the student´s course results in LADOK will not be reported.

Limitation of number examination sessions
The student has the right to write the exam six times. If the student has not passed the exam after four participations he/she is encouraged to visit the study advisor.

The number of times that the student has participated in one and the same examination is regarded as an examination session. Submission of a blank examination is regarded as an examination. An examination for which the student registered but not participated in will not be counted as an examination.

Examination will be provided during a time of two years after a possible close-down of the course. After each course date, it will be offered at least six occasions for examination. Examination can take place according to earlier literature list during a time of a year after the date when a renewal of the literature list was made.

Course evaluation will be carried out according to the guidelines that are established by the Board of Higher education and based on evaluation routines within the Master's programme (one-year) in work and health.

The course is given in Swedish.