The Worshipful Society of Apothecaries

THE COURSE AND EXAMINATION

The diploma in the Medical Care of Catastrophes (DMCC) is a postgraduate professional award given by the Faculty of Conflict and Catastrophe Medicine, the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries. The award is given after completion of the Conflict and Catastrophe Medicine Course and passing a written and an oral examination. The 11 month part time course commences in January and participants have up to 2 years to complete it.

Who is it for?

The course is designed for post graduate health professionals intending to work in humanitarian emergencies mainly in low/middle income countries. But some of the principles taught are also applicable to any country affected by a disaster such as flooding or a mass terrorism event.

Course content

The course is much more than the title of the diploma suggests. The course content covers not only aspects of medical and clinical care but also for example, different aspects of public health including epidemiology and environmental health, and also nutrition, mental health, maternal and child health, and wider contextual issues such as bridging humanitarian health and health development, and the changing direction of humanitarian aid.

The course is continually updated in response to changing needs and priorities of low/middle income countries and the changing roles of international health professionals in such a context, and new developments in knowledge and technology, and student feedback.

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.

Faculty platform

The Faculty has a platform called 'FCCM CONNECT'. Access to the platform is free for students on the Conflict and Catastrophe Medicine Course. But for a small fee, any other health professional can join to access events, a mentorship programme, jobs board, alumni, and links with other organisations.

Student area

All students will have access to the student area where PDFs of the lectures and the online lectures are posted. Students can also see the programme/timetable for each month. The student area can be accessed via the Society website.

Learning objectives

Each year the learning objectives may vary slightly in response to the wider context of humanitarian aid and the changing emphasis needing to be given to specific subjects. But overall they will address both competencies and knowledge.

Where?

Sessions are held one Saturday per month, except in August, at Apothecaries' Hall, Black Friars Lane, London, EC4V 6EJ. In the event that circumstances make it unadvisable to hold the course at the Hall, sessions go online.