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
 Child health
 Consultation skills: face-to-face and remote
 Culturally competent person-centred care
 Digital healthcare
New
 Education
 Environmental sustainability
 Genomics
 Health and Justice pharmacy (prisons and secure environments)
 Leadership
 Learning disabilities
 Management
 Medication review
 Medicines reconciliation
 Older people
 Patient safety
 Pharmacy technicians
 Prescribing
 Primary care: general practice and care homes
 Repeat dispensing
 Research
 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.

 Acute coronary syndromes
 Anticoagulation
 Atrial fibrillation and arrhythmias
 Biochemistry
 Cancer
 Coronary heart disease: Stable angina
 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
 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
 Men's Health
 Oral health
 Sexual health
 Smoking
 Substance misuse
 Weight management
 Women's Health

Learning programmes and assessments

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e-learning

NHS Pharmacy First: Otitis media


  • Released: 01/2024
  • Reviewed: 12/2024
  • Study time: 1h:0m
    •
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This programme aims to support pharmacy professionals to develop the knowledge, skills and confidence needed to undertake effective consultations, clinical assessment and treatment for otitis media under the NHS Pharmacy First service.

Please note: The clinical pathways and patient group directions (PGDs) for the NHS Pharmacy First service have been updated by NHSE and the changes came into effect on the 1st October 2025. This learning programme is currently being updated to reflect these changes.

Learning outcomes

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

  • define the common symptoms and pathophysiology of otitis media
  • describe differential diagnoses for otitis media
  • interpret clinical findings from otoscopic images 
  • discuss appropriate evidence-based treatment and self-care advice for otitis media.

 

How to use this programme

You can access this e-learning programme using a web browser on any device. You will need to be connected to the internet while you work through it.

Learning intended for

  • Pharmacists
  • Pharmacy technicians
  • Trainee pharmacists