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This course is eligible for Master's loan funding. Find out more.
This course is eligible for Master's loan funding. Find out more.

Overview

This short course provides pharmacists with the necessary skills and knowledge to practise safely and effectively as a prescriber. The course is aimed at an experienced pharmacist with up to date clinical knowledge and a defined area of practice in which you wish to prescribe. The course is suitable for pharmacists working in primary (community and PCN), intermediate and secondary care within the UK.

The course is delivered as a blended learning programme to deliver a syllabus that aligns with learning outcomes as defined by the GPhC, through 12 blended learning academic study days, plus further time to focus on learning in practice. The 12 academic study days (Tuesdays) include at least 2 face-to-face study days with a focus on clinical skills and developing a portfolio of practice, supported by an online study programme that includes a combination of scheduled remote activities and learning the student can complete independently. Early submission points are available at 6 and 9 months.

The course underpins the principle areas of knowledge, understanding and abilities required for the practice of prescribing: * The roles and responsibilities of the independent prescribing pharmacist, understanding and acting within your scope of practice and competence, understanding and actioning appropriate signposting and referral, supporting the patient to self-manage their heath where appropriate. * Understanding the legal and ethical frameworks that encompass the role of the prescriber. * Clinical skills to support prescribing practice and the development of a treatment plan, including history taking, undertaking an effective consultation and an introduction to completing an appropriate physical assessment using diagnostic aids. * Developing effective communication strategies to support patient centred care. * Develop reflective practice

The full learning outcomes are available at Standards for the education and training of pharmacist independent prescribers

Key Information

Entry requirements

These are determined by professional requirements as defined by the General Pharmaceutical Council. The course is offered part-time to pharmacists registered as a pharmacist with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) or, in Northern Ireland, with the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland (PSNI).

Students must be UK registered pharmacists and be in good standing with the GPhC and /or PSNI and any other healthcare regulator with which they are registered.

They 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.

They must have identified an area of clinical practice in which to develop their prescribing practice, and have an up-to-date experience and clinical, knowledge relevant to their intended area of practice.

All students must have a Designated Prescribing Practitioner who has agreed to supervise their learning in practice. The DPP must be UK registered independent prescriber with suitable experience and capacity to support learning in practice. The full details of appropriate people to undertake this role is available at DPP competency framework | RPS (rpharms.com). In addition to the RPS requirement, the DPP must be able to act as an impartial assessor and therefore should not be a family member or similar.

If your first language is not English, you will need to meet the minimum requirements of an English Language qualification. The minimum for IELTS is 6.0 overall with no element lower than 5.5, or equivalent will be considered acceptable. Read more about the University’s entry requirements for students outside of the UK on our International Entry Requirements page.

Start dates

21 September 2026

11 January 2027

Duration

12 months part-time

Course Detail

INDEPENDENT PRESCRIBING FOR PHARMACISTS

This module provides pharmacists with the necessary skills and knowledge to meet the learning outcomes and to practice safely and effectively as an independent prescriber. Successful completion of the module will provide the student with a practice certificate in independent prescribing.

Teaching strategies are aligned to the requirements of the ‘GPhC Independent Prescribing Programme’ and designed to ensure that you would benefit from the opportunity to learn with, from and alongside participants from the wide range of professions and backgrounds who study for a prescribing qualification at Huddersfield. Wherever appropriate students from all professions are taught together whilst provision is made for their differing requirements e.g pharmacists will need a greater emphasis on clinical examination techniques which are already familiar to nurses while nurses will require more background in pharmacology and the therapeutic use of medicines. As a part time, work related course the directed and self-directed elements are both significant and important.

The assessments will include online and campus based written assessments, observed structured clinical examination, and work based activities leading to completion of a portfolio of practice.

You must be able to personally use and read a standard BNF/BNFc and/electronic BNF and may not use the assistance of a 3rd party to read and understand the paper in the examinations.

For your portfolio you will need to be able to provide an electronic copy of your signed statements. This will be best achieved by the use of scanner so students should have access to such hardware to undertake this course. Your module specification/course handbook will provide full details of the assessment criteria applying to your course.

Feedback (usually written) is normally provided on all coursework submissions within three term time weeks. You will be told during the course when feedback on your final examination performance will be available.

As prescribing is a practical skill, practical components are assessed both in the teaching and the working environment.

This course has modules making up 30 credits, with each credit being 10 hours of study (300 hours in total). An average [Approximately*] 53% (158 hours) of the study time on this course is spent with your tutors [face to face or online] in [lectures, seminars, tutorials, practicals and workshops]. The remainder of the time will be spent on independent study. Assessments takes place through a variety of [exams, coursework, etc].

Subject to mode of study. *Based on current core and compulsory modules. Calculated using data from the academic year 2024/25, as of November 2024.

Teaching

The teaching year for most courses normally starts in September with breaks at Christmas and Easter, finishing with a main examination/assessment period around May/June. Teaching on other courses including professional courses, postgraduate taught, research, distance learning and apprenticeship may have other start dates including January and May. All start dates can be found on each course page and term dates are also available. Students on a full-time course may have to attend every day of the week. Students who choose to study a full-time course on a part-time basis will generally attend modules at the same time as our full-time students. Timetables are normally available one month before registration.

