THE COURSE

The Conflict and Catastrophe Medicine course (CCM) provides the pathway to achieving a postgraduate professional diploma (DMCC) awarded by the Faculty of Conflict and Catastrophe Medicine, within the Centre for Health Studies, Apothecaries' Hall.  The one year, part time course takes place over 11 monthly course days from September to July, and participants have up to 2 years' access to course materials and to attend lecture days to complete it.

The course provides postgraduate medics, nurses and allied health professionals with the relevant knowledge and practical skills to work effectively in the disaster environment. The course is designed to augment your qualifications and expertise with the relevant core skills required to support interventions such as a needs assessment, surveillance and reporting systems, and common health and disease issues.

Sessions are held one Saturday per month (excluding August) both in person at Apothecaries' Hall (Black Friars Lane, London, EC4V 6EJ) and some are delivered online via Zoom.

Course content

With 50-60 hours of dedicated study, the Conflict and Catastrophe Medicine course is delivered through a varied and non-sequential programme of engaging discussions, tabletop simulation exercises, practical examples and relevant case studies with an emphasis on promoting applied, self–directed learning.

The content is continually updated in response to changing needs and priorities of low/middle-income countries, new developments in intelligence and technology, and the changing roles of international health professionals in such contexts.

Experts from NGOs and various humanitarian, military, and academic institutions will be on hand to deliver arange of sessions both in-person andonline, providing unique insights from their first-hand experience of delivering aid in conflict and disaster settings. Participants also have access to course materials through our learning platform. Not just a clinical course, students will grapple with a range of sectoral, non-medical and conceptual factors, public health including epidemiology, and also nutrition, mental health and moral injury, maternal and child health, and wider contextual issues. They will gain an appreciation of the importance of not only knowing ‘what’ to do, but ‘how’ to go about the work.

Participants will gain an understanding of essential concepts such as the principles of humanitarianism, localisation in humanitarian health, sustainability, governance, accountability and safeguarding; learning how to adapt this knowledge to respond to acute medical emergencies in conflict and climate disasters. Whether you are new to the subject area or a seasoned humanitarian worker looking to deepen your understanding, the Conflict and Catastrophe Medicine course has something for you.

Teaching methods

Teaching methods include live lectures, interactive exercises, seminars, and the use of case studies. This to provide health professionals with the learning that will form the basis of professional competence in humanitarian health. Some subjects that are interesting but not essential to being a competent humanitarian health professional are recorded as lectures and posted online for students to watch at their leisure. All teaching is in English.

Student area

All students will have access to a dedicated e-learning platform, Brightspace, where recordings of the lectures are posted along with slides, a comprehensive reading list and other supportive materials to consolidate their learning.

If you would like to get involved or learn more about our courses please contact AcademicTraining@apothecaries.org