School of Nursing and Midwifery

This module will equip Allied Health Professionals (AHPs') to prescribe safely, appropriately and cost effectively as supplementary prescribers. This will enhance their roles within clinical practice and enable them to contribute to effective patient outcomes.
This module is being developed in response to the Department of Health's expansion of prescribing rights to AHP's, to enable services to be organised and delivered around the needs of patients, their families and carers. The module will be developed within the national guidance from the Health Professions Council (HPC), in their document "Outline curriculum for training programmes to prepare allied health professional supplementary prescribers" (2004). In light of this the module's learning outcomes, indicative content and methods of assessment adhere to these standards.
The added benefit of doing this module at Keele University is the close working relationship that the school of nursing has with the school of pharmacy in prescribing education. The module will also be run alongside the nurse prescribing module to facilitate interprofessional education.

This module is available as a stand alone module or an elective option within the BSc (Hons) Clinical Practice.

This module is also available as a free standing elective.

The education programme aims to develop the knowledge and skills required by an allied health professional to practice as a supplementary prescriber meeting the standards set out by the HPC for entry on the Register as supplementary prescribers

Course entry requirements as set out by the Health Professions Council (HPC), which state that;
1. Be registered with the Health Professions Council in one of the relevant Allied Health Professions
2. Be professionally practising in an environment where there is an identified need for the individual to regularly use supplementary prescribing
3. Be able to demonstrate support from their employer/sponsor including confirmation that the entrant will have appropriate supervised practice in the clinical area in which they are expected to prescribe
4. Have an approved medical practitioner, normally recognised by the employer/Health Service commissioning organisation a) as having experience in a relevant field of practice, b) training and experience in the supervision, support and assessment of trainees, c) who has agreed to provide the student with opportunities to develop competencies in prescribing and supervise, support and assess the student during their clinical placement.
5. Have normally at least 3 years relevant post-qualification experience
6. Programme providers must ensure through pre-programme assessment or from clear documented evidence that candidates have appropriate background knowledge and experience and are able to study at academic level 3.

1. policies and procedures of supplementary prescribing
2. construction of clinical management plans
3. construction, decision making, therapy and referral
4. influences on and the psychology of prescribing
5. prescribing in the team context
6. clinical pharmacology and therapeutics and the effects of co-morbidity
7. evidence based practice and clinical governance in relation to supplementary prescribing
8. legal, policy and ethical aspects
9.professional accountability and responsibility
10. prescribing in the public health context
11. drug licensing, monitoring procedures and reporting of adverse drug reactions
12. cost effective prescribing
13. record keeping