Continuing professional education

Independent and supplementary prescribing for nurses, pharmacists and allied health professions
30 credits - level 6 or level 7

This 26-day stand-alone module has been approved by the NMC, GPhC and HPC. It is designed for pharmacists, nurses*, podiatrists, physiotherapists and radiographers who are selected by their employing organisations. On successful completion of the 26-day educational preparation, along with the minimum 90 hours clinical supervision by a designated medical practitioner, pharmacists and nurses will be able to register as Independent and Supplementary Prescribers. For physiotherapists, podiatrists and radiographers, they will be awarded the qualification of Supplementary Prescribing.

For nurses, this module is an option for some of the School of Nursing and Midwifery's undergraduate and masters programmes. For further information, please email namcpeadmissions@brighton.ac.uk or nam.pg@brighton.ac.uk

(* including nurses, midwives and health visitors)

All nurse entrants to the independent and supplementary programme must meet the following requirements:

• must be a registered first level nurse, midwife and/or specialist community public health nurse.
• must have at least three years' experience as a practising nurse, midwife or specialist community public health nurse, and be deemed competent by your employer to undertake the programme. Of these three years, the year immediately preceding application to the programme must have been in the clinical field in which you intend to prescribe, e.g. neonates, mental health. Part-time workers must have practiced for a sufficient period to be deemed competent by their employer.
• must provide evidence of the ability to study at minimum academic level 6 (degree) or 7 (masters). In addition, the applicant will need to have written confirmation from:
• their employer of their support for the applicant to undertake the preparation programme.
• a designated medical practitioner (DMP) who meets eligibility criteria for medical supervision of nurse prescribers and who has agreed to provide the required term of supervised practice. Supervisors preparation for the role session is now part of the application process.

The NMC identify that it is the local employer's responsibility to ensure up-to-date police checks and prerequisite skills of diagnosis, history taking and clinical examination prior to application.

All pharmacist entrants to the Independent and Supplementary prescribing programme must meet the following requirements:

• current registration with GPhC and/or PSNI as a practising pharmacist
• have at least two years appropriate patient-orientated experience practising in a hospital, community or primary care setting following their pre-registration year
• identify an area of clinical practice and need in which to develop their prescribing skills
• have up-to-date clinical, pharmacological and pharmaceutical knowledge relevant to their intended area of prescribing practice
• demonstrate how they reflect on their own performance and take responsibility for their own continuing professional development
• demonstrate how they will develop their own networks for support, reflection and learning, including prescribers from other professions
• have a named medical practitioner, recognised by the employing / commissioning Health Service organisation, who a) has experience in the relevant field of practice, b) has training and experience in the supervision, support and assessment of trainee, c) has agreed to provide the candidate with opportunities to develop competencies in prescribing; and supervise, support and assess the student during their clinical placement (supervisors will be expected to attend a preparation session as mentioned previously).

All podiatrist, physiotherapist, and radiographer entrants to the supplementary prescribing programme must meet the following requirements:

• be registered with the Health Professions Council in one of the relevant Allied Health Professions
• be professionally practising in an environment where there is an identified need for the individual to regularly use supplementary prescribing
• be able to demonstrate support from their employer/sponsor including confirmation that the entrant will have appropriate supervised practice in the clinical area in which they are expected to prescribe
• have an approved medical practitioner, normally recognised by the employing/Health Service commissioning organisation a) as having experience in a relevant field of practice, b) as having training and experience in the supervision, support and assessment of trainees, c) who has agreed to:
• provide the student with opportunities to develop competencies in prescribing
• supervise, support and assess the student during their clinical placement
• have at least three years relevant post-qualification experience.
• programme providers must ensure through pre-programme assessment or from clearly documented evidence that candidates have appropriate background knowledge and experience and are able to study at academic level 6, or level 7 if they choose this option.

The selection of applicants who will receive prescribing training will be a matter for local decision in the light of local needs and circumstances. Applications are initially submitted to the Non-Medical Prescribing Lead in their organisation for signature and then forwarded to the University of Brighton for assessment of the applicant's academic suitability for the module.

Part-time study over one semester to include 156 hours theory, 90 hours supervised practice and 84 hours self-directed study.

30 credits at level 6 or 30 credits at level 7

Students need to discuss their application with their line manager in their employing organisations.

Application forms are available from the university website.

Places are subject to approval by the appropriate Non-Medical Prescribing Lead and by the university.

A range of assessment strategies will be employed to test knowledge, decision-making and the application of theory to practice. These are:

(A) Examination

• Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) (25%), a systematic examination of practice within a simulated clinical environment.
• Final examination (25%) consisting of multiple choice and essay questions, which test knowledge and analytical reasoning.

(B) Coursework

• Clinical Management Plans (25%) for students' specific client group;
• Review of portfolio (25%) (to include reflection, critical incident analysis, case studies etc) which will include a record of the satisfactory completion of a period of learning experience*. The portfolio is designed to provide evidence of the National Prescribing Centre's (NPC's) Competencies for Supplementary Prescribers.

* The assessment of practice will be the responsibility of the prescribing medical practitioner providing support, teaching and supervision of the student.

Students must achieve 40% at level 6 and 50% at level 7 of the 4 components in the Examination and Coursework elements of the assessment strategies. The final mark will be the amalgamated mark from the four components.

For nurses only (statutory body requirement):

• nurses must achieve a minimum 80% pass for the multiple choice paper.

For module information, please contact the Module Administrator:

Module leaders: