PG Certificate / PG Diploma / MSc in Clinical Pharmacy 2008/09 Programme Course manager: Brian McCaw (b.mccaw@qub.ac.uk) Distance Learning Centre The School of Pharmacy Queen's University Belfast
PG Certificate in Clinical Pharmacy course structure Duration: 12 months Educational aims: On completion, the successful student will be able to: Prioritise the pharmaceutical care needs of patients by analysing drug charts and clinical information Autonomously assess pharmaceutical care needs and develop, monitor and review care plans to meet specific needs, particularly in relation to management of pain, adverse drug reactions and infection Assess physiological functioning and develop, monitor and review related treatment plans, and justify their reasoning Effectively communicate drug or medicine related information to patients, carers and prescribers Demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of medicines management techniques Implement strategies to ensure the safety of patients in relation to their drug treatment Demonstrate the independent learning ability required for continuing professional development Modules: 310PMY731 Developing a clinical approach 310PMY732 Pharmaceutical Care 310PMY733 Clinical Pharmacy Skills in Practice Passing the course: Candidates must pass all 3 modules; the pass mark for each module is 40%. Students who fail to perform satisfactorily (as determined by the Board of Examiners) in the various assessments will be required to repeat the outstanding elements or to withdraw. A maximum of two repeats will be allowed. Final mark calculation: The overall mark is the mean of the module marks. Final award: PG Certificate in Clinical Pharmacy Options on completion: (i) exit with PG Certificate award (ii) proceed to PG Diploma (year 2)
PG Diploma in Clinical Pharmacy course structure Duration: Educational aims: 24 months, or 12 months for students who have previously completed an approved PG Certificate (see Prior Certificated Learning). On completion, the successful student will be able to: Prioritise the pharmaceutical care needs of patients by analysing drug charts and clinical information Autonomously assess pharmaceutical care needs and develop, monitor and review care plans to meet specific needs in relation to a range of therapeutic areas Assess physiological functioning and develop, monitor and review related treatment plans, and justify their reasoning Effectively communicate drug or medicine related information to patients, carers and prescribers Demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of medicines management techniques Implement strategies to ensure the safety of patients in relation to their drug treatment Demonstrate the independent learning ability required for continuing professional development Be able to critically evaluate current research in clinical pharmacy Possess a critical awareness of current problems and/or new insights in a range of therapeutic areas Have a knowledge and understanding of how established techniques of research and enquiry are used to create and interpret knowledge in clinical pharmacy Modules: 310PMY731 Developing a clinical approach 310PMY732 Pharmaceutical Care 310PMY733 Clinical Pharmacy Skills in Practice 310PMY734 Therapeutics 1 310PMY735 Therapeutics 2 310PMY736 Research in Clinical Pharmacy Prior Certificated Learning: 40 points credit will be allowed to students who have previously been awarded an approved PG Certificate within the last 5 years. The remaining 80 points are accumulated over 12 months via the following modules:
310PMY734 Therapeutics for clinical pharmacists 1 310PMY735 Therapeutics for clinical pharmacists 2 310PMY736 Research in clinical pharmacy 310PMY726 Critical literature review (20 points) Passing the course: Examinations*: Final mark calculation: Candidates must pass all modules; the pass mark for each module is 40%. Students who fail to perform satisfactorily (as determined by the Board of Examiners) in the various assessments will be required to repeat the outstanding elements or to withdraw. A maximum of two repeats will be allowed. A 3 hour written examination takes place at the end of the period of study. The examination pass mark is 40%, students who fail the examination will be allowed a maximum of 2 repeats and may not transfer to the MSc. Students who fail 3 times will be awarded a PG Certificate in Clinical Pharmacy. The overall mark is the mean of the module marks. Final award: Options on completion: PG Diploma in Clinical Pharmacy (i) exit with PG Diploma award (ii) proceed to MSc (year 3), providing the overall mark is 50% or greater. * UK Examination centres: Belfast, Bradford, Glasgow, London Ireland Examination centre: Dublin International centres: local British Council offices or university centres
MSc in Clinical Pharmacy course structure Duration: Educational aims: 36 months, or 24 months for students who have previously completed an approved PG Diploma (see Prior Certificated Learning). On completion, the successful student will be able to: Prioritise the pharmaceutical care needs of patients by analysing drug charts and clinical information Autonomously assess pharmaceutical care needs and develop, monitor and review care plans to meet specific needs in relation to a range of therapeutic areas Assess physiological functioning and develop, monitor and review related treatment plans, and justify their reasoning Effectively communicate drug or medicine related information to patients, carers and prescribers Demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of medicines management techniques Implement strategies to ensure the safety of patients in relation to their drug treatment Demonstrate the independent learning ability required for continuing professional development Be able to critically evaluate current research in clinical pharmacy Possess a critical awareness of current problems and/or new insights in a range of therapeutic areas Have a knowledge and understanding of how established techniques of research and enquiry are used to create and interpret knowledge in clinical pharmacy Have demonstrated the ability to plan and implement a practice-based research / clinical audit project Have demonstrated the ability to gather, analyse and present extensive and/or complex data and information Modules: 310PMY731 Developing a clinical approach 310PMY732 Pharmaceutical Care 310PMY733 Clinical Pharmacy Skills in Practice 310PMY734 Therapeutics 1 310PMY735 Therapeutics 2 310PMY736 Research in Clinical Pharmacy 340PMY791 Research Project (60 points)
