AIU Teaching

The Allergy doctors in our unit contribute to the following student training:

Undergraduate

Associate Professor Jonathan Peter and Professor Clive Gray, co-chair the UCT Immunology curriculum development group tasked with unifying the teaching of immunology across the 6-year MBChB curriculum. Allergists in our unit contribute formal lectures to 2nd, 3rd and 5th year medical students. In addition, each year we offer SSM (Specialised Student Module) programs for 3rd year medial students – some of which have led to student publications and presentations at local conferences.

Graduate Training

The unit is a key aspect of the training that is offered by the Division of Allergology and Clinical Immunology at Groote Schuur Hospital, University of Cape Town. For instances, the unit provides the opportunity for trainee fellows to learn about allergen immunotherapy, aerobiology and laboratory testing that is not available through the public sector. This ensures that our fellows receive the comprehensive allergy training that allows them to be internationally competitive. Associate Prof Peter is also currently the primary supervisor of four masters’ candidates, and co-supervisor of three masters and one PhD candidate.

The unit also contributes to:

• The continuing medical education of general practitioners and the training of nursing staff.
• In 2016, the unit organised an allergy day as part of the Department of family medicine’s annual GP refresher course.
• CME course’s are provided by the UCT Lung institute to generalists and specialists regularly and include lectures from our unit doctors.
• Drs Di Hawarden and Shaunagh Emmanuel are responsible for biannual education on allergy topics and techniques such as the management of anaphylaxis and skin prick testing. These courses are attended by nurses, pharmacists and doctors and are CPD accredited. They have developed an accessible and highly acclaimed set of Allergy ABC topics, which underpins their teaching.