Phthisiology

Profession

A specialist in phthisiology (or TB specialist) – is a physician learning etiology, pathogenesis, principles of the course of tuberculosis (TB) infection, its clinical and morphological features and treats patients with either active or latent tuberculosis infection. Besides that, such a physician should be able to differentiate tuberculosis from a wide range of respiratory and infectious diseases.
TB specialist is dealing with BCG vaccination, latent tuberculosis infection treatment, other ways of preventing of the disease, as well as improving life conditions of patients, their resettlement and orthopedic treatment. He/she refers patients to rehabilitation, judges about the degree of disability.
TB specialist treats pulmonary and extrapulmonary tuberculosis: TB of upper respiratory tract, respiratory system, digestive and urinary tracts, heart, liver, kidney, eyes, bones and joints, skin, central nervous system and lymph nodes. He/she is responsible for treating patients with miliary tuberculosis.

Educational Process

Learning process is organized in a special way to give residents an opportunity to learn organizational as well as practical features of in- and outpatient healthcare in tuberculosis. While learning in a hospital residents spend certain amount of time in different wards: general, surgical, laboratory and radiological. As a result, they acquire skills and competences enabling them to fulfil their work responsibilities in future. The special attention in the course is devoted to the co-infection of HIV/tuberculosis.

Practice

Residents are referred to clinical wards, where the department of infectious diseases with courses of epidemiology and phthisiology is based. There, under academics’ supervision they can not only broaden their knowledge, but learn how to apply it in practice. Residents take part in clinical cases discussions, it enriches their experience during the course.

Career

Those, who graduate this course are able to prevent, diagnose tuberculosis, treat patients with defined diagnosis as well as set up programs for post-treatment observation and rehabilitation. They can work as physicians in out- and in-patient TB clinics, consult concerning differential diagnosis in multidisciplinary hospitals, or conduct scientific and research studies in the field of tuberculosis and infectious diseases.