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Practice Certificate in Independent Prescribing for Pharmacists

This course is designed for pharmacists working in a variety of areas, including in community pharmacies, hospitals, general practice, prisons or the private sector. Accredited by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), successful completion of this course will enable pharmacists to apply for an annotation on the GPhC register as an independent prescriber.

Overview

Notice: The April intake is now full and therefore this course is closed for new applications. You may wish to consider applying for the September intake instead. Details on how and when to apply will be available online shortly. If you would like to discuss your options further don’t hesitate to contact our Enquiry Team on 0116 2 50 60 70 or email enquiry@dmu.ac.uk

This course is designed for pharmacists working in a variety of areas, including in community pharmacies, hospitals, general practice, prisons or the private sector. Accredited by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), successful completion of this course will enable pharmacists to apply for an annotation on the GPhC register as an independent prescriber.

 

This course will help you to learn about the many facets of prescribing, including clinical, communication, and consultation skills, the psychology of prescribing and the legal and ethical considerations when prescribing. 

The course is usually delivered over six months. However, for students with sufficient time and resources, the opportunity exists to undertake all learning and assessment within four months. There is also the option of carrying out the course over 12 months, for students who would prefer this.

During the course, you will  complete 450 hours of learning in total. This includes attendance at eight compulsory study days during which you will be taught in groups. Our group teaching encourages important discussion and debate amongst fellow pharmacists and lecturers, allowing for valuable reflection on the future of prescribing practice and promoting self-awareness and critical thinking as a non-medical prescriber. 

You will also undertake the equivalent of at least 12 days (or 90 hours) of practice-based experience, under the supervision of your Designated Prescribing Practitioner (DPP), working towards competencies in a chosen area of practice. 

To reinforce your learning, we also support self-directed learning through our easy-to-use online learning platforms. This format allows you to study at a time convenient to you, and encourages communication with fellow pharmacists and lecturers.

Key features

  • Designed and delivered by a multi-disciplinary team of expert academics, experienced multi-sector pharmacists, clinicians and healthcare professionals, with a practice-based approach to learning and assessment.
  • Benefit from the input of experienced practitioners from the fields of pharmacy, medicine and nursing; encouraging inter-disciplinary working and ensuring your learning is relevant to current practice.
  • Enjoy a collegiate approach to teaching which promotes a safe, engaging and interactive environment and promotes good relationships between the academic team and students.
  • The course design accommodates pharmacists from all sectors and provides tools to help expand your competency following qualification.
  • Our industry standard teaching facilities, including purpose-built clinical skills areas, allow you to practice in a safe environment as well as simulation-based education.
  • Use our virtual learning environments to enhance your learning experience and promote peer support
  • Our reputation of more than 100 years of pharmacy teaching ensures we produce graduates of the highest calibre.

Study days and Intakes 2022/2023 

Academic expertise

The course is delivered by experienced, friendly and supportive pharmacists with an array of expertise. It is supported by medical practitioners in teaching clinical skills and experienced colleagues from the School of Nursing. Over 100 years of pharmacy teaching and expertise at our institution ensures that our graduates are of the highest calibre.

 

More courses like this:

Clinical Pharmacy MSc/PG Dip/PG Cert

Advanced Clinical Practice MSc

Independent/Supplementary Prescribing (V300) Level 7

 

 

 

  • UK
  • EU/International

Course code: B23087

Assessed at Level 7

Duration: 6 months with the opportunity to submit all work within 4 months as a 'fast-track' option. There is also the option of carrying out the course over a 12-month period of time.

Attendance for the full Independent Prescribing programme: There are 8 study days for the course, plus 90 hours of learning in practice

Start date: January 2023, April 2023 and September 2023

Application deadline: 

The January 2023 intake for the course is now full.

The April 2023 intake for the course is now full.

All completed applications will be reviewed on a first come first served basis.