Prior Certificated Learning (PCL): 60 points credit will be allowed to students who have previously been awarded an approved PG Diploma within the last 5 years. In this case, students will complete the following modules: Year 1: 310PMY734 Therapeutics for clinical pharmacists 1 310PMY735 Therapeutics for clinical pharmacists 2 310PMY736 Research in clinical pharmacy (Alternative modules will be available for students who have previously completed the above in the QUB PG Diploma) Year 2: 340PMY791 Research Project (60 points) Passing the course: Candidates must pass all modules; the pass mark for each module is 40%. Students who fail to perform satisfactorily (as determined by the Board of Examiners) in the various assessments will be required to repeat the outstanding elements or to withdraw. In all modules except 340PMY791 (Research Project), a maximum of two repeats will be allowed. Students who fail 340PMY791 (Research Project) may enrol for a further 12 months and may resubmit their dissertation at the end of this period. Deferrals or further resubmissions will be at the discretion of the Distance Learning Board. Examinations: A 3 hour written examination takes place at the end of the first 24 months of study (12 months for students with PCL credit). The examination pass mark is 40%, students who fail the examination will be allowed a maximum of 2 repeats and may not transfer to the MSc. Students who fail 3 times will be awarded a PG Certificate in Clinical Pharmacy. Final mark calculation: The core mark is calculated as the mean of the module marks (excluding the research project) and contributes 65% of the final MSc mark. The remaining 35% contribution comes from the research project. NB: The pass mark for the MSc is 50%. Final award: Options on completion: MSc in Clinical Pharmacy. Exit with MSc award
YEAR 1 (PG CERTIFICATE) MODULES 310PMY731 Developing a clinical approach To provide the student with the foundation level skills required to deliver a clinical pharmacy service. This module is introductory in nature and assumes no knowledge of clinical pharmacy services. Students who have had clinical experience prior to this course will find it both a useful learning and revision exercise. The module is studied during the first 3 months of the programme and is delivered in three 4-weekly parts, with an assignment for each: Part 1: Clinical information clinical records, pharmaceutical interventions, clinical laboratory tests Part 2: Communicating information developing interpersonal skills Part 3: Medicines information 310PMY732 Pharmaceutical Care To provide the student with an appreciation of the importance of detecting, reporting and learning from medication-related incidents and an understanding of the principles of medicines management in the context of providing a high quality service to patients. This module is designed to teach the student the principles behind ensuring patient safety with respect to medicine use in hospitals and delivering quality services. The module is studied over a period of 3 months and is delivered in 2 parts, with an assignment for each: Part 1: Medicines Governance improving patient safety Part 2: Medicines Management providing a quality service 310PMY733 Clinical pharmacy skills in practice This module is designed to consolidate and build on the material studied in PMY731 and PMY732. The aim is to develop the student's ability to manage the drug treatment of patients with co-existing pain and/or infection and to recognise and manage patients who are at risk from adverse drug reactions and interactions. The module is studied over a period of 3 months and is delivered in three 4- weekly parts, with an assignment for each: Part 1: Management of pain Part 2: Adverse drug reactions and interactions Part 3: Prevention and management of infection
YEAR 2 (PG DIPLOMA) MODULES 310PMY734 Therapeutics for clinical pharmacists 1 This module is designed to build on the student's knowledge of the development and treatment of common chronic diseases that are studied at undergraduate level. Students study recent advances in our understanding of the disease process and treatment in relation to respiratory and cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Reference is made to UK clinical guidelines where appropriate. The module is studied over a period of 3 months and is delivered in three 4- weekly parts, with an assignment for each: Part 1: Respiratory disease Part 2: Cardiovascular disease 1 coronary heart disease, essential hypertension and acute coronary syndromes Part 3: Diabetes 310PMY736 Research in clinical pharmacy This module aims to give students an understanding of clinical research so that they will be able to critically evaluate the research of others in practice. In addition, students study research methodologies and statistical methods that are relevant to clinical and pharmacy research so that they might incorporate independent research into their future practice. The module helps to prepare students who intend to complete an MSc research project in year 3. The module is studied over a period of 3 months and is delivered in 4 parts, with an assignment for part 1 and a second assignment covering parts 2, 3 and 4: Part 1: Statistical methods Part 2: Clinical trials Part 3: Reviewing the literature Part 4: Clinical practice research 310PMY735 Therapeutics for clinical pharmacists 2 This module is designed to build on the student's knowledge of the development and treatment of common chronic diseases that are studied at undergraduate level. Students study recent advances in our understanding of the disease process and treatment in relation to three selected topics / therapeutic areas. Reference is made to UK clinical guidelines where appropriate. The module is delivered in three 4-weekly parts, with an assignment for each. The following topics are available; however, others may be added: Gastrointestinal disease Skin disease Therapeutic drug monitoring CNS disease and mental health Cardiovascular disease 2 arrhythmias, angina and heart failure 310PMY726 Critical literature review Students with credit (i.e. who are completing the PG Diploma in 12 months) submit a critical literature review of up to 10000 words on a subject agreed with the School.