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Health and prevention Postgraduate School Medical University of Graz

Dermoscopy and Preventive Dermatooncology

Prevention, education, early detection and care for individuals at a higher risk of suffering from malignant skin cancer are the cornerstones of dermatooncological care. One of the main fields of application of dermatoscopy is early detection of a variety of types of skin cancer, which is associated with avoiding high costs to the healthcare system.

The two postgraduate courses related to dermoscopy provide graduates with scientific, evidence-based knowledge and practical skills for tumor diagnostics with reflected light microscopy. Depending on the level of education, knowledge is provided not only of specific biological fundamentals of the development of skin tumors, differential diagnosis of skin diseases and methods and strategies for avoidance and early detection in the sense of prevention mechanisms but also of the epidemiology of skin tumors, tumor classification and therapies including a number of innovative therapeutic strategies. The courses also develop competencies in sifting through and interpreting relevant professional literature and impart the methodological expertise required to carry out specialist research projects.

Distance learning courses are offered at all levels and the language of instruction is English.

Master of Dermoscopy and Preventive Dermatooncology

The postgraduate master's course provides graduates with scientific, evidence-based knowledge and practical skills for tumor diagnostics with reflected light microscopy. Knowledge is provided not only of the specific biological fundamentals of the development of skin tumors, differential diagnosis of skin diseases and methods and strategies of avoidance and early detection in the sense of prevention mechanisms but also of the epidemiology of skin tumors, tumor classification and therapies including a number of innovative therapeutic strategies. The course also develops competencies in sifting through and interpreting relevant specialist literature and imparts the methodological expertise required to carry out specialized research projects and write a master's thesis.
The postgraduate master's course is offered as a distance learning course and the language of instruction is English.

Overview

Length: 6 semesters

ECTS: 90

Final qualification: Master of Dermoscopy and Preventive Dermatooncology (M.Sc.DermPrevOncol)

Cost: EUR 12,900

Start: October 2021

Qualification profile and learning outcomes

The postgraduate course Master of Dermoscopy and Preventive Dermatooncology (M.Sc.DermPrevOncol) conveys expert knowledge of diagnosis of most skin tumors with reflected light microscopy and in particular of their preliminary stages and differential diagnosis. Graduates of this course are professional as well as scientific specialists in the field of reflected light microscopy and thus can provide information to non-specialist dermatologists and physicians as well as dermatooncologists about the therapeutic procedure for individual diseases. They can also significantly contribute to the diagnosis of a variety of inflammatory and immunological skin and hair diseases. Furthermore, they are able to develop prevention concepts based on scientific knowledge and adapted to reflect the latest findings. Thanks to knowledge acquired in the postgraduate course Master of Dermoscopy and Preventive Dermatooncology (M.Sc.DermPrevOncol), graduates can develop, carry out and accompany specialized and scientifically relevant research projects in reflected light microscopy, epidemiology and prevention of skin tumors.

Graduates of the postgraduate course Master of Dermoscopy and Preventive Dermatooncology (M.Sc.DermPrevOncol) are able to:

Identify the wide range of melanocytic and non-melanocytic skin tumors using dermatoscopic techniques
Communicate information about further medical treatment and therapeutic procedures for a variety of skin tumors
Work according to the latest findings
Generate concepts for preventing skin tumors
Work on scientific questions and hypotheses in dermatoscopic tumor diagnostics, epidemiology and prevention
Develop, carry out and accompany research projects in reflected light microscopy, epidemiology and prevention of skin tumors

Demand and relevance

The postgraduate course Master of Dermoscopy and Preventive Dermatooncology (M.Sc.DermPrevOncol) enables graduates to achieve great diagnostic accuracy in early detection of skin tumors as well as other skin diseases in order to prevent unnecessary as well as time-consuming and expensive surgical interventions. With the knowledge of prevention they have acquired, graduates are able to provide the population with information oriented to meet their demands and needs and to promote health competence with regard to the sensory organ of the skin. They are also able to initiate and accompany relevant and forward-looking studies and research projects to investigate other factors and mechanisms of skin cancer development and finally to contribute to a reduction in the incidence rate of skin cancer and the development of innovative therapies.

