Diplomas · Core Lens

DTM&H Core Lens

A calm, structured way to see the DTM&H syllabus: for each topic, the safety cue you cannot miss, the guideline point that anchors it, and the exam trap that catches most candidates.

The one instinct to build first

Fever in a returning traveller = exclude malaria first. Before you reach for dengue, typhoid, rickettsia or anything exotic, the question is always: has falciparum malaria been excluded? Thick and thin films (or a rapid diagnostic test) are the first move, and a single negative film does not exclude it — repeat over 48–72 hours if suspicion remains.

Falciparum malaria can kill within days, presents non-specifically, and has no reliable "classic" fever pattern in the acute traveller. Examiners test this instinct relentlessly. Treat every febrile-traveller stem as a malaria stem until the films say otherwise.

The topics, through the lens

The first entry is open as a preview. The other 65 are for members.

1. Clinical Infectious Diseases & Tropical Medicine

MalariaPreview below

Recognising severe falciparum malaria

Safety cueAny of: impaired consciousness or seizures, respiratory distress or acidotic breathing, shock, jaundice with organ dysfunction, bleeding, hypoglycaemia, severe anaemia, renal impairment, or high parasitaemia. Any one of these turns "uncomplicated" into a medical emergency requiring parenteral therapy and high-dependency care.

Guideline pointWHO guidance: intravenous artesunate is the treatment of choice for severe malaria in adults and children, given in preference to quinine because it reduces mortality. Once the patient can take oral medication reliably, complete treatment with a full course of an artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT).

Exam trapAssuming that a low parasite count means mild disease. Parasitaemia can be low while sequestration in the microvasculature is heavy — the clinical criteria for severity, not the film count, drive the decision to treat as severe. Hypoglycaemia is a favourite distractor: check the glucose.

Diagnosis and the negative filmMembersNon-falciparum species and relapseMembers
Tuberculosis & leprosy3 entriesMembersHIV & opportunistic infections3 entriesMembersEnteric fevers & gastrointestinal infections3 entriesMembersGastrointestinal protozoa3 entriesMembersArboviruses & viral haemorrhagic fevers3 entriesMembersSchistosomiasis & trematodes3 entriesMembersSoil-transmitted & filarial helminths3 entriesMembersLeishmaniasis & trypanosomiasis3 entriesMembersSkin, ectoparasites & snakebite3 entriesMembersWHO neglected tropical diseases3 entriesMembers

2. Non-Communicable Diseases in the Tropics

Non-communicable diseases & malnutrition3 entriesMembersDiabetes, cardiovascular disease & hypertension3 entriesMembersMental health3 entriesMembersOphthalmology & skin3 entriesMembersTrauma & envenoming3 entriesMembers

3. Preventative Medicine & International Public Health

Immunisations & travel medicine3 entriesMembersNutrition, maternal & child health3 entriesMembersOutbreak control & WASH3 entriesMembersHumanitarian & disaster medicine3 entriesMembersEpidemiology & statistics3 entriesMembersHealth systems & evidence-based medicine3 entriesMembers

The rest of the DTM&H Core Lens is in the DTM&H package

65 more entries across 22 topics, each sorted into the safety cue, the guideline point and the exam trap — written and reviewed by practising UK doctors.

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The rest of the DTM&H toolkit

Every part of the DTM&H track, one click away. Work across them rather than through them — the guide explains it, the tools drill the decision, the bank tests it and the Compass tells you what is left.

The DTM&H overviewWhere the whole track starts — what the diploma is and how it is assessed.The DTM&H Question Bank850 best-of-five questions across all twelve modules, with timed mock papers.The Core 10Ten focused minutes of DTM&H questions a day, weighted to this week of your plan and your shakiest topics.The Image Bank100 specimens — blood films, ova, protozoa and vectors — for the image paper.The SSQ TrainerTwelve short structured questions in the shape of Paper 3, with model marking points to check your answers against.Core CurriculumThe syllabus as twenty-two topics under three domains, rated as you go.Core ToolsReason and Recall: commit to an answer in each scenario, then drill the highest-yield facts on a spaced schedule.Core CompassRate the twelve areas, see your readiness by subject, then build a session from your weakest.Core CalendarA ten-week plan anchored to your sitting date, counting back from the papers.The Revision GuideTwelve chapters, from malaria to nutrition and tropical paediatrics.Core WisdomSix short notes, from fever in the returning traveller to the SSQ and best-of-five papers.Core ResourcesThe official Society of Apothecaries pages, guidance and reading.