The study of respiratory and chest diseases is a medical specialism that focuses on understanding, diagnosing and treating conditions or diseases of the airways and lungs. Postgraduate students in this field will build on their existing medical training to become experts in areas such as asthma, COPD, lung cancer, pneumonia and more.
Graduates in this field could go on to work in research labs, developing new treatments, or as healthcare professionals in hospital and clinical settings.
There are over 20 postgraduate courses in respiratory and chest diseases at more than 10 UK universities, ranging from shorter PGCert courses to in-depth PhD study.
What to expect
In general, you will need to have an undergraduate degree in a relevant field such as medicine, nursing, or biomedical sciences. Due to its vocational nature, applicants sometimes also need to be in employment in a professional related field.
Modules will vary significantly from place to place but some common topics that are covered include respiratory biology and disease, genetics, immunology, biochemistry, microbiology, lung repair and regeneration, pharmacology, physiology, occupational and environmental lung disease for example.
Some of the common job roles associated with this area include respiratory therapist, pulmonologist, critical care specialist, research scientist, public health official amongst others.