Program Overview

MSc Clinical Pharmacy for Primary Care and Community Pharmacy

About this course

LJMU's Clinical Pharmacy MSc enables primary care and community pharmacists to maximise their role within interprofessional settings.

• Aimed at pharmacists working in community pharmacies, general medical practices or hospital outpatient pharmacies operated by community providers
• Apply your skills to your day-to-day work and enhance your practice from day one
• Benefit from clinical teaching designed and delivered by specialist practising pharmacists
• Study an optional Independent Prescribing pathway (accredited by the GPhC)
• Begin your studies in Spring or Autumn and enrol with the PgCert/PgDip/MSc as your target award
• Study over three years (part-time). If you wish to stage your development, it is also offered as a one-year Postgraduate Certificate or two-year Postgraduate Diploma, both of which can be subsequently topped up by returning to the course

This course reflects the evolving role of Pharmacists in primary care and at the interface with secondary care. It is closely aligned with the Government's published plans for the role of the Pharmacist in NHS England.

The programme aims to support you in developing your practice. It will serve as the base for successful and effective careers in Clinical Pharmacy, with those having completed the programme being equipped to effectively optimise patient care, make evidence-based recommendations around therapies and develop practice to directly benefit the patients and organisations they serve.

Course modules

Core modules

• Medicines Optimisation for Long-Term Conditions (20 credits)
  • This module is studied in the PgCert, PgDip and MSc. The module considers the medicines' optimisation of long-term conditions commonly encountered in primary care and community pharmacy in individual patients and groups of patients.
• Practitioner Development for Primary Care and Community Pharmacy (20 credits)
  • This module is for the PGCert, PGDip and MSc. The module aims to develop the skills and competence of pharmacists to support and empower patients, including consultation skills, shared decision-making and adopting a holistic approach to patient care.
• Quality Improvement in Healthcare (20 credits)
  • This module is for the PGDip and MSc. The aim of this module is to enable students to develop skills in research methods and expertise in the evaluation, delivery and development of an area of healthcare. This module also includes appropriate research methods and research skills to support students who wish to complete an MSc dissertation.
• Research Project (60 credits)
  • This module is for the MSc. The module will enable you to develop and extend your research abilities and complete a research project.

Optional modules

• Medicines Optimisation in Acute Conditions (20 credits)
  • This module is for the PGCert, PGDip and MSc. The module considers the medicines' optimisation of acute conditions commonly encountered in primary care and community pharmacy in individual patients and groups of patients.
• Medicines Optimisation in Community Pharmacy (20 credits)
  • This module is for the PGCert, PGDip and MSc. The module considers medicines optimisation for individual patients presenting within a community pharmacy environment and enables students to acquire an advanced knowledge of the best clinical practice
    ational guidance and its application to clinical practice and pharmaceutical care in patients with specific conditions.
• Independent Prescribing for Pharmacists (40 credits)
  • The module develops the personal, professional, clinical and diagnostic skills required to deliver person-centred care as a pharmacist independent prescriber. Successful completion of this module enables individuals to apply to the General Pharmaceutical Council for annotation as an Independent Prescriber.
• Oncology Pharmacy Practice in Primary Care (20 credits)
  • This module is for the PGDip and MSc. This module facilitates students’ development of clinical knowledge and skills that are relevant to the needs of healthcare professionals supporting patients prescribed oncology medicines in a primary care setting.
• Fundamental Paediatric Pharmacy Practice (20 credits)
  • This module is for the PGDip and MSc. The module provides clinical knowledge and skills that are relevant to the needs of healthcare professionals working with medicines in fundamental paediatric practice and to facilitate professional development, including fostering development of an enquiring, open-minded attitude, tempered with scientific discipline for paediatric medicine, which encourages lifelong learning.
• Clinical Leadership in Medicines Optimisation (20 credits)
  • This module is for the PGDip and MSc. The module aims to develop students' leadership skills to enable you to implement initiatives to optimise medicines for the wider population both within an organisation and between healthcare sectors.
• Education and Training in Healthcare (20 credits)
  • This module is for the PGDip and MSc. The module aims to develop the knowledge and skills required to deliver and critique education and training sessions to healthcare professionals.

Your Learning Experience

• Teaching: The programme uses a blended learning approach including recommended reading, short recorded lectures, online quizzes, seminars, workshops and workplace-based learning. In addition to LJMU staff, expert practitioners will be involved in programme delivery.
• Assessment: Assessment methods for this course include: written exams, oral and written case reports and written reports of activities such as practice evaluation exercises. Some modules also have competency requirements (pass/fail assessments). These components are based around demonstrating competence through Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) and the professional practice portfolio.

Career paths

• Completing the Clinical Pharmacy for Primary and Interface Care MSc, PG Diploma, PG Cert course will support you in developing your practices and new roles in community pharmacy and general medical practices, with prescribing and clinical pharmacy skills allowing you to begin delivering services immediately. This will help to improve job satisfaction and support new and innovative practices locally.

Tuition fees and funding

• Home (per year): £3,465
• International (per year): £9,125

Entry requirements

• Home:
  • Qualification requirements: UK Pharmacist registered with the GPhC
  • Alternative qualifications considered: Currently working in an appropriate UK pharmacy setting, with an opportunity to contribute to the clinical care of patients
  • Additional requirements: Letter of support from employer, RPL accepted
• International:
  • Qualification requirements: Equivalent to a UK Pharmacist registered with the GPhC
  • Alternative qualifications considered: Currently working in an appropriate pharmacy setting, with an opportunity to contribute to the clinical care of patients
  • Additional requirements: Letter of support from employer, RPL accepted

How to apply

• Complete the LJMU online application form
• Upload required documents, including pharmacy qualification certificates, employer declaration form, and IELTS certificate (if applicable)
• Contact the Programme Administrator for further information