GP Diplomas · Curriculum

The DCH Curriculum

A working map of the Diploma in Child Health (RCPCH) syllabus for GPs and GP trainees. Twenty topics, each with what to focus on, what you can safely leave, the pitfalls that catch candidates, and the phrases that signal an answer. Rate yourself Red, Amber or Green as you go — your ratings save in this browser and, when you are signed in, to your Core Revision account.

How the DCH is examined

The DCH has two parts: the Foundation of Practice (FOP) theory paper — 100 single-best-answer questions in 2 hours — and the DCH Clinical, a circuit of eight stations delivered online. Both must be completed within a 7-year window. The FOP rewards safe, everyday recognition and management; the Clinical rewards structured communication and clear safety-netting.

Every topic in the curriculum

The first topic is open as a preview. The detail for the other 19 is for members.

Core clinical paediatrics

NeonatologyPreview below

The first 28 days — the babies who look well, and the babies who do not.

What to focus on

  • Jaundice: timing is the whole question. Under 24 hours old is always pathological until proven otherwise; prolonged jaundice is more than 14 days at term (21 days preterm) and needs a split (conjugated) bilirubin.
  • Conjugated hyperbilirubinaemia plus pale stools and dark urine = biliary atresia pathway; urgent, because Kasai outcomes depend on age at surgery.
  • The newborn and infant physical examination (NIPE): red reflex, hips, heart, testes — and what a missed finding means.
  • Neonatal sepsis risk factors, and the fact that neonates present non-specifically: poor feeding, temperature instability, lethargy, grunting.
  • Feeding, weight loss and the normal trajectory: up to about 10% loss, with most babies back to birthweight by 3 weeks (NICE NG75); a loss of more than 10% prompts clinical and feeding assessment.

You don't need

Ventilator strategies, surfactant regimens or NICU-level intensive care decisions.

Also in this topic, for members

Hidden pitfallsExam triggersRevisit when
CardiologyMurmurs, cyanosis and the collapse that isn't sepsis.MembersRespiratory & ENTThe bulk of paediatric general practice, and the source of most avoidable admissions.MembersGastroenterology & hepatologyVomiting, diarrhoea, constipation and the abdominal pain you must not send home.MembersInfection, immunology & allergyThe sick child, the traffic-light system, and the allergy consultations that fill a GP's week.MembersNeurologyFits, faints, funny turns — and the headache that isn't migraine.MembersNeurodevelopment & neurodisabilityMilestones, delay, and the child whose difference is not a disorder.MembersEndocrinology, growth & diabetesGrowth charts as a diagnostic instrument, and the child in DKA.MembersNephro-urologyThe urine sample that gets skipped, and the swellings that don't wait.MembersHaematology & oncologyRare in a GP week, catastrophic if missed — pattern recognition matters most.MembersDermatologyRashes are where most paediatric single-best-answer questions begin.MembersMusculoskeletalThe limping child is the archetypal DCH question — treat it as a topic in its own right.MembersEmergency medicine, accidents & poisoningRecognise, resuscitate, refer — and always ask whether the story fits.MembersNutrition & metabolismFeeding, faltering growth, and the metabolic presentation you meet once in a career.MembersGenetics & dysmorphologyRecognise the common syndromes; know the associated problems you must screen for.Members

Cross-cutting

Safeguarding Highest priorityThe most examined cross-cutting theme, and the one where a wrong answer is never a partial mark.MembersBehavioural & mental healthIncreasingly the reason children come to the GP — and increasingly examined.MembersAdolescent healthConfidentiality, consent, and the consultation the young person actually needs.MembersEthics, law & patient safetyConsent, capacity, candour — and the systems that keep children safe.MembersPharmacology & prescribingChildren are not small adults — the dose, the formulation and the route all change.Members

The rest of the DCH Curriculum is in the DCH package

For the other 19 topics: what to focus on, the hidden pitfalls, the exam triggers and when to revisit — written and reviewed by practising UK doctors.

  • DCH question bank
  • Pay once, no subscription
See the DCH package

Or try ten DCH questions free · Sign in

The rest of the DCH toolkit

Every part of the DCH 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 DCH overviewWhere the whole track starts — what the diploma is and how it is assessed.The DCH Question Bank661 single-best-answer questions across twenty-six subjects, plus the 100-question timed mock.The Core 10Ten focused minutes of DCH questions a day, weighted to this week of your plan and your shakiest topics.Core LensHow the DCH actually asks it — the safety cue, the guideline point and the exam trap for each topic.Core ToolsFour interactive decision aids: the unwell child, the non-blanching rash, the wheeze and the growth chart.Core CompassRate the twenty topics, see your readiness by subject, then build a session from your weakest.Core CalendarA ten-week plan anchored to your FOP sitting, counting back from the paper.The Revision GuideTwelve chapters, from the seriously unwell child to the DCH Clinical.Core WisdomFive short notes from the other side of the exam, including what the FOP paper means for you.Core ResourcesThe official RCPCH pages, guidance and reading.