Location of study: De Montfort University Leicester UK

Fees and funding: 

The fee for January and April 2023 entry is £2,000 for 45 credits.

The fee for September 2023 entry is £2,150 for 45 credits.

PLEASE NOTE: This course can only accept international students who are residing in the UK on a Tier 2 visa, and who are employed in the UK by an NHS Trust or a healthcare organisation that provides NHS services.

Course code: B23087

Assessed at Level 7

Duration: 6 months with the opportunity to submit all work within 4 months as a 'fast-track' option. There is also the option of carrying out the course over a 12-month period of time

Attendance for the full Independent Prescribing programme: 8 study days for the course, plus 90 hours of learning in practice

Start date:  January 2023, April 2023 and September 2023

Location of study: De Montfort University Leicester UK

Fees and funding: 

The fee for January and April 2023 entry is £2,000 for 45 credits.

The fee for September 2023 entry is £2,100 for 45 credits.

Entry criteria

Practice Certificate in Independent Prescribing - (45 credits)

  • Be a registered pharmacist with the GPhC or the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland (PSNI).
  • Have attained a third class honours (3rd) or above in Pharmacy or equivalent degree qualification
  • Have at least two years appropriate patient-orientated experience in a UK hospital, community or primary care setting following their pre-registration year.
  • Applicants need to identify an area of clinical practice in which to develop their prescribing skills and have up-to-date clinical, pharmacological and pharmaceutical knowledge and experience relevant to that area of prescribing practice.
  • Be able to demonstrate reflective practice on performance and the ability to take responsibility for continuing professional development.
  • Support from the applicant’s employer for learning in practice and study leave. 
  • The applicant must have identified a designated prescribing practitioner (DPP) who can either be a medic or a non-medical prescriber. The DPP must have training and experience appropriate to their role and meet the requirements listed on the application form and the DPP Competency Framework published by Royal Pharmaceutical Society.
  • The DPP must have agreed to provide supervision, support and shadowing opportunities for the student, and be familiar with the GPhC's requirements and learning outcomes for the programme.
  • If the DPP is a non-medical prescriber, there is an expectation of 20 hours of learning in practice to be undertaken with a medic and planning for this will need to be demonstrated during the application process

All fully completed applications will be screened and suitable applicants invited to an interview selection process, using video calling where possible.

There is further information about your learning in practice hours and DPP in this FAQ document.

Structure and assessment

 

Course modules

Teaching and assessment

Study dates

 

Course modules

Prescribing is complex and multifaceted and as such, our teaching focuses on the wider skills and knowledge required of a pharmacist prescriber. Some of the learning topics covered during study days and in self-directed study are: 

  • Communication and consultation skills
  • Clinical skills including NEWS2 assessment, cardiovascular, abdominal and respiratory examinations
  • Influences on prescribing
  • Psychology of prescribing
  • Legal and ethical aspects of prescribing
  • Understanding clinical risk 
  • Clinical reasoning and decision making
  • Using evidence-based medicine and critical appraisal
  • Prescribing in a team and inter-professional education (including a half-day event with colleagues from the School of Nursing).

 

The course outcomes are: 

 

1) Critically evaluate a person-centred and partnership approach to care, through self-awareness of own values and beliefs, and understanding of legal and ethical responsibilities, in order to support individuals to make risk assessed and autonomous informed decisions. 

2) Demonstrate a critical understanding of, and reflection on, the prescribing role within a multi-disciplinary team, to ensure accountability and acknowledging influences on prescribing practice, including raising concerns or reporting of inappropriate or unsafe practice. 

3) Apply evidence-based decision making to all prescribing decisions through a systematic understanding and critical awareness of pharmacology, therapeutics, public health and health promotion, to manage the risks and benefits of holistic patient management. 

4) Ensure safe prescribing practice, and improved patient outcomes, through systematic understanding and utilisation of emerging systems, technologies and practice, and application of the principles of effective monitoring and ongoing management underpinned by appropriate governance processes and documentation that aligns with relevant legislation. 

