Educational efforts of the HIV Programme target the following groups:
- Infectious Diseases (ID) trainees
- Non-ID physicians
- Nurses
- Ancillary staff
- Health care workers outside of NUH
- People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA)
Flagship education programmes:
- Healthcare Worker HIV Education Series
- Asia Pacific HIV Practice Course
- Education and Training to medical students (M3 and M5)
- Empowered Living Programme
ID Traineeship
The HIV Programme incorporates clinical and didactic teaching on HIV/AIDS into the ID training so that graduating NUH ID Registrars/Fellows will be competent in providing holistic care and applying best practices to the care of PLHA.
HIV Clinical Fellowship
The HIV Programme is accredited to provide a 12-month HIV Clinical Fellowship. The goal of the HIV Clinical Fellowship is to provide overseas physicians with the clinical knowledge and skills necessary to provide optimal HIV care according to international guidelines and practice standards.
Internal Medicine Residents Training
HIV topics are incorporated into the Internal Medicine residency curriculum, House Officers Handbook, Basic Specialist Training teaching and the Objective Structured Clinical Examinations to ensure that Residents are appropriately trained in HIV topics and care.
NUH Faculty Training
The HIV Programme has ensured that HIV topics are incorporated into the University Medical Cluster Medicine Rounds. Additionally, the Programme provides talks to departments which are likely to co-manage HIV patients or HIV complications in their specialty.
GP Training
An annual GP update on HIV topics which are of interest to GPs is conducted by the MID team.
Nursing Training
A programme to educate nursing staff on the appropriate nursing care for the PLHA has been developed in partnership with the Clinical Nursing Unit and Infection Control. The MID Team Nurses have also been involved in a number of overseas nursing education attachments, including Brunei and Hong Kong, with the aim to up-skill overseas nurses in best practice care.
Additionally, the HIV Programme has initiated projects such as the Red Ribbon Ambassador Project which aims to establish HIV Nursing Ambassadors in each hospital ward. Through this programme, which ran in conjunction with World AIDS Day in 2013, over 600 Nurses were trained at NUH.
Training for Health Care Workers outside of NUH
HIV education is provided to Nurses, Pharmacists and MSWs from private clinics, hospitals and community institutions such as Nursing Homes. The MID Team's Pharmacists, Nurses and MSWs will conduct education sessions on their specialities, providing invaluable insight into best practice care for PLHA. Of note, the MID Team has led educational sessions on topics such as Nebulised Pentamidine, ARV Therapies, Stigma and Discrimination, and caring for PLHA.
Education for PLHA
Working in partnership with the Singapore General Hospital, the HIV Programme conducts the Empowered Living Programme bi-annually. The Empowered Living Programme is an initiative conceived and implemented by the MSWs to better support newly diagnosed PLHA. The 2-day programme covers topics such as HIV basics, disclosure, treatment, nutrition and safer sex.
The Asia Pacific HIV Practice Course
The Asia Pacific HIV Practice Course (APHPC) aims to improve the knowledge and skills of healthcare workers working in HIV-related areas across the Asia Pacific Region. The course is jointly organised by the Institute of Infectious Diseases and Epidemiology at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore General Hospital, and Action for AIDS. The 4-day course is conducted annually and is open to healthcare workers across Singapore and the Asia Pacific Region.
The Healthcare Worker HIV Education Series
The Healthcare Worker HIV Education Series is jointly organised by the Institute of Infectious Diseases and Epidemiology at Tan Tock Seng Hospital. The Education Series is a modular education initiative that runs quarterly. The aim of the Education Series is to improve the HIV knowledge and skills of healthcare workers in Singapore.
HIV and PrEP Awareness Programme
Linkage to care and preventive health are prime areas in the effort to reduce HIV infection; as such, training services are offered to community healthcare workers and social service providers. These services serve to increase the knowledge and capability of community healthcare providers and highlights the importance of HIV testing, symptoms recognition and working with key affected populations. Training on HIV prevention and importance of adherence to treatment is also offered to organisations serving key affected populations.