Looking to move into a healthcare role? Microbiology is a critical subject for anyone looking to work in the healthcare field. In this course, you’ll focus on the impact of pathogenic organisms and their role in immunology and disease.

From terminology to treatment, you’ll learn about the characteristics of microbes, the mechanisms that cause disease, the effect on the human body and therapies that promote patient outcomes.

Course content focuses on the etiology of microbial infections, the interaction between microbe and host, and preventive measures.

For verified learners, interactive case studies can provide clarity into symptomatology, etiology, pathogenesis, epidemiology, prevention and best practices in the treatment of infectious diseases.

After this course, you should be able to:

• Identify the functional characteristics of microorganisms
• Describe the structural differences between microorganisms
• Identify various types and categories of microorganisms that are related to disease presentation
• Describe the mechanisms of microorganisms that cause disease
• Describe various types of antimicrobial therapy
• Describe the benefits, uses, risks and side effects of antimicrobial therapy for patient treatment
• Describe patient-care outcomes relating to antimicrobial therapy
• Identify types of protective and preventative measures used to reduce disease causing microorganisms
• Identify testing methods for evaluating effectiveness of protective and preventative measures
• Describe the impact of current protective and preventative measures on reducing infection and disease transmission
• Describe the effectiveness of various protective and preventative measures for reducing disease transmission
• Differentiate between protective and preventative measures
• Identify evidence-based prevention strategies for given diseases
• Compare the impacts of infectious disease on various at-risk populations
• Describe the immune system response to infection
• Describe methods of enhancing immunity for prevention regarding various types of infectious diseases
• Evaluate effectiveness of immune response manipulation for disease prevention