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Postgraduate Certificate in Non-Medical Prescribing

This qualification enables you to gain the knowledge and skills required for safe, appropriate and effective prescribing practice as you become eligible to apply for the annotation to your regulator register as an Independent and/or Supplementary Prescriber. You’ll become equipped and ready to be responsible and accountable for the assessment of patients with diagnosed and undiagnosed conditions, together with the decision-making skills required in clinical management.  

Key features of the course

  • Successful completion entitles you to apply to your respective regulator for annotation as a non-medical prescriber*
  • Provides you with a critical understanding of the necessary clinical and practical aspects of prescribing
  • Gives you the appropriate knowledge that underpins applied pharmacology.
  • Provides you with an understanding of the legal and ethical implications of prescribing.
*Subject to confirmation of regulatory approval

Certificate

Course code
K33
Credits

Credits

  • Credits measure the student workload required for the successful completion of a module or qualification.
  • One credit represents about 10 hours of study over the duration of the course.
  • You are awarded credits after you have successfully completed a module.
  • For example, if you study a 60-credit module and successfully pass it, you will be awarded 60 credits.
60
How long it takes
7 – 13 months
Read more about how long it takes
Study method
Distance learning
Find out more in Why the OU?
Course cost
See Fees and funding
Entry requirements

Find out more about entry requirements.

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Course details

Modules

To gain this qualification, you need 60 credits as follows:

Compulsory module Credits Next start
Non-medical independent and supplementary prescribing (K803)  

This module enables you to gain the knowledge and skills required for safe, appropriate and effective prescribing practice and become an Independent/Supplementary Prescriber.

See full description

 60 01 Feb 2020

You should note that the University’s unique study rule applies to this qualification. This means that you must include at least 20 credits from OU modules that have not been counted in any other OU qualification that has previously been awarded to you.

We regularly review our curriculum; therefore, the qualification described on this page – including its availability, its structure, and available modules – may change over time. If we make changes to this qualification, we’ll update this page as soon as possible. Once you’ve registered or are studying this qualification, where practicable, we’ll inform you in good time of any upcoming changes. If you’d like to know more about the circumstances in which the University might make changes to the curriculum, see our Academic Regulations or contact us. This description was last updated on 20th March 2019.

Learning outcomes, teaching and assessment

The learning outcomes of this qualification are described in four areas:

  • Knowledge and understanding
  • Cognitive skills
  • Practical and professional skills
  • Key skills
Read more detailed information about the learning outcomes.

Credit transfer

For this qualification, we do not allow you to count credit for study you have already done elsewhere.

On completion

On successful completion of the required module you can be awarded a Postgraduate Certificate in Non-Medical Prescribing entitling you to use the letters PG Cert NMP (Open) after your name.

Regulations

As a student of The Open University, you should be aware of the content of the qualification-specific regulations below and the academic regulations that are available on our Student Policies and Regulations website. 

Entry requirements

You will need to: 
  • hold a degree from a UK university or equivalent, or, if you are a registered non-graduate practitioner, be able to demonstrate equivalent academic ability and professional experience  
  • be registered with an appropriate regulatory body 
  • have a current and valid Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check and provide a signed declaration from the Trust as evidence
  • have the appropriate length of experience as set by the respective regulatory body. This is currently two years for the GPhC, and three years for the HCPC.   

You will also need to complete an application form. If you are a Pharmacist registered with the GPhC, or an Allied Health Professional registered with the HCPC, the application form and further guidance can obtained by contacting the faculty at WELS-NMP-Programme@open.ac.uk

How long it takes

The minimum time to complete this qualification is seven months and must be completed within 13 months to meet the requirements of the regulatory bodies.

The expected total study time is 600 hours which will include:

  • four separate days of face-to-face activities held at the OU in Milton Keynes
  • four days of synchronous online forum-based activities 
  • 18 days online study activities
  • 90 hours of supervised, in-practice learning 

Prior learning, experience and clinical exposure will help with the self-directed learning portion, so you may find that you require fewer self-directed hours than that specified here. This is perfectly admissible but a pass in all summative assessments must be achieved in order to be awarded a pass in the overall module/qualification.

Career relevance

This qualification will allow you to apply for annotation with your regulatory body as a non-medical prescriber.  It will increase your career prospects by widening opportunities for you and for the further development of services within your organisation.

Currently the independent prescribing programme is aimed at pharmacists, physiotherapists, chiropodists or podiatrists, therapeutic radiographers and paramedics. Diagnostic radiographers and dietitians will be eligible to apply for annotation as Supplementary Prescribers.

It is the intention of Government and health care organisations, including the NHS, that non-medical prescribing will make better use of the skills of health professionals and contribute to the introduction of more flexible team working.