PROGRAMME SPECIFICATION- PgCert Pharmacotherapy
1. Awarding
Institution/Body:
2. Teaching
Institution:
University of
Greenwich,
University of
Kent
The Medway
School of
Pharmacy
3. Accredited by:
4. Final Award:
5. Programme Title
PgCert
PgCert in Pharmacotherapy
6. UCAS Code:
7. QAA Benchmarking
Gp(s):
8. Educational Aims of the Programme: [Maximum 0f 150 words]
The aim of the PgCert in pharmacotherapy is to equip health care professionals with the skills and knowledge to contribute effectively to medicines
management services and to individual drug therapy decisions in primary and secondary care. The curriculum relates to practice throughout with
emphasis on the contribution of medicines management techniques to chronic disease management. Its structure and content enables students to
incorporate their learning directly into their workplace and to rise to the challenges presented by the new, patient centred NHS. This programme
offers the student a flexible approach to the accumulation of credits and a short course pathway to a PgCert. We hope the introduction of this
programme will encourage students who would not otherwise embark on a formal academic qualification to register for the full award of PGCert.
9. The programme provides opportunities for learners to achieve the following outcomes: [where
relevant, provide reference to subject benchmarking statements]
10. The following teaching, learning and assessment methods are used to enable learners to
achieve and demonstrate these outcomes:
A Knowledge and understanding of:
 Applied therapeutics
 Medicines management
 Concordance and compliance
 Effective methods of working with patients and other health care
professionals
 Pharmaceutical care planning and medication review
 Individualising therapy in a variety of patient settings and conditions
 Drug monitoring in the context of co-morbidities
 Effective use of complex clinical data sets
 Clinical governance in the context of medicines management
 Health Economics
A Teaching and learning:
Print based distance learning to incorporate work-based assignments.
Students are required to develop a reflective portfolio of practice activities.
Some courses are centred around contact days. These contact days will
include presentations, problem solving exercises, and workshops.
A Assessment Methods:
The assessment methods associated with each course are detailed in the
individual course specifications. Assessments include a combination of
problem solving exercises, case studies and reflective assignments. The
nature of the assignments is appropriate to the subject areas and learning
outcomes.
B Intellectual skills:
 Review and critically evaluate best available evidence relevant to a
specified area of prescribing practice, synthesising information from
key sources and databases.
 Integrate previous learning with professional skills and expertise to
synthesise innovative approaches to implementing extended
independent/supplementary prescribing in practice
 Further develop the skills to review and critically analyse own learning
and apply this to enhance role as a non-medical prescriber
 Make sound judgements about medication issues in the absence of
complete data and communicate conclusions clearly to specialist and
non-specialist audiences
B Teaching and learning
Intellectual skills are developed through reflective practice and learning
activities.
C Subject Practical skills:
 Consultation skills and medical history taking
 Physical examination of patients to aid diagnosis and monitoring
 Interpretation of medical documentation with an understanding of risks
and benefits of incomplete data
 Monitoring patient response against objectives set within clinical
management plans
 Recording interventions and outcomes and the evidence base behind
them contemporaneously in patient records
C Teaching and learning
Practical skills are developed in a co-ordinated manner throughout the
programme. These skills are further developed in the courses that include
contact days and through work-based learning.
B Assessment Methods:
Methods used to assess intellectual skills include case studies analysis and
short written assignments.
C Assessment Methods:
Practical skills are assessed through a variety of assessment methods such
as short written assignments, case study analysis and problem solving
exercises.
D Transferable/ key skills:
 Show evidence of critical self-reflection and the ability to enhance
professional competence on the basis of feedback from self and others.
 Communicate with clarity in both the academic and professional setting
to a range of audiences and using a variety of approaches.
 Show ability to effectively manage and present complex information
using a comprehensive range of learning resources
 Show a capacity for autonomous learning and ability to access
professional resources including others as appropriate
D Teaching and learning
Problem solving, teamwork, communication skills, presentation skills and
reflective practice are developed in a contextualized manner throughout the
programme. These skills are enhanced during the contact days and through
work-based learning.
D Assessment Methods:
A variety of assessment methods are used to assess transferable skills.
These include problem solving exercises and reflection upon work-based
practice. These assignments are contextualised in A, B and C above.
11 Programme Structure, Levels, Modules and Credits
The PgCert is principally offered as part-time structured distance learning, although some courses are centred
around study days. Students are able to select courses from a short course menu and accrue credits. Once a student
has completed 45 credits in this manner they are able to register for the full award of PgCert at which point they
must complete one of the 15 credit core courses from the MSc in medicines management
12 Awards, Credits and Progression
of Learning Outcomes
Students completing the Post Graduate Certificate in Pharmacotherapy may progress towards an MSc in
Medicines Management providing the 45 compulsory credits within the Medicines Management Programme are
completed as part of the credits obtained towards the diploma.
Core Courses (students must complete ONE)
Patients as Partners (15 credits)
Advanced Medication Review (15 credits)
Optional Courses (students must accrue 45 credits)
Principles of Medicines Management (15 credits)
Using Evidence Effectively (10 credits)
Applied therapeutics: Cardiovascular Disease (15 credits)
Applied therapeutics : Diabetes and Impaired Glucose Tolerance (15 credits)
Applied Therapeutics: Mental Health (15 credits)
Skills for the Future 1 – Practice Certificate in Medicines Use Review (5 Cr)
Skills for the Future 2 – Practice certificate in MURs in Practice (5Cr)
Patient Monitoring In Practice – Practice Certificate in Patient Monitoring in Practice (10Cr)
Minor ailments: Service Development (10Cr)
Minor ailments: Infections and Infestations (10Cr)
Minor ailments: Pain (5Cr)
Optimising Health (5Cr)
Independent prescribing for Pharmacists (15 credits)
PgCert 60 credits at M level
Pass: Minimum of 50% overall on each
course for marked assignments and a
pass on competency based assignments.
Distinction: not available on this
pathway.
Practice certificate in Medicines Management: Hypertension (5Cr)
Practice certificate in Medicines Management: Asthma (5Cr)
Practice certificate in Medicines Management: Type 2 diabetes (5Cr)
Practice certificate in Medicines Management: Obesity and impaired glucose tolerance (5Cr)
Generalist Certificate in Pharmacotherapy: Topic signifier
Specialist Certificate in Pharmacotherapy: Topic signifier
Therapeutics Plus: Topic Signifier