Our courses are taught at our University campus and you can expect that your lectures and seminars will be held face to face, except in cases of emergency or if specifically stated otherwise in the module description.

Feedback

Feedback (usually written) is normally provided on all coursework submissions within three term time weeks – unless the submission was made towards the end of the session in which case feedback would be available on request after the formal publication of results. Feedback on exam performance/final coursework is available on request after the publication of results.

Progression

You may progress to the next stage of your course or research degree, subject to meeting University assessment criteria and professional, statutory, or regulatory body guidelines.

  1. Triple proof of teaching excellence: our staff rank in the top three in England for the proportion who hold doctorates, who have higher degrees, and hold teaching qualifications (HESA 2024). So, you’ll learn from some of the best, helping you to be the best.

  2. We are first in the country for National Teaching Fellowships, which mark the UK’s best lecturers in Higher Education, winning a total of 22 since 2008 (2023 data).

  3. We won the first Global Teaching Excellence Award, recognising the University’s commitment to world-class teaching and its success in developing students as independent learners and critical thinkers (Higher Education Academy, 2017).

Placements

You will spend a total of 90 hours in supervised practice, which will be facilitated by your Designated Prescriber Practitioner.

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Further Study

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Research Excellence

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Important information

We will always try to deliver your course as described on this web page. However, sometimes we may have to make changes as set out below.

Changes to a course you have applied for

If we propose to make a major change to a course that you are holding an offer for, then we will tell you as soon as possible so that you can decide whether to withdraw your application prior to enrolment.

Cancellation of a course you have applied for

Although we always try and run all of the course we offer, we may occasionally have to withdraw a course you have applied for or combine your programme with another programme if we consider this reasonably necessary to ensure a good student experience, for example if there are not enough applicants to ensure you have a good learning experience. Where this is the case we will notify you as soon as reasonably possible and we will contact you to discuss other suitable courses with us we can transfer your application to. If we notify you that the course you have applied to has been withdrawn or combined, and you do not wish to transfer to another course with us, you may cancel your application and we will refund you any deposits or fees you have paid to us.

Changes to your course after you enrol as a student

We will always try to deliver your course and other services as described. However, sometimes we may have to make changes as set out below:

Changes to option modules

Where your course allows you to choose modules from a range of options, we will review these each year and change them to reflect the expertise of our staff, current trends in research and as a result of student feedback or demand for certain modules. We will always ensure that you have a range of options to choose from and we will let you know in good time the options available for you to choose for the following year.

Major changes

We will only make major changes to the core curriculum of a course or to our services if it is necessary for us to do so and provided such changes are reasonable. A major change in this context is a change that materially changes the services available to you; or the outcomes, or a significant part, of your course, such as the nature of the award or a substantial change to module content, teaching days (part time provision), classes, type of delivery or assessment of the core curriculum.

For example, it may be necessary to make a major change to reflect changes in the law or the requirements of the University’s regulators; to meet the latest requirements of a commissioning or accrediting body; to improve the quality of educational provision; in response to student, examiners’ or other course evaluators’ feedback; and/or to reflect academic or professional changes within subject areas. Major changes may also be necessary because of circumstances outside our reasonable control, such as a key member of staff leaving the University or being unable to teach, where they have a particular specialism that can’t be adequately covered by other members of staff; or due to damage or interruption to buildings, facilities or equipment.

Major changes would usually be made with effect from the next academic year, but this may not always be the case. We will notify you as soon as possible should we need to make a major change and will carry out suitable consultation with affected students. If you reasonably believe that the proposed change will cause you detriment or hardship we will, if appropriate, work with you to try to reduce the adverse effect on you or find an appropriate solution. Where an appropriate solution cannot be found and you contact us in writing before the change takes effect you can cancel your registration and withdraw from the University without liability to the University for future tuition fees. We will provide reasonable support to assist you with transferring to another university if you wish to do so.

Termination of course

In exceptional circumstances, we may, for reasons outside of our control, be forced to discontinue or suspend your course. Where this is the case, a formal exit strategy will be followed and we will notify you as soon as possible about what your options are, which may include transferring to a suitable replacement course for which you are qualified, being provided with individual teaching to complete the award for which you were registered, or claiming an interim award and exiting the University. If you do not wish to take up any of the options that are made available to you, then you can cancel your registration and withdraw from the course without liability to the University for future tuition fees and you will be entitled to a refund of all course fees paid to date. We will provide reasonable support to assist you with transferring to another university if you wish to do so.

When you enrol as a student of the University, your study and time with us will be governed by a framework of regulations, policies and procedures, which form the basis of your agreement with us. These include regulations regarding the assessment of your course, academic integrity, your conduct (including attendance) and disciplinary procedure, fees and finance and compliance with visa requirements (where relevant). It is important that you familiarise yourself with these as you will be asked to agree to abide by them when you join us as a student. You will find a guide to the key terms here, along with the Student Protection Plan, where you will also find links to the full text of each of the regulations, policies and procedures referred to. You should read these carefully before you enrol. Please note that this information is subject to change and you are advised to check our website regularly for any changes before you enrol at the University. A person who is not party to this agreement shall not have any rights under or in connection with it. Only you and the University shall have any right to enforce or rely on the agreement.

The Office for Students (OfS) is the principal regulator for the University.

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