Information regarding our 2022/23 admissions cycle
Our updated course listings for the 2022/23 postgraduate admissions cycle will be published at the beginning of October. Applications for 2022 entry will be available shortly after this. Check our how to apply pages for updates.
PG Credit Advanced Clinical Skills (Short Course)
Year of entry: 2021
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Coronavirus information for applicants and offer-holders
We understand that prospective students and offer-holders may have concerns about the ongoing coronavirus outbreak. The University is following the advice from Universities UK, Public Health England and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Overview
- Degree awarded
- PG Credit
- Duration
- 6 months (part-time)
- Entry requirements
-
We require an honours degree in Pharmacy (MPharm) (Lower Second or above) or an equivalent, Postgraduate Clinical Diploma or equivalent and an Independent prescribing qualification. See our other entry requirements for details of the professional experience and employer support that we require.
- Number of places/applicants
12 per cohort.
- How to apply
Please apply via our online application form where you must also submit a completed copy of the ACS additional application form (and the other supporting documents detailed within it).
Handwritten signatures are required on the ACS additional application form; we cannot accept forms with typed or electronic signatures or images of signatures applied to the document.
We recommend you apply as early as possible. We reserve the right to close applications if the course is full.
April 2021 will be the final cohort of this course.
Course options
| Full-time | Part-time | Full-time distance learning | Part-time distance learning | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Modular | N | Y | N | N |
Course overview
- Learn to independently assess and manage patients with acute/urgent care needs.
- Fit part-time study around work through face-to-face and online study days.
- Take the opportunity to top-up to our PGCert if you already have level 7 Independent Prescribing.
- Pharmacists working in urgent/emergency care in an NHS organisation in NW England may be eligible to have course fees paid by Health Education England North.
Open days
Attending an open day is a great way to discover what it's like to study at Manchester. Find out more about our upcoming open days .
Fees
Fees for entry in 2021 have not yet been set. For reference, the fees for the academic year beginning September 2020 were as follows:
-
Modular (part-time)
UK students (per annum): £2,400 per 30 credit unit
Policy on additional costs
All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).
Scholarships/sponsorships
Students starting this course in 2021 may have their tuition fees paid in full by Health Education England North West if they meet the eligibility criteria. However, there is limited funding remaining and this will be applied on a first come first served basis. This is as part of a funding initiative to develop the role of pharmacists in urgent and emergency care settings.
Applications from pharmacists working in other acute and unscheduled care settings may also be eligible for funding for the course. Students working for non-NHS organisations or for NHS organisations outside the North West of England are ineligible for tuition fees and must self-fund or secure funding through their employer.
For the latest scholarship and bursary information please visit the fees and funding page.
Contact details
- School/Faculty
- Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health
- Telephone
- (+44) 0161 543 4699
- pgtaught.pharmacy@manchester.ac.uk
- Website
- https://www.bmh.manchester.ac.uk/study/cpd/subjects/pharmacy/
- School/Faculty
-
Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health
Courses in related subject areas
Use the links below to view lists of courses in related subject areas.
Entry requirements
Academic entry qualification overview
We require an honours degree in Pharmacy (MPharm) (Lower Second or above) or an equivalent, Postgraduate Clinical Diploma or equivalent and an Independent prescribing qualification. See our other entry requirements for details of the professional experience and employer support that we require.
English language
International students must demonstrate English proficiency through a secure and approved testing system. We ask for English language proof from applicants from countries that are not majority English-speaking countries (a list of majority English-speaking countries, as defined by the UK Home Office, can be found here ).
Specifically, we require a minimum of
- IELTS: 7.0 overall with 7.0 in reading and writing.
All certification should have been achieved within the past two years.
See further information about requirements for your country .
English language test validity
Professional entry qualification
In addition to meeting our academic entry requirements, you must have:
- current registration (and good standing) as a pharmacist with the General Pharmaceutical Council;
- at least two years' post-registration patient-focused experience in an unscheduled care setting in the UK;
- support from your line manager and professional lead to undertake the course;
- the agreement of an emergency medicine mentor (EMM), who is an emergency department consultant, acute medicine consultant or a GP with an interest in urgent care, to support your supervised practice. You must complete 113 hours (15 days) of supervised practice by your EMM.
We will accept completion of one of the national clinical pharmacist education pathways (GPPTP/CPGPE/MOCH/PCPEP/IUC) in lieu of a postgraduate diploma in clinical pharmacy, but you must supply your statement of assessment and progression/completion.
Application and selection
How to apply
Please apply via our online application form where you must also submit a completed copy of the ACS additional application form (and the other supporting documents detailed within it).
Handwritten signatures are required on the ACS additional application form; we cannot accept forms with typed or electronic signatures or images of signatures applied to the document.
We recommend you apply as early as possible. We reserve the right to close applications if the course is full.
April 2021 will be the final cohort of this course.
Advice to applicants
This is an exciting opportunity for pharmacists to work in a new clinical area of expertise. This will provide personal professional development for the pharmacist and support emergency and urgent care services in primary and secondary care settings for the benefit of patients.
We advise you to work with your line manager, head of department and emergency/acute medicine/urgent care team to agree strategic support for this new, extended role for pharmacists.
How your application is considered
Skills, knowledge, abilities, interests
You must have access to a computer with fast and reliable internet connection. There is a minimum level of computer skills required, including the ability to:
- navigate the Blackboard virtual learning environment to locate teaching and learning materials and to access and submit assessments (with initial basic training);
- communicate by email;
- work efficiently with Microsoft Word or similar word processing software;
- use the internet to search websites;
- scan and upload documents;
- navigate e-learning programs;
- participate in online conferencing (webinars).
