Clinical Pharmacy Programme for Hospital Pharmacists - Fixed Pathway using CPD Plus+ Optional Modules to Certificate, Diploma and MSc Awards

Why bother with postgraduate study?
Our distance learning programme in Clinical Pharmacy for hospital pharmacists aims to provide you with a wider view of healthcare, and equip you with sufficient knowledge, skills and confidence to be able to develop and extend your clinical and professional role as part of a multidisciplinary healthcare team. In the fast changing world of Pharmacy and healthcare provision, standing still is not an option, but you may, understandably, feel under-equipped to meet the new challenges. Let Keele help you meet the challenges set by the Government's plan for the profession, Pharmacy in England. The programme links to the NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework to enable you to meet the relevant competencies and provide evidence for your continued professional development.

The Clinical Pharmacy Programme is designed to allow you choice and flexibility in your progression to Certificate, Diploma and Masters awards, to meet your specific professional development needs and advance your professional practice.

 

Educational Aims

Keele's Postgraduate Clinical Pharmacy Programme broadly aims to:

> Build on your existing knowledge of disease states, pharmacology and pharmacokinetics to enable you to apply this in a clinical setting.

> Equip you to assess drug therapy for effectiveness, safety, compatibility, patient acceptability and cost, and use this information to make effective interventions and develop and document pharmaceutical care plans.

> Encourage you to develop an understanding of the principles of pharmaceutical care and problem solving approach to clinical practice.

> Provide you with a wider view of healthcare and equip you with sufficient knowledge and skills to be able to develop and extend your professional role.

> Increase your confidence in your ability to contribute to patient care as part of the multi-disciplinary healthcare team.

> Provide you with a structured learning programme that will help you apply your knowledge and skills in daily practice.

> Encourage you to develop a reflective approach to your clinical pharmacy practice.

> Encourage you to develop the self-discipline of private study and self-directed learning that will be continued beyond Keele's Programme in your Continuing Professional Development (CPD) as an independent learner.

In addition, you will develop valuable practical skills including written and oral communication, and the ability to design a project, collect, analyse and interpret data.

 

A course to meet your needs

The Clinical Pharmacy Programme is designed principally for distance learning (DL). We provide mainly online DL materials so that you can study where and when it is most convenient for you. Our methods of delivery allow us to revise and update the course quickly to meet your changing needs as a pharmacist. You have the flexibility of registering on courses for 9, 21, or 33 months, part-time, depending on your needs and the end qualification you want to attain from Keele. There is also the possibility of extending the overall period of study if you wish.

Applicants must be registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), or equivalent for pharmacists working overseas, and be practising either full-time or part-time within the hospital sector. We recommend that applicants should, normally, have worked in a hospital pharmacy setting for at least one year prior to commencing the Course so that they have gained some experience of working in this sector. Applicants who wish to study on our fixed pathway programme must be working at a hospital that can provide a Clinical Co-ordinator to support you in the workplace. Further details of the requirements for the Clinical Co-ordinator can be found from this link.

Registration takes place in January each year. Applications must normally reach the University by mid-September.

Normally, only applicants with the minimum of a second class degree classification (or equivalent for applicants from outside the UK) in Pharmacy will be accepted onto the programme without interview. Exceptions will be considered on a case-by-case basis. The University reserves the right to interview prospective students and take up academic references. The final decision in any case rests with the University. Candidates are also admitted on the basis of perceived and potential competence to complete the programme.

 

 

Attendance at Keele

There will be an Induction Study Day (usually held in the 1st week of January) at the beginning of the Certificate Course. In addition there will be one study day during both the Certificate and Diploma courses. Study days will take place at the Birmingham Medical Institute or Keele University.

Some of the Modules are complemented by additional face-to-face study days, e.g. 'Education Theory and Practice for Health Professionals'; you will be notified of all study days you need to attend at the beginning of the Course.

The principal purpose of these study days is to provide a forum for presenting your case presentation assessments. These study days also provide an opportunity for you to network and share ideas and experiences with other course participants. Plus, for some Modules, the purpose is to present material which cannot adequately be delivered by distance learning, and to help identify individual problems with the learning material.

The cost of the study days is included in the course fee. However, you must meet the full costs of travel and any overnight accommodation required.

 

Computer Requirements

The course is principally delivered at a distance online using the Keele Virtual Learning Environment.

The minimum computer specification that you need to be able to access the Keele’s Virtual Learning Environment is as follows:

1) Browser - Mozilla Firefox is the recommended browser. It is a free downloadable browser from http://www.mozilla-europe.org/en/firefox/ . You can use Internet Explorer (version 8 or higher) but Firefox seems to be more reliable in practice.

2) Java - Java is essential for the KLE to run efficiently. This can be downloaded from http://www.java.com/en/download/inc/windows_upgrade_xpi.jsp

3) Pop-up Blocker - Your browser will need to allow the KLE to use pop-ups so upon logging in for the first time, you'll need to grant the website as an exception to the pop-up blocker.

 

MSc

If you decide to study for another year, after achieving the Diploma, you will register on our Professional MSc.

 

Prescribing Pathways
Hospital Pharmacists who complete the Certificate Course can choose to transfer to our Prescribing Studies pathway to gain the Independent Prescribing qualification that will contribute to the Diploma in Clinical Pharmacy (Independent Prescribing). Or if you have completed the Independent Prescribing (IP-1) course you can continue for a Diploma award on the Clinical Pharmacy programme for a second year of study to achieve the Diploma in Clinical Pharmacy (Independent Prescribing).

 

Our Reputation
Our Clinical Pharmacy Programme for hospital pharmacists was first established in 1981, and we are proud of our high completion rate. We have continually updated it to meet the changing requirements of the health service and individual practitioners. We are happy to put you in touch with some of our former students for their independent view. It is highly acclaimed by students, employers, purchasers and external course assessors for its structure, content and end value in relation to service, professional and career development.

 

"Thank you for your enthusiasm and support last year and congratulations on creating such a user-friendly and relevant diploma syllabus."

(Former Student, Hospital Pharmacist)

"This course helps to set and advance the benchmark for postgraduate Clinical Pharmacy programmes in the UK. There are many areas of good practice from current course materials, ward based support and tutoring, documentation of reflective practice and innovative methods of assessments."

(External Examiner)