Professional Certificate in Independent Prescribing for Pharmacists
Entry requirements
- Applicants need to be registered as a pharmacist with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) or, in Northern Ireland, with the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland (PSNI).
- Applicants should be in good standing with the GPhC and/or PSNI and any other healthcare regulator with which they are registered.
- Applicants should hold a third-class honours (3rd) or above in Pharmacy or equivalent degree qualification.
- Applicants must have relevant experience in a UK pharmacy setting and be able to recognise, understand and articulate the skills and attributes required by a prescriber to act as the foundation of their prescribing practice whilst training.
- Applicants should undertake their learning in practice in the UK or Northern Ireland.
- For the purposes of developing their independent prescribing practice applicants must identify an area of clinical or therapeutic practice on which to base their learning.
- Applicants must have a designated prescribing practitioner (DPP) who has agreed to supervise their learning in practice. The applicant’s designated prescribing practitioner must be a registered healthcare professional in Great Britain or Northern Ireland with legal independent prescribing rights, who is suitably experienced and qualified to carry out this supervisory role, and who has demonstrated CPD or revalidation relevant to this role.
- 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, it is recommended that 20 hours of learning in practice is undertaken with a medic and planning for this will need to be demonstrated during the application process.
Months of entry
January, May, September
Course content
This course will help you to learn about the many facets of prescribing, including clinical skills, clinical reasoning, consultation skills, communication 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. Please note that these timeframes refer to the period of studying: marking and quality assurance processes associated with assessment will be in addition to these time-frames.
During the course, you will undertake a mix of self-directed learning, structured online learning, and learning in practice. This includes attendance at eight compulsory study days during which you will be taught in small groups. Our small 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.
- Excellent and responsive student support.
- 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.
Fees and funding
The fee for 2023/24 entry is £2,150 for 45 credits.
Qualification, course duration and attendance options
- PGCert
- part time6-12 months
- Campus-based learningis available for this qualification
Course contact details
- Name
- Enquiries Team
- enquiry@dmu.ac.uk
- Phone
- 0116 250 6070