Pharmacy - Advanced Clinical Pharmacy Practice

Overview
Do you want to advance your pharmacy career while continuing in employment?

Our postgraduate distance learning programme allows you fit your studies around your work and family commitments.

The Advanced Clinical Pharmacy Practice programme was developed following extensive consultation with pharmacists and their employers both within and beyond the United Kingdom. It provides a flexible study pathway that is designed to develop the therapeutic knowledge and clinical skills of pharmacists to an advanced level. The modules are designed to help pharmacists to acquire and demonstrate the advanced-level competencies defined in the Royal Pharmaceutical Society's Advanced Pharmacy Framework.

The programme is an amalgamation of our previous clinical pharmacy and community pharmacy programmes and is open to pharmacists in all employment sectors.

The PG Diploma can be completed entirely off-campus by distance-learning and is therefore open to pharmacists both within and outside the United Kingdom. Alternatively, students in Great Britain may select the Independent Prescribing option in year 2, which includes a compulsory 5-day clinical skills residential at Queen's.

Advanced Clinical Pharmacy Practice Highlights
The distance-learning format allows you to organise your studies around your work and family commitments. Also, employers support distance-learning as staff do not require regular leave to attend on-campus.

Learning and Teaching
Learning opportunities associated with this course are outlined below:

Students complete their studies by distance/online learning without having to attend on-campus.

Students can choose from a range of modules that are relevant to their current work or that will help them to achieve their employment aspirations*.

*PMY7100 'Introduction to clinical pharmacy' is compulsory in year 1 for students who are working outside the UK/Ireland.

Students in Great Britain may undertake Independent Prescribing training as an option in the second year, which includes a 5-day residential at Queen's.

Course Structure
Study part-time by distance learning.

Year 1:
Students complete one of the following 30-credit modules during the first semester:

PMY7100 Introduction to clinical pharmacy*
PMY7101 Managing drug treatment
PMY7102 Advancing practice in primary care
PMY7103 Developing evidence in practice

*compulsory for non-UK and Ireland students

Students complete one of the following 30-credit modules during the second semester:

PMY7104 Management of long-term conditions 1 (Cardiovascular disease and diabetes)
PMY7105 Management of long-term conditions 2 (Neurological disease and mental health)
PMY7106 Management of long-term conditions 3 (Respiratory, gastrointestinal and skin disease)

Note: The Royal Pharmaceutical Society will be publishing a new Advanced Pharmacist curriculum during 2021/22. As a result, the content and format of the Advanced Clinical Pharmacy Practice programme may change for 2022/23.

Year 2
Students complete one of the following 30-credit modules during the first semester:

PMY7101 Managing drug treatment
PMY7102 Advancing practice in primary care
PMY7103 Developing evidence in practice

Students complete one of the following 30-credit modules during the second semester:

PMY7104 Management of long-term conditions 1 (Cardiovascular disease and diabetes)
PMY7105 Management of long-term conditions 2 (Neurological disease and mental health)
PMY7106 Management of long-term conditions 3 (Respiratory, gastrointestinal and skin disease)

Independent prescribing (IP) option:

Students in Great Britain can complete IP training in Year 2 as an alternative to the modules listed above.

The IP option is delivered via a combination of e-learning and work-based learning and includes 12 days in-practice training with a Designated Prescribing Practitioner, the purpose of which is to enable the student to develop and practice clinical examination skills relevant to the condition(s) for which they intend to prescribe.

IP applicants must have been practicing for at least two years and should be employed in either primary or secondary care at the start of their IP studies.

Students taking the IP option are required to attend a 5-day residential at Queen's, which will include workshops, clinical skills training and assessment. The residential will be held in the second semester (dates to be confirmed). Students are required to pay their own travel, accommodation and subsistence costs.

Note: The Royal Pharmaceutical Society will be publishing a new Advanced Pharmacist curriculum during 2021/22. As a result, the content and format of the Advanced Clinical Pharmacy Practice programme may change for 2022/23.

Graduate
This course is designed to meet the postgraduate education needs of pharmacists working in patient-facing roles, although applications are welcome from pharmacists working in any employment sector.

The programme is open to local, national and international applicants.

The University requires evidence that international applicants are competent in the use of English language.

Applicants must have a pharmacy degree (minimum Bachelor degree) from a university recognised by Queen's University Belfast and be registered as a pharmacist with an appropriate regulatory organisation.

Students in Great Britain who wish to enrol on the Independent Prescribing option in Year 2 must:

- be registered as a pharmacist with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) or the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland (PSNI).

- be in good standing with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) and/or the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and any other healthcare regulator with which they are registered.

- have at least two years' appropriate patient-orientated experience in a relevant UK practice setting post registration.

- have an identified area of clinical or therapeutic practice in which to develop independent prescribing practice. They must also have relevant clinical or therapeutic experience in that area*.

- have a medically qualified designated prescribing practitioner (DPP) who has agreed to supervise their learning in practice*.

* Further guidance on the type of experience and DPP requirements will be provided when applying for this programme.

Further information is available in the 'PIP Information for pharmacists' at the link below.
https://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/SchoolofPharmacy/Filestore/Filetoupload,894791,en.pdf

International Students
For information on international qualification equivalents, please check the specific information for your country.

English Language Requirements
Evidence of an IELTS* score of 6.0, with not less than 5.5 in any component, or an equivalent qualification acceptable to the University is required. *Taken within the last 2 years.

International students wishing to apply to Queen's University Belfast (and for whom English is not their first language), must be able to demonstrate their proficiency in English in order to benefit fully from their course of study or research. Non-EEA nationals must also satisfy UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) immigration requirements for English language for visa purposes.

For more information on English Language requirements for EEA and non-EEA nationals see: www.qub.ac.uk/EnglishLanguageReqs.

If you need to improve your English language skills before you enter this degree programme, INTO Queen's University Belfast offers a range of English language courses. These intensive and flexible courses are designed to improve your English ability for admission to this degree.

Academic English: an intensive English language and study skills course for successful university study at degree level

Pre-sessional English: a short intensive academic English course for students starting a degree programme at Queen's University Belfast and who need to improve their English.

How to Apply
Apply using our online Postgraduate Applications Portal go.qub.ac.uk/pgapply and follow the step-by-step instructions on how to apply.

Applicants are advised to apply as early as possible and ideally no later than 31st July 2022 for courses which commence in late September. In the event that any programme receives a high number of applications, the University reserves the right to close the application portal. Notifications to this effect will appear on the Direct Application Portal against the programme application page.

Assessments include coursework assignments, online tests and a written examination in each of the first and second years. In addition, competency assessments, practice portfolios and Observed Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) are included in the Independent Prescribing option.

2 academic years part-time.

Entry year 2020

Career Prospects
Professional Opportunities
This programme will enhance opportunities to progress your career as a pharmacist to advanced practitioner level.

Pharmacists in Great Britain have an option to undertake independent prescribing (IP) training in the second year.