Professional Diploma in Tropical Medicine & Hygiene

Aims & objectives

The aim of the intensive professional development programme is to build capacity for postgraduate training and clinical research in Africa, including for doctors from outside the Region who intend to work locally. It is designed to introduce physicians to the knowledge and skills needed to practise medicine and promote health effectively, and to inspire them to develop their own careers in the field.

The programme covers common infectious diseases including TB, HIV and malaria, along with neglected tropical and non-communicable diseases. There are modules on the clinical assessment of infants and children, maternal health in resource-limited settings and an introduction to clinical epidemiology. Students are encouraged to evaluate the evidence from contemporary clinical research to support their learning.

By the end of the programme, students will have gained an insight in to the practical realities of health care in East Africa and will be able to:

• compare and contrast the management of infectious diseases in different contexts
• critically evaluate the evidence for health interventions in resource-limited settings
• make a safe and competent assessment of sick patients in an African setting

The programme will also encourage participants to develop their own clinical research projects, whether as part of a formal programme of study, such as an MMed dissertation or other Masters, or as an independent piece of work in the field following the DTM&H: East African Partnership programme. This will not be included in the formal examination of the programme.

Tuition fees

Self-funding applicants: TBC

Scholars: Full scholarships are competitively awarded to postgraduate doctors from low- and middle-income countries. There is an administrative fee.

Learning, teaching & assessment methods

The intensive DTM&H: East African Partnership programme uses a wide variety of teaching and learning methods including lectures, small group seminars, laboratory practicals, bedside clinical discussions, field projects, group work with peers and personal study. It emphasises experiential learning by immersing students in the clinical and public health issues facing East Africa today. Experienced physicians lead small group sessions and a substantial proportion of the programme is directly related to clinical practice.

The programme is paperless with lecture notes and references supplied electronically on a memory stick as the course goes along. Students should therefore bring a laptop computer. A general textbook and laboratory practical book are supplied by the course and included in the fees. A wider reading list is provided.

Each module has specific learning objectives with content designed to help students achieve these outcomes. Students are expected to learn through both directed and self-directed study.

The programme is assessed using a variety of methods, which reflect its emphasis on practical skills alongside standard knowledge-based outcomes. In-course assignments or assessments will contribute towards 40% of the final grade, and end-of-course final examinations towards 60% (further details are given below). These tasks are designed to assess whether intended learning outcomes have been met. All assessments will be double-marked.

Students are given regular informal feedback during practical sessions. To guide their personal study and revision, students receive in-course assessment marks, individually and prior to the final examinations.

Credit scheme

The course is a Professional Diploma and as such does not attract any academic credit.

Tanzania

The first six weeks of the course will be held at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College in Moshi, Tanzania. Moshi is a beautiful green town on the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro with an average temperature of 28⁰C. It is relatively safe and peaceful. The course then breaks for half term giving students time to travel to the coast, climb the mountain or take in a safari. 

Uganda

The second half of the course is based at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda’s capital city. The third week in Uganda takes place outside Kampala. During the trip students will have an opportunity to spend a long weekend at one of Uganda’s national parks.

Accommodation

The cost of accommodation is not included in the course fee. We strongly recommend students to take a place in one of the hostels provided by the course. In previous years, the cost was approximately £25-£30 per night including breakfast. This is much cheaper than the open market and allows students to mix easily with colleagues in the evenings. All the hostels in Moshi and Kampala are clean and secure with single rooms and hot water; most are within walking distance of the hospital and some are self-catering.

We hope the course will run in 2023, please register your interest and our study team will contact you as soon as we have further details.

Please read LSHTM's Admissions policies prior to submitting your application.

As part of the assessment process we would like you to submit a 500 - 800 word article on ' the current crisis in human resources for health in Africa'. The article should be written in the style of an editorial from an academic journal such as the Lancet and should include references. The references do not count towards the word limit. You will need to upload the essay on the last page of the online application form.

The DTM&H (East African Partnership) programme is open to doctors who hold a medical qualification from a recognised medical school in any country and are registered to practice medicine by their national regulatory authority.  Preference will normally be given to doctors who have several years’ experience in clinical practice with an aptitude for clinical research who can demonstrate intent to work in Africa.

Nurses, clinical officers and other medical professionals without a medical degree cannot be admitted since the programme is only open to fully qualified physicians.

There are two types of applicants: full fees and scholarship. Scholarship places are only open to doctors from low- and middle-income countries. Scholarships will be awarded competitively.

All students will be required to show an original or notarised copy of their primary medical qualification to a representative of LSHTM Registry at registration. A copy of this will be kept on record.

Comprehensive travel health insurance is mandatory and will be checked in advance.

Applicants must have a good standard of written and spoken English and of English comprehension. LSHTM may ask applicants to provide evidence of a satisfactory standard of English; a list of approved tests is available on request.

Partner institutions

LSHTM has offered a Professional Diploma in Tropical Medicine & Hygiene (DTM&H) programme in London for over a hundred years. Following a pilot course in 2010 the first full East African DTM&H took place in 2011 and has occurred annually since. The programme is a collaboration between five founding institutions referred to as ‘the partners’:

• Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College, Tanzania
• University of Washington, United States of America
• London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom
• Johns Hopkins University, United States of America
• Makerere University, Uganda

Financial requirements

Programme fees cover tuition, programme materials and examination costs. Full fees are payable within three weeks of an offer letter being sent out. If payment is not received by then the place will be withdrawn and offered to the next candidate on the waiting list.

A proportion of the fees paid by international students will contribute to scholarships for doctors from low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) with an emphasis on applicants from Africa.

If a successful applicant withdraws from the programme their fees will only be refunded if a replacement participant is found and full fees received in return.

Programme fees do not cover study visas, insurance, travel from home to the beginning and back from the end of the programme, travel between Moshi and Kampala during the course, living expenses including food and accommodation during the course, internet connections and incidental spending. Successful applicants will be sent guidance on these costs prior to the programme start date.

The programme is not able to provide financial assistance to students who run out of money.

Scholarships

Up to two-dozen DTM&H scholarships are open to students from low- and middle-income countries with an emphasis on applicants from partner institutions in Africa.

In addition to the standard application form, CV and written piece, applicants need to upload a letter of support from their employer.

Successful applicants need to pay a small registration fee within three weeks of being sent an offer otherwise their place will pass to the next applicant on the waiting list.

Scholarships cover tuition fees, course material, examination costs, accommodation and transport during the course. They do not cover study visas, meals, travel from Moshi to Kampala, internet connections or incidental spending.

The rules on arranging comprehensive medical insurance also apply to scholarship students.