Prescribing for Pharmacists

How to apply

This course will run next in March 2027.

Online applications open in December.

Note that we will need confirmation of your funding routes – self-funding, funding from your employer, or if you require NHSE funding – before you are accepted onto the programme. 

Note: Hand-written applications will not be accepted.

Deadline

The application deadline will be confirmed in December. We will not be able to accept applications received after the confirmed date. 

Make sure that you fill in, or provide, all of the required information. Failure to do so means that your form will be returned to you and you may miss the application deadline.

Please notify your designated pharmaceutical practitioner (DPP) that they will be asked to book a call with us to discuss their role. We’ll email them with a booking link, so please make sure they check their junk mail. Uncontactable DPPs will result in an unsuccessful application for this course.

DPP support 

Designated Prescribing Practitioner (DPP) support

You will be required to find an appropriate DPP for the duration of the programme. The university is not able to support with finding a suitable DPP, however there are a number of private services available to you, such as the DPP finding service DPP Connect.

Group supervision

We know and endorse that group supervision can be a fantastic way to upskill and train prescribing trainees. However, DPPs are also responsible for making one-to-one training an option for trainees, as some trainees may not work and learn well in a group environment. This is the student’s decision and not the DPPs.

DPP resources

• University of Brighton DPP handbook and guidance
• Pharmaceutical Journal article on the DPP

There are also training packages available for DPPs who might be new to supervising trainee prescribers.

• Educational Supervisor Training for the Community Pharmacy Workforce – ProPharmace
• Designated Prescribing Practitioners – Health and Education Cooperative (hecooperative.co.uk)

Why choose Brighton?

• Our prescribing for pharmacists module is a six-month programme consisting of one 30-credit module. It has been developed in line with our pharmacy degrees and with local and national stakeholder involvement.
• As a flipped learning module, you will be supported by our team in cultivating an environment of peer learning and peer support through interactive workshops and symposia to draw on professional lived experiences and embed the material learned in the guided study days. 
• Apply using the application form in the How to apply section.

Course structure

The course consists of 30 credits taken over six months. You are expected to complete 300 hours, which equates to 26 days. This is in addition to 90 hours (12 days) in practice supervised by your designated prescribing practitioner.

It has been developed using a flipped learning approach which means you undertake work on our virtual learning platform before attending in-person study days. There are five in-person study days with an additional four days of guided study before you complete your time in practice. The in-person study days are:

1. Induction and influences on prescribing
2. Professionalism and prescribing safely
3. Clinical decision-making
4. Patient partnership and the right to choose
5. Simulated learning activities (physical assessment skills).

There is also an additional optional physical assessment skills in-person study day.

There are a number of assessment methods used during the programme:

• written assignment – therapeutic risk framework
• portfolio – consisting of evidence and work-based assessments
• practical skills assessment – case-based discussion presentation
• practical skills assessment – OSCEs.

Syllabus

Our course content has been mapped against the GPhC standards for the education and training of pharmacist independent prescribers, and guidance from the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s (RPS) 2021 Competency Framework for all Prescribers.

Broad teaching themes include:

• prescriptions legal and ethical 
• professionalism 
• evidence-based medicine 
• clinical decision-making 
• medicines optimisation and patient safety 
• public health 
• pharmacology and calculations 
• working within an MDT 
• prescribing workshops
• consultation skills
• assessment skills.

Please note that before any prescribing can be undertaken, appropriate registration with the GPhC as an independent prescriber is required. There may also be local governance requirements made by your employer which must also be complied with in advance. 

Further information about the GPhC accreditation process is available on the GPhC website. 

Student using the SimMan 3G – a highly advanced patient simulator.

Meet the team

Connor Thompson-Poole, course leader 

Connor is a University of Brighton graduate who completed his postgraduate diploma and residency at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. After his residency he advanced to a specialist prescribing role at King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, supporting hepatobiliary and viral hepatology services as a prescribing pharmacist.

Connor combines his clinical experience with a forward-thinking approach to pharmacist training. He is deeply committed to ensuring equality of access to both education and healthcare, recognising the role of pharmacists in advancing sustainable and equitable healthcare solutions. In his teaching, he emphasises the importance of inclusive, patient-centred care and the pharmacist’s evolving responsibilities in supporting health equity and sustainable practices.

As programme lead, Connor’s vision for the Prescribing for Pharmacists programme is to equip you with the clinical, diagnostic and prescribing skills essential for today’s dynamic healthcare environments. He actively incorporates the shifting landscape of healthcare into his curriculum, preparing pharmacists for expanded roles that meet the increasing demands of the profession. Connor’s teaching is rooted in current practice through his clinical commitments with the gastroenterology team at University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust, ensuring a rich, applied learning experience for his students.

An advocate for research-informed practice, Connor has presented his work at prestigious conferences, including UKCPA, BASL, AASLD and EAHP, underscoring his dedication to advancing both professional standards and patient outcomes. 

Course fees

The programme is fully funded by NHS England and should you be successful in your application process, you will automatically be eligible for full tuition fee funding from NHS England. Note that we do not appear on the ‘approved suppliers list – national provision’ but we do have full funding available. 

The fees listed here are for the first year of full-time study if you start your course in the academic year 2026–27.

You will pay fees for each year of your course. Some fees may increase each year.

UK undergraduate and some postgraduate fees are regulated by the UK government and increases will not be more than the maximum amount allowed. Course fees that are not regulated may increase each year by up to 5% or the Consumer Price Index (RPI), whichever is higher.

If you are studying part-time your fee will usually be calculated based on the number of modules that you take.

Find out more

• Fees, bursaries, scholarships and government funding info for UK and international postgraduate students
• Student finance and budgeting while studying
• About the university’s fees by checking our student contract and tuition fee policy (pdf).

Campus where this course is taught

Accommodation

Local area

Maps

Support and wellbeing

Sport at Brighton