A Training Program of Drug Allergy for Healthcare Professionals

Overview

Drug allergy is often under-recognized, yet over- (mistakenly) diagnosed, especially in Hong Kong. There is also a dire shortage of allergy specialists and facilities to tackle the overwhelming drug allergy pandemic. Fortunately, when trained, non-specialist physicians and nurses have demonstrated comparable capabilities in drug allergy evaluation compared to specialists. To potentially promote and propagate the role of non-specialist physicians and nurses toward drug allergy care, the investigators propose a study to investigate the impact of an intensive and focused drug allergy educational course conducted at the University of Hong Kong.

Two identical didactic courses on drug allergy were designed. Each course will last 12 hours and conducted over 2 consecutive days (6 hours each day). All candidates will attend physically and on-site. Various aspects of drug allergy with pre-set learning objectives will be taught in-person by instructors (physicians or nurses specializing in drug allergy nominated by the University of Hong Kong). Course materials and instructors will be identical for each course. Aims of the study Primary objective * Investigate the change in knowledge among participants of a 2-day drug allergy educational course * Investigate the change in clinical practice among participants of a 2-day drug allergy educational course Secondary objectives * Investigate the sustained change(s) in knowledge (if any) of participants of a 2-day drug allergy educational course * Investigate the sustained change(s) in clinical practice (if any) of participants of a 2-day drug allergy educational course Hypothesis The investigators hypothesize that candidates (practicing physicians and nurses) of the drug allergy course will gain knowledge on drug allergy, which in turn will influence and change their clinical practice.