Independent/Supplementary Prescribing, PGCert
Our blended-learning Postgraduate Certificate in Independent/Supplementary Prescribing allows a wide range of healthcare professionals to qualify as non-medical prescribers.
Enhance your career opportunities by qualifying as a non-medical prescriber. The Standard version of our course is for community and primary care pharmacists, nurses, midwives, physiotherapists, podiatrists, radiographers and dietitians. The Clinically Enhanced version is for hospital and mental health pharmacists. If you're a professional in these areas, you'll be able to qualify as an independent or supplementary prescriber with a qualification that meets regulatory standards.
This course is delivered by distance learning, but you'll also spend nine days at the university, covering issues including communication and diagnostic skills, patient assessment, and the legal and ethical aspects of prescribing. The emphasis on each skill or aspect of non-medical prescribing is tailored to meet the needs of the different professions we cater for.
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School
Location
Duration
Start month
September; October; February; April
What you should know about this course
What you will study
About the course team
Trudy Thomas and Fiona Peniston-Bird lead this course. You will be taught by a mix of academics and healthcare professionals. You will have a personal tutor assigned to you on starting and there is support from the postgraduate administrative team.
Come and meet us
We are offering virtual events so that you can still experience how Greenwich could be the right university for you.
Next Open Days
Got a question?
To find out more about our Open Days and Campus Tours or if you need any assistance, please email opendays@gre.ac.uk.
Entry requirements
- Registration with the appropriate professional/regulatory body (NMC, GPhC, PSNI or HCPC)
- Appropriate experience in the area of practice in which applicant will be prescribing
- The ability to study at academic Level 6 or Level 7
- Nurses and Midwives: At least one year of post-registration clinical experience in the UK. This includes all nurse (level 1), midwife or SCPHN registrants (including NHS, self-employed or non-NHS employed registrants)
- Pharmacists: At least two years' post-registration clinical experience in the UK
- Allied Health Professionals (excluding Paramedics) At least three years' post-registration clinical experience in the UK
- Advanced Paramedic Practitioners: College of Paramedics recommend that paramedics are registered and qualified for at least five years with at least three years' relevant post-qualification experience in the clinical area in which they will be prescribing
- Appropriate numeracy skills, clinical/health assessment, diagnostics/care management and planning and evaluation of care in their intended area of prescribing practice
- Support from the sponsoring organisation confirming service need and access to appropriate supervised practice, and a prescribing budget to meet the costs of prescriptions on completion of training
- A named practice supervisor (nurses and midwives) / designated medical practitioner (allied health professionals and pharmacists) who will facilitate, supervise and support the student during their clinical placement
- Nurse applicants must have a Disclosure and Barring Service check no more than three years old.
For more information, contact courseinfo@greenwich.ac.uk or 020 8331 9000.
You can also read our admissions policy.
Further information about entry
Police and Health Checks: any offer will be subject to satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and relevant health checks.
Available to overseas students?
Yes
Can I use Prior Learning?
No RPL is available for the Prescribing programmes.
How you will learn
Learning experience
The Prescribing programme is studied by distance learning with a total of nine study days at the university and 12 days' clinical practice overseen by a practice supervisor (nurses and midwives) or a designated medical practitioner (allied health professionals and pharmacists).
There are also 20 hours of clinical skills practice overseen by a clinical supervisor for the clinically enhanced programme students.
Class sizes
Typical student intake per year is 30. Lectures and seminars/tutorials are normally attended by all.
Independent learning
Distance learning requires discipline and excellent time-management skills. You need to organise your time and negotiate your protected study time with your employer.
You may need to refresh your academic and/or computer skills, depending on when you last studied. Universities have good resources that you can access to help you rediscover these skills as needed.
The course is delivered through a virtual platform called Moodle. It's useful to become familiar with this at an early stage. Here, you'll access practice quizzes and sample assessments, receive your feedback, revisit lecture material on-demand and download study guides and workbooks for the four courses.
Overall workload
As well as the nine study days and 12 days in clinical practice you need to plan for 18 days of independent study.
We will provide you with a comprehensive list of dates for submission to help you plan your placement time and help you negotiate study leave to complete your assignments and portfolio.
Assessment
Students will be assessed through a variety of methods, such as:
- Classroom presentations, discussions and case-studies
- Critical reviews, looking at new areas of research
- Examinations.
Feedback summary
University policy is to give feedback on assignments within 15 working days of the coursework submission date.
Examination results will be available within 28 days.
Dates and timetables
Each entry point has a bespoke timetable of study days and submission points.
Those starting in September, October, January and April have an 8-month calendar.
Those who start in June study for 12 months.
Fees and funding
For courses taught at the Medway School of Pharmacy please visit their postgraduate fees page.
Accommodation costs
Whether you choose to live in halls of residence or rent privately, we can help you find what you're looking for. University accommodation is available from £126.35 per person per week (bills included), depending on your location and preferences. If you require more space or facilities, these options are available at a slightly higher cost.
Funding your study
There is a range of financial support options available to support your studies, including the Aspire@Greenwich award for study resources that many full-time students will receive.
EU students may be eligible for a bursary to support their study. View our EU bursary to find out more.
Discover more about grants, student loans, bursaries and scholarships. We also provide advice and support on budgeting, money management and financial hardship.
Careers and placements
What sort of careers do graduates pursue?
There is high and rising demand for both non-medical prescribing nurse practitioners and pharmacists in GP surgeries or other primary care settings. There are also enhanced career opportunities for radiographers, physiotherapists, podiatrists, dietitians and advanced paramedic practitioners with the prescribing qualification.
Do you provide employability services?
This is a work-based programme. You must must already be working in an accredited workplace with an accredited educational supervisor.
Support and advice
Academic skills and study support
You will be assigned a personal tutor who you can contact throughout the programme for support and advice. You will also be able to contact the module convenors for information about each particular element of assessment.
Support from the department
The individual personal tutors and the administrative team in the postgraduate office will offer support and advice throughout your time on the programme.
Not quite what you were looking for?
We've got plenty of other courses for you to choose from. Browse our postgraduate courses or check our related courses below.....
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Visit our pharmacy degrees page.
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