Non-Medical Prescribing (V300)

You'll already be a registered nurse, midwife, pharmacist, physiotherapist, paramedic, chiropodist, podiatrist , dietician, diagnostic or therapeutic radiographer. This programme may interest you because there is a recognised need for you to prescribe within your clinical practice, to enhance your professional skills in relation to prescribing with an approved qualification.

On successful completion of this programme, you can be annotated/registered with your Professional Body as a non-medical prescriber and be qualified to prescribe any medicine for any medical condition within your field of competence, including some controlled drugs. You’ll learn to prescribe safely, appropriately and cost-effectively, both as an independent and/or a supplementary prescriber.
NB: Pharmacists can only take this module at level 7.
NB: Please note that Diagnostic Radiographers and Dieticians can only prescribe as a Supplementary Prescriber.

How you'll learn

Core content includes the following:

• Application of consultation and clinical assessment within the prescribing context
• Critical application of knowledge of Pharmacology - pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics
• Prescribing for special risk groups including children, the elderly, pregnancy and breast feeding
• Drug interactions and adverse events
• Holistic approach to prescribing including the Bio-psycho-social aspects of prescribing
• Concordance considerations
• Effective medicines management
• Prescribing within the interprofessional team
• Legal and ethical issues, including professional accountability.

Assessment

1. A practice assessment document consisting of:

• A practice log demonstrating the minimum required practice clinical supervision hours
• An assessment of competency against the Royal Pharmaceutical Society single competency framework (2016) which has been adopted as the common standard for all independent prescribing programs (NMC, 2018; HPCP, 2016; GPhC, 2019)
• Completion of a Clinical Management Plan (CMP) to demonstrate an understanding of supplementary prescribing
• Pharmacists will also be required to undertake clinical skills training and an assessment of clinical consultation, as directed by the GPhC.

2. A numeracy assessment:

• The pass mark will be 100% (GPhC, 2019; NMC, 2019)

3. An unseen pharmacology examination

• A multiple-choice questions (MCQ) exam requiring an 80% pass mark (GPhC, 2019; NMC, 2019)

4. A critical case study

• A 2000-word essay based on a patient you have seen in consultation, which should include an examination, diagnosis and prescribing decision. This can be either an Independent Prescribing Episode or a Supplementary Prescribing Episode (depending on how your health care professional body allows you to prescribe).