Job Description

The course for September 2025 intakes runs from 17 September 2025 to 4 February 2026 (weeks off from 24 to 31 December 2025) with some assessments taking place after studies have concluded. Students study forone full dayeach week on a Wednesday for 19 weeks.

Develop your career as part of the global nursing community!

Nursing in challenging environments requires knowledge of a broad range of health issues and practical tools to provide high-quality care to patients - wherever you are. This unique course prepares nurses and allied health professionals for work in low-resource settings and with vulnerable populations.

World-leading experts in their field teach through online sessions including interactive lectures, practical skills, and laboratory training. The vital insights they share open doors to careers around the world, as well as bringing fresh perspectives and understanding about the diversity and impact of nursing.

First established at LSHTM in 1996, it was the first programme of its kind that was designed with nurses in mind, acknowledging the vital role they play in health system strengthening and global nursing, while equipping them to work in a range of challenging circumstances with little or no infrastructural support. Our thousands of course graduates make significant contributions to global health. By taking this course you will also join this dedicated and supportive international network and become part of a lifelong alumni community.

What you will learn

Held up as the industry standard, the Professional Diploma in Tropical Nursing (PTDN) covers a huge breadth of topics including infectious disease, mental health, decolonisation, and women's and children’s health. We are constantly adapting our approach to incorporate new areas of practice or emerging health challenges.

The course features a highly popular virtual laboratory element which is new to many students. Guided by a range of interactive videos and lectures, you will have the chance to see down the microscope on your computer screen, and learn skills such as how to recognise malaria, TB, leishmaniasis, filariasis and other parasitic diseases. Blood grouping, cross-matching and haemoglobin estimation are also demonstrated.

The PTDN is an established professional qualification and a requirement for many international agencies including Médecins Sans Frontières, Save the Children, Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO), and the British Red Cross among others.

The course covers a range of key topics in global nursing including:

• Global healthcare challenges
• Optimising and advancing nursing practice global nursing practice
• Infection prevention and control
• Women and children's health
• Mental health
• Specific non-communicable and infectious diseases

Themes woven throughout the course are:

• The role and value of nursing
• Working with low resources
• Health inequalities
• Decolonisation
• Partnership working

Who should apply?

The PDTN is available to candidates with a degree who are currently registered as nurses, midwives, paramedics or allied health professionals.

We recommend you have two years of post-registration experience by the start of the course applied for. Any student who does not meet the above minimum entry requirements but who has relevant professional experience may still be eligible for admission.

ThePDTN scholarship fundhelps train, encourage and support the next generation of nurses from low- and middle-income countries.