Clinical Pharmacy - Student Pathways

Here are a few examples of the options that hospital pharmacists could opt for:

Gordon’s pathway
Jyoti's pathway
Surinder's pathway
Megan's pathway
Maria's pathway

However, there are many other possibilities so please contact a member of the Postgraduate Education Team to discuss your specific circumstances.

Gordon's pathway
Six months after completing his pre-registration year in a hospital in the West Midlands, the Trust gave Gordon the opportunity to begin Keele’s Clinical Pharmacy programme with a view to gaining the Diploma in Clinical Pharmacy within 2 years.

Gordon decided to follow the CPD Plus+ 10 credit fixed content module route for the first year since he felt that he needed to cover a number of the topics on offer. He chose 6 modules from the 20 available at the time and completed them within 9 months.

He had therefore accumulated 60 credits and was eligible for the Postgraduate Certificate in Clinical Pharmacy.

The Trust agreed to continue to sponsor him to continue to the Diploma course. Gordon again decided to follow the CPD Plus+ 10 credit fixed content module route for the second year. He chose a further 6 modules from the 20 available.

Having completed 12 CPD Plus+ modules, and therefore 120 credits in total, Gordon was awarded the Postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Pharmacy.

Gordon plans to register for the Professional MSc Course at the next available opportunity when he will complete the Advanced Practice Development module, the Research Methods module and an Independent Learning Project to gain the MSc in Clinical Pharmacy.

If all goes to plan, Gordon will have achieved the Masters award
within 3 years of initial registration on the Clinical Pharmacy programme CPD Plus+ modules.

Jyoti’s pathway
Six months after completing her pre-registration year in a hospital in the East Midlands, the Trust gave Jyoti the opportunity to begin Keele’s Clinical Pharmacy programme.

Jyoti decided to follow the CPD Plus+ 10 credit fixed content module route for the first year since she felt that she needed to cover a number of the topics on offer. She chose 6 modules from the 20 available at the time and completed them within 9 months.

She had therefore accumulated 60 credits and was eligible for the Postgraduate Certificate in Clinical Pharmacy.

Finishing the Certificate coincided with Jyoti taking up a new post in the renal unit within the Trust. The Trust agreed to continue to sponsor her to continue to the Diploma course. In consultation with her employer and Keele tutor, Jyoti decided to choose two 30 credit CPD Plus+ Open Learn modules for the Diploma course that would meet her personal development needs in renal pharmacy and hepatic disease.

After a further 9 months, Jyoti had accumulated the total 120 credits needed to be awarded the Postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Pharmacy (Open Learn).

She plans to have a ‘year out’ before enrolling on the Professional MSc Course to ultimately gain the MSc in Clinical Pharmacy (Open Learn).

If all goes to plan, she will have completed the MSc award within 4 years.

Surinder’s pathway
Surinder was practising as a hospital pharmacist for a year before he felt that the time was right for him to begin further formal study. By this time he had decided that he wished to develop his expertise in cardiovascular disease. In consultation with a Keele tutor, he decided to choose two 15 credit CPD Plus+ Open Learn modules that would allow him to focus on a number of cardiovascular diseases. He completed these within 6 months and went on to work on the cardiovascular wards in his hospital.

A year later Surinder’s Chief Pharmacist and one of the Consultant Cardiologists approached him to train as an independent prescriber. Surinder subsequently registered on Keele’s Independent Prescribing course, which he completed after 6 months and gained a further 45 credits. At this point he asked a Keele tutor to advise him about his options.

Since he had now accumulated a total of 75 credits he was advised that he could use the 45 from the IP course and 15 credits from the CPD Plus+ modules that he had completed to be awarded the Postgraduate Certificate in Prescribing Studies (Independent Prescribing).

He was also advised that he could use the remaining 15 credits that he had accumulated so far as ‘advanced standing’ towards a postgraduate Diploma or MSc award in the future if he wishes. He has up to three years to do this since the total timescale to achieve the MSc is 5 years.

Megan’s pathway
Megan was a community pharmacist for 3 years until 6 months ago when she took up a post in secondary care.

During her time as a community pharmacist she completed two 30 credit CPD Plus+ Open Learn modules with Keele University that focussed on Clinical Pharmacy for Medicines Management. This resulted in her gaining a postgraduate Certificate in Community Pharmacy (Open Learn) in the year before she moved to work in secondary care.

Having thought about her continuing professional development needs in her new role, she decided to enrol with Keele for three of the 10 credit, fixed content CPD Plus+ modules from the Clinical (hospital) Pharmacy programme (CNS, Mental Health and Education Theory and Practice). She completed these within 6 months and gained a further 30 credits, and began developing her role in a pharmacist-led mental health clinic within the Trust.

Eighteen months later her hospital Trust and local PCT reached an agreement for the Trust to provide a similar clinic within the primary care setting using the Pharmacists with Special Interests framework. To help her develop her portfolio for accreditation, Megan decided to use Keele’s Advanced Practice Development module. She completed the module within 3 months and went on to be accredited by the PCT as a PhwSI after a further 3 months.

By this time, Megan had accumulated a total of 105 credits from studying with Keele. She was advised by a Keele Tutor that by completing a further 15 credits she could be recommended for the postgraduate Diploma in Advanced Professional Practice. She therefore decided to complete a 15 credit CPD Plus+ Open Learn module that focussed on Working with Prescribers in Primary Care and was awarded the Diploma.

In total, Megan had taken four years to gain her Diploma award. She can use these 120 credits to study for the MSc in Advanced Professional Practice if she wishes, but must do so within the next year to meet the 5-year cut-off for a Masters qualification.


Maria’s pathway
Maria has been working as a part-time prescribing adviser for her PCT for 18 months. She spends the other half of her week working in secondary care. She already has a postgraduate certificate award in Clinical (hospital) Pharmacy from another university which she completed 12 months ago. She therefore has 60 credits already, some of which she may be able to contribute towards a Keele University award.

The opportunity arose for her to enrol on Keele’s Independent Prescribing (IP) course. Six months later she qualified as a pharmacist IP. This coincided with the PCT’s developments relating to the ‘Implementing Care Closer to Home’ initiative and a further opportunity for Maria to undergo accreditation with the PCT to ultimately practice as a Pharmacist with a Special Interest (PhwSI) in the community. Maria decided to enrol on Keele’s Advanced Practice Development (APD) module to help her develop her portfolio for accreditation as a PhwSI. She completed the module after a further 3 months.

Having completed the IP course and the APD module, Maria had accumulated 60 credits from Keele University within 9 months and was awarded the Postgraduate Certificate in Advanced Professional Practice.

Maria can use these 60 credits from Keele courses and some of the 60 credits from the Clinical Pharmacy certificate award that she gained from another university (subject to approval by Keele) towards the Diploma/MSc in Advanced Professional Practice if she wishes. She has up to 5 years to achieve the MSc via the Diploma.