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.

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.

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.

Back to programme listings

e-course

Fundamentals of renal therapeutics


  • Released: 06/2019
  • Reviewed: 09/2024
  • Study time: 24h:0m
  • Start date: Anytime

This e-course aims to develop pharmacy professionals’ knowledge and skills in renal therapeutics. It intends to enable pharmacy professionals working across all sectors to provide a person-centred approach to the healthcare of people at risk of, or living with, renal disease.

To facilitate your learning, we have structured the course into six units. Some units are larger than others, but we estimate that you will need to commit an average of three hours of learning for each unit.

  • Unit 1 – Introduction to the kidney
  • Unit 2 – Medicines and the kidney
  • Unit 3 – Acute kidney injury (AKI)
  • Unit 4 – Chronic kidney disease (CKD)
  • Unit 5 – Renal replacement therapy
  • Unit 6 – Renal transplant

Learning outcomes

On completion of all aspects of this learning programme you should be able to:

  • describe and explain the core anatomy and function of the kidney
  • interpret laboratory data to establish renal function and identify decline
  • outline the role of a pharmacy professional in supporting a patient with renal impairment
  • identify sources for further information for pharmacy professionals and patients
  • optimise medicines safely and appropriately for people with renal impairment
  • apply the principles of hydration and nutrition supporting patients with renal impairment
  • use current renal guidelines and standards to support evidence-based decisions around prevention and treatment of renal disease
  • assess patients’ renal function and provide evidence-based support for their care.

How to use this programme

We run our e-courses online in Canvas. After booking, if you have not used Canvas before you will be registered by CPPE and informed of your login details. This e-course is self-directed. This means that you can work through the course at a time and pace that suits you. In Canvas there will be a menu on the left for navigating through each area, so that you can access each unit and its content separately.

Learning intended for

  • Pharmacists
  • Pharmacy technicians
  • Trainee pharmacists