Interview requirements
Overseas (non-UK) applicants
Disclosure and Barring Service check
Course details
Course description
The role of pharmacists in the emergency department offers an exciting opportunity to work in a new field of practice. Pharmacists are also extending their scope of practice in urgent and acute medicine areas in primary and secondary care.
Our six-month Advanced Clinical Skills short course enables trainee pharmacy practitioners to independently evaluate, assess and recommend or prescribe medicines for patients who present to emergency departments.
This will allow junior and senior medical staff to attend to more urgent medical patients in a clinical setting and aims to decrease waiting times for patients with minor injuries. Research has shown that hospital pharmacists with additional skills in independent prescribing and advanced clinical assessment could manage up to 35.7% of patients presenting to emergency departments.
Upon successful completion of the course, you will be able to manage emergency and urgent patients in addition to working as part of a multidisciplinary emergency, acute medicine and urgent care team.
Our course confers 30 postgraduate (Level 7) credits upon completion. Pharmacists who have successfully completed The University of Manchester Independent Prescribing (IP) course may be eligible for the PGCert in Advanced Specialist Training in Emergency Medicine (ASTEM) award. Pharmacists with a level 7 IP qualification from another university may be able to top-up to ASTEM on completion of a further Mental Health or Paediatrics uni. If your IP qualification is at level 6, there is no option to top-up to the PGCert because you will not have relevant credits at the appropriate level. If you don't have an IP qualification, you are not eligible to study the Advanced Clinical Skills course.
Aims
This course aims to:
- provide you with the skills to independently evaluate and assess patients who present to urgent and emergency care settings in primary and secondary care;
- enable you to independently recommend and/or prescribe appropriate medicines for this group of patients;
- enhance your knowledge and skills in the evaluation and application of best evidence-based practice to appropriately assess and care for patients with unscheduled presentations.
Special features
Develop in-demand skills
This course was launched in response to a national pilot that identified clear demand for pharmacists with specific skills in emergency medicine.
Teaching and learning
A range of teaching methods are used to develop the required knowledge, skills and behaviours.
Learning is delivered online as pre-/post-workshop tasks to complement face-to-face and online workshops.
The online material can be studied in your own time, and will involve directed reading and directed activities during supervised practice. You must be self-motivated to learn in your own time and have a good level of IT skills to navigate Blackboard.
A minimum of 113 hours learning in practice under the supervision of an Emergency Medicine Mentor (EMM) must be completed during the six-month course. [No break] During this time, you will complete a reflective practice portfolio to document and reflect on your learning, and to evidence your achievement of the learning outcomes.
April 2021 cohort teaching dates
After the online induction, there will be four study days on campus and four online study days. Attendance at all study days is mandatory and you will not be permitted to attempt the assessments without complete attendance.
Online induction: 1 April 2021, 6-8pm
Face-to-face study days (9am-5pm):
- 15 April 2021
- 13 May 2021
- 10 June 2021
- 8 July 2021
Online study days (9am-5pm with four workshops separated by 30-minute breaks):
- 29 April 2021
- 27 May 2021
- 24 June 2021
- 22 July 2021
The OSCE will be on 5 August and the deadline for submission of the reflective practice portfolio will be midday on 21 October 2021. Case presentation assessments will be between shortly after the OSCE and scheduled early in the course.
Coursework and assessment
We will assess your progress through:
- reflective practice portfolio;
- an OSCE;
- a case presentation;
- sign-off by your emergency medicine mentor (EMM) confirming satisfactory completion of 15 days of practice-based learning and achievement of the learning outcomes.
Course unit details
There are two core units:
Advanced Clinical Assessment (mandatory) - 15 credits
This unit aims to develop enhanced knowledge and skills in the evaluation and application of knowledge of best evidence-based practice to implement appropriate assessment and care for the emergency, acute medicine and urgent care patient.
You will acquire the understanding and skills required to undertake and order a range of common practical assessment skills and diagnostic tests used in urgent and emergency care settings. Your skills in interpreting results of commonly used diagnostic tests will also be developed.
Emergency Medicine (mandatory) - 15 credits
The unit introduces you to the underpinning knowledge and understanding of the assessment and the management of patients who are requiring urgent care and who are at risk of becoming acutely unwell.
Through supervised practice in the clinical environment, this unit will build on existing knowledge of the use of a structured and systematic approach in the assessment of the urgent care patient, identifying the need for physiological and holistic care.You can develop competencies in a specific patient group and provide person-centred care for patients in urgent and emergency care who you are likely to manage within the scope of your practice.
Course unit list
The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.
| Title | Code | Credit rating | Mandatory/optional |
|---|---|---|---|
| Advanced Clinical Assessment | PHAR60231 | 15 | Mandatory |
| Advanced Clinical Assessment | PHAR60232 | 15 | Mandatory |
| Emergency Medicine | PHAR60241 | 15 | Mandatory |
| Emergency Medicine | PHAR60242 | 15 | Mandatory |
Facilities
You will complete study days in our Flexible Skills Suite, which is both simulated space and teaching area.
Government guidance around social distancing and face-to-face teaching means that the Advanced Clinical Assessment unit workshops will be delivered on campus and the Emergency Medicine unit workshops will be delivered online.
The University of Manchester also offers extensive library and online services to help you get the most out of your studies. We have reviewed the reading list to ensure that all directed materials are available online.
Disability support
CPD opportunities
Careers
Career opportunities
Our course offers career progression for experienced pharmacists to manage patients in unscheduled care setting across primary and secondary care, and to work as a member of the multidisciplinary team.