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Invasive Fungal Diseases: What the Healthcare Professional Needs to Know

Explore invasive fungal infections and gain the skills to diagnose, treat, and prevent them in your healthcare practice.

3D illustration of fungi Candida albicans which cause candidiasis thrush on colorful background Pathological fungus or yeast

Invasive Fungal Diseases: What the Healthcare Professional Needs to Know

  • 3 weeks

  • 2 hours per week

  • Digital certificate when eligible

  • Intermediate level

Find out more about how to join this course

  • Duration

    3 weeks
  • Weekly study

    2 hours
  • 100% online

    How it works
  • Unlimited subscription

    $244.99 for a whole yearLearn more

Combat mycosis to improve patient care and outcomes

From candidiasis to athlete’s foot, over one billion people experience fungal infections every year (CDC). Though thousands of fungal species exist, only a few hundred are known to cause infections or diseases in humans.

As a healthcare provider, knowing the basics of these fungal pathogens and their impact on human health is essential for accurate diagnosis and effective treatment.

This three-week, clinically-focused course from the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (BSAC) will equip you with the foundational knowledge to spot, treat, manage, and prevent invasive fungal infections.

Understand different types of invasive fungal infections and diseases (IFDs)

You’ll begin this course by learning some of the common IFDs found globally. You’ll learn to recognise how each of these presents themselves and how to spot early signs in patients.

For practical application, you’ll work through four case studies covering four different IFDs – candidiasis, aspergillosis, Pneumocystis pneumonia and cryptococcal meningitis.

Diagnose and treat fungal infections

Once familiar with these infectious diseases, you’ll then focus on their diagnosis and treatment.

During this week, you’ll review the systemic antifungal treatments commonly used in clinical practice and learn about emerging antifungal agents, patient management, and dealing with treatment-related complications.

Manage antifungal resistance and stewardship

Finally, you’ll focus on essential aspects of managing fungal infections, including when therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) is required and how to interpret antifungal susceptibility testing.

You’ll also explore the challenges of antifungal resistance and gain strategies for applying stewardship to optimise treatment practices and reduce resistance.

What topics will you cover?

• Basic principles of medical mycology

• Common global invasive fungal diseases

• Diagnosis of invasive fungal diseases

• Treatment of invasive fungal diseases

• Diagnostic and antifungal stewardship

When would you like to start?

Start straight away and join a global classroom of learners. If the course hasn’t started yet you’ll see the future date listed below.

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

  • Demonstrate an understanding of the basic principles of medical mycology in the context of common invasive fungal diseases (IFDs) and clinical practice
  • Describe common clinical presentations of IFD of global clinical relevance, including risk factors
  • Apply appropriate diagnostic tests for IFD to common clinical situations to optimise diagnosis and management and minimise inappropriate antifungal testing and prescribing
  • Demonstrate an understanding of what is meant by the diagnostic terms ‘possible’, ‘probable’ and ‘proven’ IFD, and invasive fungal infection (IFI), and the relevance to and implications for clinical and research practice
  • Assess current and future treatment options for common IFDs in order to choose the correct drug for the IFD being managed with awareness of potential adverse effects
  • Describe the principles of empiric and diagnostic-driven (pre-emptive) approaches to managing IFD
  • Summarise the required therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) and other aspects of patient and therapy monitoring during the treatment of IFD
  • Apply the principles of diagnostic and antifungal stewardship to clinical practice and within your facility
  • Describe the role of antifungal and resistance surveillance, including antifungal susceptibility results, in order to optimise antifungal prescribing at patient and facility levels

Who is the course for?

This course is for healthcare professionals, microbiologists, and anyone interested in diagnosing, treating, and managing fungal infections.

Who developed the course?

BSAC logo

BSAC

Founded in 1971, the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy is committed to addressing the growing threat of drug resistant infections around the world.

Endorsers and supporters

supported by

Pfizer

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Ways to learn

Choose the best way to learn for you!

Subscribe & save

$244.99 for a whole year

Automatically renews

Develop skills to further your career

  • Access to this course
  • Access to 1,000+ courses
  • Learn at your own pace
  • Discuss your learning in comments
  • Digital certificate when you're eligible

Cancel for free anytime

Buy this course

$109/one-off payment

Fulfill your current learning need

  • Access to this course
  • Learn at your own pace
  • Discuss your learning in comments
  • Printed and digital certificate when you’re eligible

Limited access

Free

Sample the course materials

  • Access expires 28 Jul 2025

Find out more about certificates, Unlimited or buying a course (Upgrades)

Sale price available until 3 March 2025 at 23:59 (UTC). T&Cs apply.

Find out more about certificates, Unlimited or buying a course (Upgrades)

Sale price available until 3 March 2025 at 23:59 (UTC). T&Cs apply.

Learning on FutureLearn

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  • Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
  • Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
  • Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores

Join a global classroom

  • Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
  • Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
  • Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others

Map your progress

  • As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
  • Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
  • Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate

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