Overview

The move to senior career grades and Consultant Pharmacist posts indicates the need for doctoral level qualifications to be the norm for those seeking promotion in this respect. A professional doctorate provides a rigorous programme of advanced study and research, equally rigorous to the purely research oriented PhD. It is designed to meet the needs of a practising pharmacist wishing to attain the highest level of professional and academic achievement, that is clearly relevant to their professional practice, will support them in producing a contribution to professional knowledge, and will enable their career development.

The aim of this module is to enable participants to consolidate their research plan for years 3 and 4 of the DPharm programme by conducting and reflecting on an element of their proposed main research study. The assessment comprises a 10 000 word written report.

Module aims

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this module you should be able to:

• Conduct an initial study that shows you have the general ability to implement a project for the generation of new knowledge, applications or understanding at the forefront of your discipline.
• Develop research tools that will collect data to meet the aims and objectives of the particular research question/hypothesis.
• Critically reflect on the outcomes to inform your doctoral research in Years 3 and 4 of the programme.

Entry requirements

This module is open to pharmacy practitioners who are registered on the DPharm.

Pre-requisites: successful completion of the module ‘Researching and Evaluating Practice for the Advanced Practitioner’

Module content

Each student will be assigned to a tutor/supervisor for the duration of the module. The student will discuss the research proposal that they completed for the ‘Researching and Evaluating Practice for the Advanced Practitioner’ module with their tutor/supervisor at an initial meeting and agree the focus and scope of the Initial Study. Further meetings (face-to-face or electronic) between student and tutor/supervisor will be arranged as necessary, and within reason, to support the student's needs.

The student will conduct and report on the agreed Initial Study.

Teaching and assessment

The assessment comprises a 10 000 word written report.