Clinical Pharmacy Practice

Career-long learning at Bath for

Pharmacists & Health Professionals

Postgraduate Certificate, Diploma and Masters

and CPD Short Courses
Blended learning with
online, practice-based and face-to-face elements

A course designed for you

This flexible, part-time Masters level programme is for practicing pharmacists in the early stages of their career. A blend of
flexible work-based learning supported by web-based resources, online discussion events and face-to-face study days
creates a rich learning environment. Choosing a Postgraduate Certificate, Diploma, MSc or CPD option will help improve
your professional status, developing your career prospects.
Designed with extensive input of a multi-professional team, Baths programme reflects the latest developments and
challenges. It offers flexibility allowing you to tailor study to suit your situation, with a choice of specialised qualifications in
Clinical Pharmacy Practice or Prescribing and Therapeutics enabling you to practise as an Independent Prescriber.

Benefits and features

Study at your own pace to fit in with work and other commitments
Work with advanced practitioners and be inspired by our highly commended, well structured courses
Excellent support and learning networks with a user-friendly Virtual Learning Environment
Support in meeting the General Pharmaceutical Council requirements for recording CPD
Choice of more than 15 different therapeutic units

What you can achieve

A comprehensive understanding of advanced practice-based pharmaceutical skills
Develop and critically reflect on your own professional practice
High level communication skills for effective working relationships with patients, clients and other healthcare professionals
Analyse and manage the implications of ethical dilemmas and work pro-actively with others finding solutions
Prepare and present on complex contemporary pharmaceutical issues to a variety of client groups
Locate, critically evaluate and use evidence from published sources, and design and conduct small scale research
projects, analysing findings in a dissertation to gain an MSc
You will also develop self-directed learning skills which will be a useful asset throughout your career and valuable practical
skills including written and oral communication, and advanced IT skills with appropriate use of relevant software packages.

Support
Maintaining a work-life balance can be challenging. We believe it is crucial to provide you with an easily accessible, strong
support network from your unit tutor, the programme management team and your work-based mentor.

Progress, study time and duration

Progress is monitored through continuous assessment covering a range of activities from written work-based assignments,
portfolios of evidence, oral presentations, workshops, reflective writing accounts and observed structure clinical
examinations. Study time includes work-based practice as well as reading, research and assignments. The amount of time
does vary by unit depending on your familiarity with the topics, but is typically 2 hours per day (10-12 hours per week). The
Diploma course is normally studied over two years, the Certificate in one year, and the MSc requiring a further year.

Workshops
An invaluable opportunity to meet and debate with key multi-professional practitioners at the forefront of their profession. You
also work with other pharmacists to tackle real problems. Most units have an associated one or two day workshop. They
currently run at Bath and another South West venue.

Entry Recommendations
The programme is open to registered pharmacists practising in the UK. CPD units and workshops are
open to all health professionals who should be registered with an appropriate professional body. Medicines
Management units are open to all health professionals providing a medicines management service at all levels of
Primary Care. Full details of entry and English language requirements can be found on the website.
Units have a work-based learning component, and we would advise you to check with your employer to see if
you will be supported by them. Access to a work-based mentor, patients and associated notes are essential
elements for your success with Bath.

Courses
Clinical Pharmacy (Primary Care and Community Pharmacy or Secondary Care)
Postgraduate Certificate (5 units), Postgraduate Diploma (10 units) or MSc (11 units and work based research
project). In addition to the core units*, you can choose a selection of topics relevant to your interest area. You
can combine units from the Medicines Management and the Prescribing programme as part of your final award.
Full unit descriptions are available the web, and all are available separately for CPD:

Professional skills development*

Using Evidence in Practice*
Palliative Care
Cardiovascular Therapeutics
Infections
Mental Health
Respiratory Therapeutics
Gastro-Intestinal Therapeutics

Prescribing for Special Groups

Public Health Pharmacy
Management of Minor Ailments
Neurology
Oncology
Endocrinology
Practice-based research
Masters dissertation

Independent Prescribing

Medicines Management

Prescribing in Context
Consultation Skills for Prescribing
Prescribing Effectively

Medicines Management in General Practice

Medicines Management in the NHS *

Leading to a CPD Practice Certificate in Independent

Prescribing accredited by the General Pharmaceutical
Council.

Prescribing & Therapeutics

(Postgraduate Certificate, Diploma and MSc)
Independent Prescribing course plus any therapeutics units
from the Clinical Pharmacy programme (2 PGCert, 7 PGDip
or 8 + research project MSc)

Combine three therapeutic units from the Clinical Pharmacy

programme for a PGCert in Medicines Management**
** current restructuring in the NHS has resulted in the temporary suspension
of elements of the Medicines Management Programme (January 2012)

Advanced Level CPD for experienced pharmacists

(CPD courses and MSc in Advanced & Specialist
Healthcare Practice)

Advanced clinical practice

Managing in health
Leadership
Supporting education, training and development
Research design and methods for practice
Advanced professional development

Continuing Professional Development

Build your portfolio from a wide choice of units across the areas of primary and secondary care clinical pharmacy.
You can choose to study the unit, undertake the formal assessment and gain credit, or simply study the materials
without the assessment element. Each unit offers you the option of attending an associated workshop.
Course units are at postgraduate M-Level, and if you take the assessment you will gain CAT/ECTS Credit Points that have
a currency at many higher education providers.

Fees & application

Up-to-date fees and current fee policy are available on our website.
You can normally join the Clinical Pharmacy programme twice a year in January and August/September and apply at any
time for CPD. The Independent Prescribing programme normally has an annual start date in Autumn. We recommend you
check the website for current availability or contact us, especially if you would like to study a topic that is not listed.
Applications can be submitted online at https://www.bath.ac.uk/study/pg/applications.pl?department=pharmacy.

For further information contact the Postgraduate Programme Administrator

on 01225 383206 or email AP3T@bath.ac.uk

www.bath.ac.uk/pharmacy/postgraduate

Department of
Pharmacy &
Pharmacology