This Postgraduate Certificate in Health Protection is a part-time programme running from January to April/May. The programme is designed on a module basis to meet the needs of working professionals. A student who subsequently applies and is admitted to continue to Master's level (Master of Public Health) will hold exemptions in passed modules taken in the Postgraduate Certificate in Health Protection if she/he applies for the Master of Public Health within 5 years from the date of successful completion of the Certificate Examinations.

Candidates must have the following:

• An appropriate degree or professional qualification in healthcare or health services management (such as registered nurses, pharmacists, midwives, health services managers);
• Candidates may be required to present for interview.

Admission to the programme will be subject to the approval of the College of Medicine and Health. Application for entry should be made online at http://www.pac.ie.

Fitness to Practise
Commencing with the 2013/2014 intake of first year students (including repeats), this programme will be subject to the University's Fitness to Practise Policy - full details may be found here.

Students take taught modules to the value of 30 credits incorporating 140 hours of structured contact time.

Students take 30 credits as follows:

EH6019 The Principles and Practice of Multi-disciplinary Health Protection (10 credits)
EH6046 Global and Environmental Health (5 credits)
EH6035 Practice Portfolio (5 credits)
MB6000 Microbiology for Health Protection (5 credits)
PG6009 Graduate Information Literacy Skills (5 credits)

Module Semester Information may be found here. Module Descriptions may be found here.

Examinations
Full details and regulations governing Examinations for each programme will be contained in the Marks and Standards 2017 Book and for each module in the Book of Modules 2016/2017.

Programme Learning Outcomes for Postgraduate Certificate in Health Protection (NFQ Level 9, Minor Award)
On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to:

• Demonstrate an understanding of the appropriate management of infections caused by different pathogenic microorganisms
• Investigate the transmission of endemic and epidemic infections from sufficient knowledge of the characteristics and transmission of causative organisms
• Select appropriate methods for control of hospital and community acquired infectious disease
• Design, implement and evaluate co-ordinated control methods utilising tools such as reflective practice, audit and surveillance
• Assess constraints of health protection delivery services and provide possible solutions to barriers
• Describe the global impact of infectious diseases and strategies which are effective, partially effective and ineffective in management and prevention
• Discuss the wider aspects of Health Protection
• Discuss and identify effective methods to bring about practice change.