The following occupational fields may be of interest to graduates of the postgraduate course Master of Dermoscopy and Preventive Dermatooncology (M.Sc.DermPrevOncol):

Dermatology
General medicine
Plastic surgery
Gynecology
Pediatrics
Occupational medicine
Preventive medicine
Geriatrics and gerontology

Target group

The course is designed for specialists in dermatology and other disciplines as well as individuals in the nursing profession (with a bachelor’s degree) who would like to obtain greater scientific expertise in theoretical and practical diagnosis and the management of skin tumors.

Admission requirements

Medical degree or
Bachelor's degree in nursing

Plus a minimum of 2 years of job experience in the field of dermatology

Structure

The postgraduate master's course takes 3 years and is offered as a part-time distance learning course. It consists of 11 theory modules, a 5-day in-person blocked course at Med Uni Graz, 10 days of training at one of the centers of excellence and the writing of a master's thesis.

Course content

Epidemiology, primary and secondary prevention of skin tumors
Dermatoscopic technique and areas of application
Fundamentals of dermatoscopy
Dermatoscopy in general dermatology
Future aspects of dermatoscopy
Correlation between clinical, dermatoscopic and histological findings
Dermatoscopy in practice
Dermatoscopy of rare skin tumors and therapy of skin tumors
Case studies from the clinics and one's own practice

Final qualification

Graduates of the postgraduate course are granted the academic title Master of Dermoscopy and Preventive Dermatooncology (M.Sc.DermPrevOncol).

Cost

EUR 12,900

If you have completed the International Short Course on Dermoscopy at Med Uni Graz in the last 5 years, the cost is reduced by EUR 1,600.

Dates

The next course starts in winter semester 2021/22. Registration is possible at any time.

Course directors

Regina Fink-Puches
Department of Dermatology and Venereology

Curriculum

Information on data protection

Registration

Academic Expert in Dermoscopy

The postgraduate course provides graduates with scientific, evidence-based special knowledge and practical skills in tumor diagnostics with reflected light microscopy. Knowledge is provided not only of specific biological fundamentals of the development of skin tumors, differential diagnosis of skin diseases and methods and strategies for avoidance and early detection in the sense of prevention mechanisms but also of the epidemiology of skin tumors, tumor classification and therapies including a number of innovative therapeutic strategies. The course also develops competencies in sifting through and interpreting relevant professional literature.
The postgraduate course is offered as a distance learning course and the language of instruction is English.

Overview

Length: 4 semesters

ECTS: 60

Final qualification: Academic Expert in Dermoscopy

Cost: EUR 8,500

Start: October 2021

Qualification profile and learning outcomes

The postgraduate course provides solid and special knowledge of how to diagnose dermatological tumors. Thanks to the skills acquired in this course, graduates can significantly contribute to the diagnosis of individual tumors as well as a number of other skin and hair diseases. They are able to initiate or accompany processes of change in the healthcare system and especially in the area of prevention (through knowledge of epidemiology and prevention opportunities).

Graduates of the postgraduate course are able to:

Identify epidemiological factors with regard to skin cancer risk assessment
Communicate and evaluate primary and secondary prevention opportunities
Interpret dermatoscopic results
Classify skin tumors of different dignities and plan therapeutic strategies
Employ trichoscopy as a special form of dermatoscopy to diagnose hair diseases
Apply different dermatoscopic algorithms in clinical practice
Correlate clinical results with dermatoscopic and histological results
Identify and assess relevant specialist literature and employ knowledge acquired from it

Target group

The postgraduate course is aimed at specialists in dermatology and other disciplines, physicians and individuals in the fields of nursing or medical technology who would like to achieve academic expertise in the theoretical and practical diagnosis and management of skin tumors.

Admission requirements

Medical degree or
Bachelor's degree in nursing or
Completion of nursing training plus 2 years of job experience in dermatology or
Bachelor's degree in a field of medical technology plus 2 years of job experience in dermatology

Structure

The expert course takes 2 years and is offered as a part-time distance learning course. It consists of 8 theory modules, 10 days of training at one of the centers of excellence, academic presentation of one's own cases and the writing of a final paper.

Course content

Epidemiology of skin tumors and their prevention
History, technical principles and areas of application of dermatoscopy
Dermatoscopic criteria and morphological approaches
Analysis of dermatoscopic patterns
Diagnostic algorithms
Dermatoscopy-pathology correlation—the dermatoscopic atlas
Dermatoscopy of non-melanocytic tumors, trichoscopy

Final qualification

Upon completion of all curriculum requirements, the graduate receives a Medical University of Graz certificate of completion and may use the title Academic Expert.