The course will address the following areas:
- Consultation, decision-making and therapy, including referral
- Influences on and psychology of prescribing
- Prescribing in a team context
- Clinical pharmacology, including the effects of co-morbidity
- Evidence-based practice and clinical governance in relation to prescribing
- Legal, policy and ethical aspects
- Professional accountability and responsibility
- Prescribing in the public health context
- Physiology, pharmacology and pharmacotherapeutics related to:
- Nervous system
- Cardiovascular system
- Respiratory system
- Renal system
- Gastrointestinal system
- Endocrine system
- Integumentary system
- Immunology.
Paramedic or physiotherapist
Successful completion of this course will lead to eligibility for a paramedic/physiotherapist to become annotated with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) as an independent and supplementary prescriber.
Nurse or midwife
Successful completion of this course will lead to eligibility for a nurse/midwife to become annotated with the Nursing and Midwifery Council as an independent and supplementary prescriber. This is sometimes known as a ‘V300’, from the code that is used to enter the annotation onto the NMC register indicating successful completion of a NMC-approved prescribing programme that gives the registrant independent/supplementary prescriber status.
Practice-based learning
Practice-based learning is integral to the course. The structure and duration of practice-based learning supports the learning outcomes and the standards of your professional body.
In the Independent and Supplementary Prescribing module you must spend 90 hours (12 days of 7.5 hours) learning in your own practice environment – this will help you develop profession-specific knowledge and skills. Your identified Practice Educator will help facilitate this learning by:
- Providing dedicated time and opportunities for you to observe how the Practice Educator conducts a consultation or interview with patient/clients and/or parents/carers, and develops a management plan
- Allowing opportunities for you to carry out consultations and suggest clinical management and prescribing options, which you will discuss with your Practice Educator
- Helping ensure you integrate theory with practice
- Taking opportunities to allow in-depth discussion and analysis of clinical management using a random case analysis approach, when patient/client care and prescribing behaviour can be examined further
- Assessing and verifying that, by the end of the course, you are competent to assume the prescribing role.
You will not need to be supervised throughout your practice-based learning by the Practice Educator – other clinicians could be involved. The Practice Educator would be responsible for assessing learning outcomes have been achieved.
In addition, it may be useful to establish a ‘buddy link’ with either a paramedic, physiotherapist or pharmacist prescriber.
Most students will learn in their own practice environment. Where it is necessary to undertake practice-based learning in another organisation, you will travel to there at your own expense and this is an additional cost to the course fee. You will also be responsible for arranging and paying for any accommodation or insurance related to travel, to practice-based learning settings.