5) Apply effective history-taking, consultation, diagnostic and clinical skills to critically evaluate complex information to optimise patient care, recognising the limits of own practice and appropriate referral and support processes. 

6) Demonstrate appropriate skills to uncover information from individuals who are guarded about, or unaware of their health needs, with critical reflection on their own role, and those of others, with regards to safeguarding children and vulnerable adults. 

7) Demonstrate all of learning outcomes within the current GPhC Standards for the Education and Training of Pharmacist Independent Prescribers.

The GPhC learning outcomes are listed in the Standards for the Education and Training of Pharmacist Independent Prescribers published in January 2019.

Note: All modules are indicative and based on the current academic session. Course information is correct at the time of publication and is subject to review. Exact modules may, therefore, vary for your intake in order to keep content current. If there are changes to your course we will, where reasonable, take steps to inform you as appropriate.

Teaching and assessment

All pharmacists will have chosen their own personal area of practice in which to develop their prescribing competency. This course does not teach therapeutics for individual scopes of practice, but instead facilitates structured independent learning for our students’ therapeutic areas of practice. The course encourages learning that will help pharmacists develop prescribing-related competencies and tools to expand therapeutic areas of practice post-qualification.

Assessment

There are three summative assessments for the course;  

1) Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) – This will involve three stations, with patient actors, assessing pharmacist’s clinical and consultation skills.

2) Structured Case Report - This report is an academic piece of work with a number of components. It is linked to the pharmacist’s individual scope of practice and enables consideration of a patient’s whole care pathway.

3) Prescribing Portfolio – Pharmacists will develop a portfolio in which to log experiences, reflect on learning in practice hours and demonstrate GPhC learning outcomes and prescribing competencies.

 

Study days and Intakes - 2022/2023

There are usually three intakes during the academic year; in September and in January and in April .

Students on all cohorts are required to participate in 8 mandatory study days, which all run from 9am to 6pm. We anticipate these will be delivered in a ‘blended’ manner, with some study days delivered online/virtually and some study days delivered at the University. This is subject to change.

View the provisional dates for the September 2022 intake and January 2023 and April 2023 intake. Students are allocated to one particular group and the provisional dates for study days for each group are below. Please note that these are also subject to change.

Facilities and features

How to apply

To apply for this course all applicants, including existing DMU Clinical Pharmacy Diploma students, should complete an application form. If you are an internal applicant (an existing student at DMU), please complete the Internal Applicants form. If you are an external applicant, please complete the External Applicants form.

Please carefully read the front page of the application form and guidance notes throughout. Once you have carefully completed the form, please email your application and all supporting documents to pharmacyIPrecruitment@dmu.ac.uk. All applicants should also obtain a supporting statement from an employer/referee, as detailed on the Appendix 1 Supporting Statement form – please kindly ask your referee to email this pharmacyIPrecruitment@dmu.ac.uk.

What happens after I submit my application?

The module team will contact you with the outcome of your application. If the entry criteria have been met, suitable candidates will be invited to a telephone/video interview at a mutually convenient time. 

We look forward to receiving your application. 

If you would like further information about the course please e-mail the module team on pharmacyIPrecruitment@dmu.ac.uk. If you would prefer an informal telephone discussion, contact a member of the module team on the telephone numbers indicated below:

Module Team

Trisha Patel
E: trisha.patel@dmu.ac.uk
T: 0116 366 4517

Meera Naran
E: meera.naran@dmu.ac.uk
T: 0116 207 8116

Tim Harrison
E: tharrison@dmu.ac.uk
T: 0116 250 6470

 

Opportunities and careers

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Graduate careers

Upon successful completion of this course you will be awarded a Practice Certificate in Independent Prescribing, which will allow you to apply to the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) for your register entry to be annotated to that of a prescriber. You will then be able to work as a pharmacist independent prescriber.

 

 

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