University AwardIndependent / Supplementary Prescribing for Nurses and Midwives (V300) - Level 7

The overall aim of the programme is to provide a learning environment that supports registered nurses and midwives to develop as competent prescribers who are then eligible to apply for annotation on the register of the Nursing and Midwifery Council as a Nurse or Midwife Prescriber Independent/Supplementary prescriber (V300).

Learning outcomes for the programme are designed to support the achievement of all competencies set out in the RPS (2016) A competency framework for all prescribers. The learning outcomes and competencies can be applied to the four identified fields of nursing practice (adult, mental health, learning disabilities and children’s nursing) as well as to specialist community public health nursing.

The domains of the RPS (2016) framework and corresponding learning outcomes for the programme are shown below:

The programme learning outcomes are expressed in more detail in the Programme Specification document linked to these pages.

Learning and teaching

We seek to create a stimulating and innovative community of learning, whether encountered on campus or at a distance, or in the learning environment of your clinical practice. The programme is undertaken alongside pharmacists and allied health professionals also seeking to prescribe in accordance with the legal permissions afforded to them. We meet regularly with Non-Medical Prescribing Leads and Practice Assessors and Supervisors to ensure that the programme maintains its relevance to the constantly evolving environment of healthcare. The programme team includes academic staff who continue to work in practice.

You will be encouraged to consider the perspectives of people as experts (including patients, service users and carers) as an integral part of the programme thus also facilitating the implementation of learning in practice in ways that improve clinical outcomes for patients and quality of experience as a consequence of your prescribing role.

The roles of the Practice Assessor and Practice Supervisor are central to the contextualisation of professional knowledge within your clinical practice.

Applicants identify a Practice Assessor who is a registered healthcare professional and an experienced prescriber with suitable equivalent qualifications for the programme. The role of the Practice Assessor is to support the period of learning, supervision and assessment in clinical practice, and they must be able to demonstrate the competencies identified for Designated Prescribing Practitioners (Royal Pharmaceutical Society, 2019). Applicants also identify a Practice Supervisor who will have current knowledge and experience of the learning environment in which they will be providing supervision and feedback for learning and supporting progress towards achievement of the proficiencies and skills required to complete the programme successfully.

It is important to note that the Practice Assessor must be able to confirm that they are sufficiently impartial to the outcome for the applicant and wherever possible, should not be the same person sponsoring them to undertake the programme. In addition, it is an expectation of the Nursing and Midwifery Council that it is only in exceptional circumstances that the same person would fulfil the role of Practice Assessor and Practice Supervisor. Further specific guidance for self-employed and/or independent practitioner applicants is embedded within the application form.

All students are assigned an Academic Assessor to support students in the academic environment and to support the Practice Assessor and Practice Supervisor as well as the students in the learning and assessment process in practice.

Assessment

Formative assessment is an important feature within the programme and provides specific opportunities for tutors to support your successful achievement of the programme Learning Outcomes by providing individualised and meaningful feedback to inform your ‘next steps’ in the development of your academic work and encourage the existing strengths in your work. Your Practice Assessor and Practice Supervisor also provide formative learning opportunities and feedback in the practice environment.

The summative assessments for this programme are:

• a practical skills assessment which involves the completion of a record of learning and the demonstration of the competencies identified for all prescribers (RPS, 2016). This assessment is undertaken by your Practice Assessor whose decisions are informed by feedback sought and received from the Practice Supervisor and takes place in the context of your clinical practice;
• a viva voce and practical examination undertaken in the University;
• a pharmacology exam;
• a numeracy assessment undertaken by exam;
• completion of a written assessment which requires the demonstration of knowledge and understanding applied to the practice area in identified programme Learning Outcomes.