Prescribing for Pharmacists

Overview

This module will:

• prepare nurses, midwives, podiatrists, physiotherapists, therapeutic radiographers and paramedics to prescribe as independent and supplementary prescribers and diagnostic radiographers to prescribe as supplementary prescribers

• allow experienced nonmedical health professionals to enhance their knowledge, and gain a critical awareness of contemporary issues in order to become safe, competent, and effective prescribers, within current legal and professional guidelines

• enable successful students to record their prescribing qualification with the relevant professional body

Entry requirements

Applicants for this module should hold professional registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council or the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland, and be in good standing with the regulator.

In addition, pharmacists should have a minimum of two years' appropriate patient-orientated experience (for example medicines use reviews, minor ailments services) post-registration in a relevant UK practice setting.

Applicants should have an identified area of clinical practice in which to develop independent prescribing practice. They must also have relevant clinical experience in that area.

Applicants must also have support from a Designated Prescribing Practitioner (DPP), who will provide supervised practice opportunities.

Applicants are required to provide a current DBS check.

What you will study

Pharmacist students can study this module at Level 7 (Master's) as a stand-alone module. It may also be studied as part of the MSc Advanced Clinical Practitioner programme run by the School of Nursing and Healthcare Leadership, or the Postgraduate Diploma in Foundation Pharmacy Practice run by the School of Pharmacy.

Learning and assessment

The theoretical component is delivered using a range of evidence based teaching and learning strategies including lectures, tutorials and seminars.

Role play, ward visits and formative objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) are used to support learning in the classroom in addition to the more traditional lectures.

Inter-professional learning is promoted through the use of student and lecturer generated case studies and event analyses. You will be encouraged to share experiences and case examples generated through supervised practice.

The learning, teaching and assessment strategy has been designed to develop your skills as a reflective practitioner, critical thinker and to promote continued engagement in lifelong learning.

The research orientated teaching and learning strategies also recognises the diversity and prior education that different students bring to the classroom; this presents an opportunity for those differences to be used creatively in order to facilitate valuable inter-professional learning.

Supervised prescribing practice is a formal element of the learning and your development of competency as a prescriber will be supported by a mentor throughout the programme.

The theoretical elements are directly linked to your supervised practice experience, facilitating educational coherence for you and your DPP/PS and PA and ultimately employer, and importantly, patients.

Theoretical elements are assessed using a multiple choice and short answer question examination (MCQ) and a summative objective structured clinical examinations (OSCE).

As well as the formal examination, you will be expected to demonstrate your understanding through reflective writing, the development of a portfolio and completion of a competency framework.

The single competency framework for all prescribers was developed by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society 2016 and is used as the basis for prescribing practice development and assessment of competence by students working with a DPP/PS and PA. Assessment is carried out jointly between the DPP/PS and PA and the teaching team.

Formative assessment will be ongoing throughout the programme of study. Formative assessments are timetabled so you can assess your own learning within the confines of a ‘safe’ setting.

Summative assessment will normally be undertaken, or submitted, at the end of the semester that they originally registered.

The diet and volume of assessment reflects the breadth of the curriculum and the understandable necessity to ensure robust assessment of fitness for purpose and practice.

Each element of assessment must be passed to be deemed as having successfully achieved the programme and to qualify as a prescriber. Supplementary assessment on one occasion of any unsuccessful element(s) in the same mode is normally allowed.