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University College Cork

Nurse Prescribing

The Certificate Nurse/Midwife Prescribing will give you the theoretical and practical knowledge to be competent in medication management. The course complies with the statutory, professional and interdisciplinary framework for the development of expertise in the area of prescriptive authority.

The course is first and foremost about making a difference, and has provided the opportunity for nurses and midwives to expand their roles to meet the needs of patients and service users within their area of expertise. The course will also enhance your professional capacity so that services are more patient-focused, thereby delivering better outcomes.

The Certificate Nurse/Midwife Prescribing is a six-month full-time course consisting of 11 days theory and a practical element of 96 hours achieved through mentorship in the clinical setting. The clinical element of the course is provided in your specific clinical practice area with instruction and supervision from a dedicated medical practitioner who will act as your mentor.

Why Choose This Course
Nurse/Midwife Prescribing is one of very few postgraduate education courses available nationwide relating to prescriptive authority. It draws together a broad-based approach to contemporary issues in the field. This course provides candidates with the educational foundation to develop their career, offering them a pathway to the second year of the MSc in Nursing within UCC. This in turn supports candidates' progression to Clinical Nurse Specialist and Advanced Nurse Practitioner roles within nursing.

Entry requirements

Entry Requirements
- Registration as a nurse or midwife on the live register of the Nursing and Midwifery Bord of Ireland
- Minimum of 3 years post-registration clinical experience (the required clinical practice experience must have been gained within the past 5 years with at least one year in the area in which prescribing is proposed and excludes time spent undertaking further post registration programmes)
- Possession of competencies recognised at Level 8 of the NQAI framework
- Demonstration of continuous professional development and ability to study at Level 8
- Support from employer and completed Site Self-Declaration Form, signed by the Director of Nursing/Midwifery/Public Health
- Nomination and confirmation of a designated medical practitioner mentor (completed Site Self-Declaration Form, signed by the Medical Practitioner/Mentor) who will provide the student with supervision, support and opportunities including shadowing opportunities.

The nurse or midwife must contact the Director of Nursing/Midwifery/Public Health to discuss the identified need for nurse and midwife prescribing in their area/organisation. In addition consideration needs to be given to developing the nurse and midwife prescribing initiative in relation to a number of issues including, legislative and professional practice requirements and standards, clinical governance structures, scope of practice, clinical competency, mentoring arrangements, multidisciplinary partnership and the individuals ability to undertake the education programme and capability to meet the requirements of the new role and the capacity to drive and develop the new initiative safely. The nurse or midwife must seek the approval of their Director of Nursing/Midwifery/Public Health to apply for the education programme. A nurse or midwife must satisfy the criteria as determined by the Higher Education Institution and the Implementation Group on Nurse/Midwife Prescribing as set out in the entry requirements.

English Language Requirements
Applicants that are non-native speakers of the English language must meet the university approved English language requirements available online.

For applicants with qualifications completed outside of Ireland
Applicants must meet the required entry academic grade, equivalent to Irish requirements, please find our grades comparison by country online.

International/non-EU applicants
For full details of the non-EU application procedure please visit our how to apply pages for international students. In UCC, we use the term programme and course interchangeably to describe what a person has registered to study in UCC and its constituent colleges, schools, and departments.

Not all courses are open to international/non-EU applicants, please check the fact file above.

For more information please contact the International Office.

Duration

6 Months full-time

Careers or further progression

Skills and Careers Information
Nurse/Midwife Prescribing offers the opportunity to develop critical thinking skills and a knowledge base to inform evidence-based practice.

Further enquiries

Contact details for this course
Rena Creedon
E: r.creedon@ucc.ie
T: + 353 21 490 1495
http://www.ucc.ie/en/nursingmidwifery

Subjects taught

Students take 30 credits as follows:
- GP5000 Systematic Assessment and Evaluation in Patient Care (10 credits)
- NU5048 Professional, Ethical and Legal Practice, Communication Aspects of Prescribing and Clinical Practicum (10 credits)
- PF5011 Drug Action and Prescribing (10 credits)

For further information see our postgraduate calendar.

Assessment method

This course is student-centred. Methods of teaching range from online activities to lectures, tutorials and laboratory work. The course will develop self-directed learning through assignment writing, case-study presentation and observed structured long examination record examination (OSLER).