Independent / Supplementary Non-Medical Prescribing for Nurses and Allied Health Professionals
About this course
The Institute of Health and Allied Professions at NTU offers a comprehensive suite of continuous professional development (CPD) courses that have been designed and developed to meet the needs of the local health sector workforce.
The principle aim for this 26 week course is to provide post-registration qualification in independent/supplementary non-medical prescribing for Registered Level 1 nurses and allied health professionals resulting in annotation on the NMC or HCPC register. It can be accessed as a stand-alone course, as part of the MSc in Advancing Practice.
Why do this course?
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Mapped to professional standards
The course is fully mapped to the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s Competency for All Prescribers.
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Benefit from collaborative course design
with specialist colleagues from Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) NHS Trust.
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Learn from the experts
at a university rated TEF ‘Gold’ for teaching and learning.
What you’ll study
The course is aligned to the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s Competency for All Prescribers. The course offers a blend of evidence-based theory and contemporary clinical practice to support the development of the non-medical prescriber.
It comprises of one 40 credit module.
The course will focus on the following areas:
- Prescribing in general and for specific groups
- Consultation and decision making
- Psychology of prescribing and influencing factors
- Team prescribing
- Pharmacology
- Patient monitoring
- Evidence based practice
- Legal, policy and ethical considerations
- Improving prescribing practice
We regularly review and update our course content based on student and employer feedback, ensuring that all of our courses remain current and relevant. This may result in changes to module content or module availability in future years.
How you're taught
The course is delivered using a variety of teaching and learning methods. The learning environment will be the same for each level of study and therefore attainment will be differentiated at assessment only with students being awarded level 6 (degree) or level 7 (masters) credits.
Teaching will be delivered by a variety of professionals with specialist knowledge. There will be input from patients/service users/carers to enrich the learning experience. There will be one study day a week over the duration of the course, some being face to face and some being delivered online, with the rest of the learning being practice based or independent study. A lot of the learning will be undertaken in the student’s clinical area.
Campus and facilities
The purpose-built Health & Allied Professions (HAP) Centre is home to our world-class teaching, practice, research and scholarship in the Institute of Health and Allied Professions (IHAP).
Our self-contained, community-focused Clifton Campus has been designed to keep our students busy between lectures. Catch-up with your coursemates in the Pavilion’s barista café and Refectory; brainstorm group presentations in chic and stylish study spaces; enjoy some proper R&R in The Point, home of our Students’ Union. The campus also hosts the multimillion-pound Clifton Sports Hub, offering great options for everyone — whatever your interests, and however competitive you’d like to get!
You’re also right next to the bright lights of Nottingham — one of Britain’s top 10 student cities, and one of Europe’s top 25. All through termtime, a dedicated on-campus bus service will get you to the heart of the action (and back) in under 25 minutes. You’ll find a city stuffed with history, culture, and well-kept secrets to discover at your leisure: enjoy lush green spaces, galleries, hidden cinemas and vintage shopping by day, and an acclaimed food, drink and social scene by night.
Take our virtual tour to get a real feel for the campus.
Entry requirements
UK students
It is a condition of the admission process that you are working in an area where you will have the opportunity to and be expected to prescribe. You will need the support of a practice assessor and supervisor (for NMC registrants) or a practice educator (for HCPC registrants). If you are a self-employed registrant you are required to identify a practice area where you can access an assessor and supervisor. You will need to provide evidence of support from them.
Additional requirements for UK students
For nurses (NMC registered)
- Registered nurse with the necessary skills, knowledge, and experience to undertake the programme.
- Have at least one year post-registration experience (or part time equivalent) to allow for the consolidation of your pre-registration learning.
- Evidence of ability to study at Level 6 or 7 with a good command of English.
- You must be able to demonstrate a good standard of numeracy skills.
- Have an approved prescriber as a Practice Assessor who has agreed to provide supervision, support, and assessment. They need to agree to provide the student with opportunities to develop competencies in prescribing during their supervised hours. They will be required to sign a learning contract.
- Have an approved prescriber as a Practice Supervisor who will guide you through the practice learning elements of the course. They will also be required to sign the learning contract.
HCPC registered professionals
- Registered with the HCPC in one of the relevant allied health professions with the necessary skills, knowledge, and experience to undertake the programme.
- Have at least one year post-registration experience (or part time equivalent) to allow for the consolidation of your pre-registration learning.
- Have an approved prescriber as a Practice Educator who has agreed to provide supervision, support, and assessment. They need to agree to provide the student with opportunities to develop competencies in prescribing during their supervised hours. They will be required to sign a learning contract.
- Be working at an advanced clinical level
Self-employed applicants
There are further conditions for those who are self-employed. You must be able to
- Demonstrate appropriate governance arrangements
- Arrange your own placement where you will have a practice assessor and practice supervisor who are appropriately experienced.
Practice assessors and supervisor information
Practice Supervisor - A registered health professional who supports the student and serves as a role model for safe and effective practice. A practice supervisor is essential for a nurse and recommended for allied health professionals. For nurses, the supervisor must be a registered nurse or doctor or registered health professional who is an active prescriber, works in the same clinical area as the student, is a role model for safe and effective practice, has up to date knowledge of prescribing skills in the clinical area, is able to commit time to supervise and support the student. They will support and supervise students, giving feedback to them and to the practice assessor on their achievements.
A student may have more than one supervisor.
Practice Assessor - Any qualified prescriber who assesses student practice learning. They must be a registered healthcare professional and an experienced prescriber with suitable equivalent qualifications for the programme the student is undertaking. For nurses, the practice assessor and the practice supervisor must be two separate individuals who will work together to assess progress in meeting the learning outcomes.
The assessor may be a medical prescriber or a non-medical prescriber. They must be an active prescriber who does not necessarily need to work in the same clinical area as the student, and who is a role model for safe and effective practice, The practice assessor must have up to date knowledge of prescribing skills in the area and have time to assess and support the student.
The role of the practice assessor is to assess the student’s competence in practice. The practice assessor will provide regular support, feedback and advice on the student’s progress and will consult with the practice supervisor to do so. The practice assessor needs to confirm, at the end of the course, that the student meets the competencies of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) safely. The practice assessor will be the same individual throughout the course.
In order to undertake the role of practice assessor an individual will need to:
- Make and record in the students’ Practice assessment document objective, evidenced-based assessments on conduct, proficiency, and achievement.
- Receive ongoing support from the employer/practice area in order to participate in the practice learning of students.
- Support learning in line with the NMC/HCPC Standards for prescribing and the RPS competency framework
Practice Educator - For allied health professionals, they will be required to identify a Practice Educator who satisfies the following criteria as stated by the HCPC. They will act as Practice Supervisor and Practice Assessor.
They will:
- Be a registered practitioner in a GP surgery, OR is a specialist registrar, clinical assistant or consultant within the NHS OR an experienced non-medical prescriber.
- Agree to provide supervision, support, and shadowing opportunities for the student.
- Be familiar with the HCPC requirements and the need to achieve the learning outcomes.
- Have three years recent clinical experience for a group of patients or service users in the relevant field of practice.
- Have the support of the employing organisation.
International students
Unfortunately, this course is not open to international students
Additional requirements for international students
There are no additional requirements for this course.
