NHS priorities

Whether it’s to prepare for the next Pharmacy Quality Scheme deadline, or to increase your confidence in helping people with a learning disability, this section provides topic-specific pages that link to current NHS priorities. This section will support you in keeping your knowledge and skills up to date in order to provide high-quality pharmacy services and be service-ready.

 Antimicrobial resistance
 Care homes
 Child health
 Consultation Skills - Face to face and remote
New
 COVID-19
 Culturally competent person-centred care
 Education
 Environmental sustainability
 General practice
 Genomics
 Health and Justice pharmacy (prisons and secure environments)
 Leadership
 Learning disabilities
 Management
 Medication review
 Medicines reconciliation
 Older people
 Patient safety
 Pharmacy technicians
 Prescribing
 Repeat dispensing
 Return to practice
 Revalidation
 Safeguarding
 Sepsis
 Summary Care Records
 Transfer of care
 Urgent care

Clinical pharmacy

Our clinical portfolio is expanding on a frequent basis, helping you to advance your knowledge and skills and deliver medicines optimisation in practice for all sectors of pharmacy. From two new focal points a year to our small group learning for hospital pharmacists – Optimise – this section focuses on clinical pharmacy, diseases and therapeutics.

 Acute coronary syndromes
 Anticoagulation
 Atrial fibrillation and arrhythmias
 Biochemistry
 Cancer
 Coronary heart disease
 Dementia
 Dermatology
 Diabetes (type 1)
 Diabetes (type 2)
 Epilepsy
 Gastrointestinal
 Glaucoma
 Gout
 Heart failure
 Hypercholesterolaemia
 Hypertension
 Infections
 Liver
 Mental health
 Minor ailments
 Musculoskeletal
 Neurology
 Nutrition, medicines and myths: evolution of pharmacy practice
 Osteoporosis
 Pain
 Palliative care
 Parkinson's disease
 Renal
 Respiratory
 Stroke and transient ischaemic attack
 Surgery
 Urinary incontinence and retention
 Venous thromboembolism and embolism

Public health

The public health agenda is embedded in pharmacy, yet topics such as emergency contraception or stop smoking support are as prevalent as ever. As well as our public health workshops, use this section to access a wide range of resources to assure and maintain your competence, all underpinned by the Declaration of Competence system.

 Alcohol
 Contraception
 Emergency hormonal contraception
 Health Checks
 Healthy Living Pharmacies
 Immunisation
 Menopause
 Oral health
 Sexual health
 Smoking
 Substance misuse
 Weight management
 Women's Health

Developing your career

Preparing to train as an independent prescriber

Who is this course for?

Preparing to train as an independent prescriber is open to pharmacists from all sectors of practice, including community pharmacists who are planning to commence their independent prescriber training with a Higher Education Institute (HEI). If you are a newly qualified pharmacist, see further information below under the ‘Who can apply?’ tab. 

This is a fully funded course that helps pharmacists develop the skills and confidence to get ready and best prepare for independent prescriber training.

If you still have questions after checking the programme information below, please refer to our Frequently Asked Questions document.

Course aims

The aim of this e-course is to build the confidence and competence of pharmacists who are planning to apply and train as independent prescribers.

Course format

The course is made up of three main components:

  • A self-directed e-course and self-assessment framework.
  • A mandatory online workshop to support you to review your self-assessment of competencies and develop a personal development plan (PDP).
  • An optional online workshop to support your readiness for academic writing and reflective practice.

Course dates

You will need to pick one of the mandatory online workshops to attend at a date and time that works for you. Booking the online workshop will automatically enrol you on the e-course. 

Learning outcomes

Once you have identified your own personal learning needs by completing the self-assessment framework, the different topic areas in this programme will support you to:

  • describe how your knowledge, skills and experience have evolved since your initial training as a pharmacist?
  • recognise your strengths and transferable skills which you can build on that are relevant to your independent prescribing training
  • identify your learning needs, and the resources and learning opportunities to enable you to meet them
  • develop your skills as a reflective practitioner and apply these to your practice
  • build a powerful personal and professional support network to support you during your independent prescribing training and ongoing prescribing practice
  • create a personal development plan for your short, medium and longer-term development needs to prepare for undertaking an independent prescribing course.

Who can apply?

Pharmacists who are planning to apply and/or start their independent prescriber training can apply to take part.

Further information for newly qualified pharmacists

We would recommend that you enrol on the CPPE Newly qualified pharmacist programme as the first step in your post-registration professional development journey if you meet the eligibility criteria.  

The Preparing to train as an independent prescriber programme is included as one of the modules of the Newly qualified pharmacist programme. While completing the Newly qualified pharmacist programme, you would agree the optimal time to book onto the Preparing to train as an independent prescriber module with your education supervisor. 

Newly qualified pharmacists who are not eligible for the CPPE Newly qualified pharmacist programme can access the NHS England Newly Qualified Pharmacist pathway and could complete the Preparing to train as an independent prescriber programme as a stand-alone course.