Prescribing for Pharmacists NHS-4259

About This Course

This is a blended learning level 7 short course in Prescribing for Pharmacists NHS-4259

The module will start on September 18, 2025, in Semester 1 of the 2025-2026 academic year. 

This challenging, but rewarding module is underpinned by the , which will prepare you to become a competent and confident independent prescriber.

This prescribing module is designed specifically to meet the learning needs of pharmacists, with emphasis on clinical skills such as history-taking, examination and diagnostic reasoning.

Aspects of the teaching will be delivered in conjunction with the Independent Prescribing course. This multi-professional nature of the module provides a valuable opportunity for experienced professionals to share their knowledge and skills and develop different perspectives on prescribing practice. Interprofessional learning will encourage a collaborative team-orientated approach to learning and working. Based on this, you will be expected to take an active role in interprofessional learning during the programme by sharing your expertise and professional perspective. &�Բ��;

The course will ensure that you are familiar with and can apply the general principles of prescribing practice which you must utilise within your own area of clinical expertise. Topics will be delivered in a generic style and the speakers will refer to their own clinical experience to provide clinical examples, however the principles discussed can be applied to all areas of practice. The module will allow you to expand on your existing knowledge and apply these to the principles of prescribing. This will provide a strong foundation for your development as a newly qualified independent/supplementary prescriber. 

Who is this course for?

This prescribing module is specifically aimed at registered pharmacists who wish to become independent prescribers and have identified how becoming an independent prescriber will benefit patient care.

Why study this course?

In this challenging, but rewarding module, you will gain the clinical skills required to support your prescribing practice. It will enable the understanding of the clinical, legal and ethical responsibilities of a prescribing pharmacist. The knowledge and skills learned in this module will empower you to adopt a person-centred approach to prescribing within your identified scope of practice.  

Through learning with, and from, other healthcare professionals such nurses, midwives, physiotherapists and paramedics, you will be empowered to facilitate a multiprofessional approach to prescribing practice to improve patient care. 

How long does this course take to complete?

The course is delivered on a Thursday on our Bangor campus between September 2025 - March 2026:

Sessions will be delivered initially on a weekly basis, and then fortnightly.

· September 18th, 25th
· October 2nd, 9th (remote), 16th
· November 6th, 20th, 27th
· December 11th
· January 16th
· February 12th
· March 5th

The final assignment will be submitted in April, 2026.

Students are also required to complete a minimum of 90 hours in clinical practice under the supervision of a Designated Prescribing Practitioner (DPP).

Tutor

Ffion Simcox

Ffion is the lead for the prescribing courses at ��ӰԺ, as well as the lead for the MSc in Advanced Clinical Practice. &�Բ��;

Ffion is also the deputy chair of the Welsh Advanced Practice Educators’ Network (WAPEN). &�Բ��;

Ffion qualified as a registered nurse in 1996 and as an independent prescriber in 2011. She completed her MSc in Advanced Clinical Practice in 2012 and worked as an ACP in acute medicine for 6 years prior to joining the university.

Course Content

What will you study on this course?

This module is organised into learning units that will cover the following topic areas: 

consultation skills 
examination skills
managing risk 
diagnostic reasoning
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antimicrobial stewardship and the public health role of the prescriber 
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person-centred care and shared decision making 
evidence-based prescribing 
legal frameworks and accountability 
ethical issues 
prescribing governance

What will attendees get out of the course?

On this module, you will be taught by experienced independent and medical prescribers from different professional backgrounds. Teaching is supported by expert clinicians to ensure that the content is relevant and applicable to clinical practice.

By the end of this course, learners will be able to appreciate, understand and demonstrate the knowledge and skills required to become a safe and effective independent prescriber, with an emphasis on individualised care, as outlined in the . &�Բ��;

On successful completion of this module, students will be able to register their independent/supplementary prescribing status with the General Pharmaceutical Council. &�Բ��;

Course Cost

Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW) provide funding for this course for applicants working in Wales.

If you work for BCUHB, please contact the Education and Training Lead Pharmacist to apply for HEIW funding.

If you do not work for BCUHB, please contact HEIW.Pharmacy@wales.nhs.uk to apply for funding.

You should apply for funding and study leave in parallel with your university application.

Entry Requirements

All applicants must:

be registered as a pharmacist with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) or Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland (PSNI)
be in good standing with the GPhC/PSNI and have no restrictions on their practice
have relevant experience in a UK pharmacy setting and are able to recognise, understand and articulate the skills and attributes required by a prescriber
be practicing in an environment where there is an identified need to regularly use independent prescribing
have identified an area of clinical or therapeutic practice in which to develop independent prescribing practice
have secured a suitably qualified Designated Prescribing Practitioner (DPP) who has agreed to supervise their learning in practice

Application

How to Apply

Please contact contact Helen Charles (hsp23f@bangor.ac.uk) or Ffion Simcox (f.simcox@bangor.ac.uk) to obtain a detailed guide on how to complete the full application.

Please make sure you read and follow the step-by-step application guide as this will specify which sections of the application form are compulsory for the type of course you want to apply for and save you time.

*Important: Once you have completed this application, the course admissions tutor will contact you to ask you to complete a supplementary application form that is specific to this course.

Please prepare the following information (in a Word document):

Current employment details;
Years of experience, and employment history (where relevant)
Name of staff member and organisation that have approved your funding for this module.

This will speed up the process of completing the application form.

To apply for this course, you need to create an account in our

You will need access to the email address you specify while creating your account to confirm it.

After creating an account, you will see a homepage with several tabs:

Personal
Programme
Info
Contact
Education
Employment
Language
Finance

You need to complete all sections before submitting your application.

When a section is complete, a ‘tick’ symbol will appear below it

Click on ‘Non-graduating applications / Stand alone Modules’, then select ‘Non-graduating Postgraduate Taught’.
In the next section, select Non-Graduating Taught Modules in Health(NGGT/HEALTH) Click Save and Continue.
On the next page, the default for the first question is Full Time. You need to change this to ‘Part time’:
You now need to input the module code. Prescribing for Pharmacists: the code is NHS:4259. This section must be completed for your application to be processed.
You also need to state the start date. Please make your selection, then click ‘Save and Continue’.
IMPORTANT: You do not need to write a personal statement to apply for this course. Instead, please upload the document including employment, experience and education information that you have created prior to starting the application that contains the name of your current employer, the number of years of experience you have, and your highest qualification to date. Click Save and continue.

You only need to enter the details of your highest qualification to date, e.g. if you have a postgraduate qualification, please only only include this.

You will be asked for evidence of the qualification. Please either upload a copy of your qualification if it's easily accessible, or upload the Word document again (that you prepared earlier).

(details not required as you've already prepared this Please scroll to the bottom of the page and click on ‘I have no employment history’ (as you have already provided this in your Word document).

If you are HEIW / Health Board funded, please answer the questions as follows:

How will you finance your studies? Sponsored
Exact name of funding authority: Health Board
Country: United Kingdom
Give details of the amount of the award? Fully funded.
Sponsorship will cover: Tuition Fees
Have you been awarded this funding? Please select ‘yes’ * Note that you will be required to upload evidence of the funding. If you wish to confirm ‘yes’ to this question, but do not have any written confirmation to upload, you can upload your Word document here again.

If you are self-funding, please provide all details as appropriate.

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