Program Overview

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V300 Independent and Supplementary Prescribing for Registered Nurses

Overview

This 40-credit V300 programme for Registered Nurses will enable you to become a safe and competent independent and supplementary (non-medical) prescriber of medicines (from the British National Formulary.

Why should I choose this course?

• INDUSTRY APPROVED – The course has been developed in partnership with our employer and practice partners, industry experts and experts-by-experience (service users), so the programme meets the current health and social care priorities for prescribing practice, as well as the NMC and Royal Pharmaceutical Society requirements
• CAREER PROGRESSION – Once your annotation is active, you can prescribe within your scope of practice within the approved formulary, in your current role, or search for new roles to progress your career
• FLEXIBLE LEARNING – The programme delivery is flexible, with online as well as face-to-face teaching sessions, simulated practice learning, self-directed study, e-learning and supervised practice

Our facilities

As part of this programme, you will have access to University College Birmingham’s specialist practical and academic learning environments in Moss House and McIntyre House. These include our Health Skills and Simulation Suite, complete with a purpose-built, six-bed hospital ward with simulation manikins, Anatomage table, integrated filming and audio equipment and a community care environment for simulated scenario sessions and ‘OSCE’ practice.

Course breakdown

Independent and Supplementary Prescribing Module

40 credit Independent and Supplementary Prescribing Module (Level 6 or Level 7):

This module will facilitate your development of the knowledge and skills required for safe and effective prescribing from a legally specified UK formulary. Successful completion of all components of the module will lead to the achievement of a recordable prescribing qualification with the NMC. The subject areas you will study include assessing the patient and considering prescribing options, pharmacology for prescribing and de-prescribing, legal and regulatory frameworks, providing information, reaching shared decisions, monitoring, and reviewing treatments, prescribing safely, professionally and as part of a team and improving prescribing practice.

Module topics:

The syllabus for the teaching reflects the Royal Pharmaceutical Society's (2021) multiprofessional, competency framework for all prescribers’ and meets current regulatory requirements to register as an independent and/or supplementary prescriber. RPS (2021) A competency framework for all prescribers.

The competencies within the framework are presented as two domains and describe the knowledge, skill, behaviour, activity or outcome that prescribers should demonstrate:

Domain one - the consultation

This domain looks at the competencies that the prescriber should demonstrate during the consultation.

Domain two - prescribing governance

This domain focuses on the competencies that the prescriber should demonstrate with respect to prescribing governance.

In addition to the above, the module content includes:

• Anatomy and physiology
• Person-centred communication, information provision and shared decision making
• Legal, ethical and professional issues
• Clinical pharmacology, including effects of co-morbidities
• Evidence-based practice and issues of quality related to prescribing practice
• Professional accountability and responsibility
• Concordance strategies and overcoming clinical inertia
• Monitoring and reviewing strategies
• Prescribing in the team context
• Prescribing in the public health context including health promotion
• Models of consultation and motivational interviewing
• Introductions to epidemiology
• Service user partnership and collaboration
• Consider prescribing options
• Prescribing safety
• Improving prescribing practice through reflection

Entry requirements

Entry requirements

To be considered for a place on the V300 Independent and Supplementary prescribing programme, you must provide evidence that you meet this entry criteria:

• NMC registration NMC registrants: Registered Nurse (Level 1), midwife or SCPHN, must be registered with the NMC for a minimum of one year prior to applying for entry to the programme, usually with one year’s relevant experience in the clinical field in which they are intending to prescribe
• Enhanced DBS Have a satisfactory enhanced disclosure clearance (DBS), dated within three years of the programme start date.
• Academic ability Have the academic ability to study at the level required for the programme (i.e. academic Level 6 (degree level) or Level 7 (master’s level). Evidence of this is required on the application form.
• Experience and skills Have the ability to practise safely and effectively as a Registered Nurse at a level of proficiency appropriate to the V300 programme and your intended area of prescribing practice in all of the following areas:
  • Clinical/health assessment
  • Diagnostics/care management
  • Planning/evaluating care
• Governance arrangements Your workplace must have appropriate clinical governance arrangements in place for you to practise as a Registered Nurse Independent/Supplementary Prescriber, including indemnity insurance arrangements
• Protected learning time You are required to attend 24 study sessions/ complete online study, so you will need protected learning time approved by your manager, plus 90 hours of supervised prescriber practice, either in your workplace, or with other prescribers across different learning environments across the programme (26 weeks). These 90 hours must be protected by your employer. Approval of this must be provided by your employer, on the manager's reference form.

Application process

There are three components to your application:

1. Your information
2. Manager’s approval
3. Practice Supervisor and Practice Assessor commitment

As an applicant, you must complete the application form as part of the admission process to provide evidence that you meet all of the criteria for entry onto the programme.

It can take up to 6 weeks to receive a formal offer, especially if your application form is incomplete, requires information or you do not have a DBS in place. It is best to apply early to avoid disappointment.

The completed application, with manager’s commendation, must be returned to 6 weeks before the start of the programme for assessment.

Please ensure that all elements are completed or your application may be rejected.

If you work for a Trust or an employer with a non-medical prescribing lead, they MUST approve your application.

On your application, your non-medical prescribing lead / employer will need to provide supportive evidence that you have:

• at least one year’s experience working in a role with an identified clinical need for prescribing.
• the appropriate knowledge and experience in the area in which you intend to prescribe.
• protected time for the 90 hours of supervised prescribing practice.
• protected time for the 24 days of academic study time.
• the appropriate clinical supervision, clinical governance, and indemnity insurance to cover your future prescribing practice.
• a current Disclosure and Barring Services (DBS) check.

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

The programme team will consider Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) that is capable of being mapped to the RPS Competency Framework for all prescribers. You must request a consideration for this on the application form.

RPL can be applied up to 50% of the programme learning outcomes.

Evidence of prior knowledge, experience, programmes of study (for example V100/V150), study at the same academic level (Level 6 or Level 7) will require formal evidence, for example, transcripts, certificates or manager’s reference.

Funded places

10 funded places are available on this course for February 2025 entry.

Applicants must be registered nurses working in social care, primary care, private, independent and voluntary sector organisations, who are able to prescribe as a nurse prescriber within their registered nurse role, on completion of the programme.

Individuals must have support from their manager to undertake our 26-week degree (Level 6) or master's (level 7) programme starting in February 2025, with protected learning time of 1 day per week (Wednesdays).

Eligibility criteria for funding:

• Must live within the West Midlands Combined Authority postcode catchment area
• Must earn less than £32,000 pa

Applicants must also meet the entry criteria for the programme and complete their application in full before 13th December.

Costs

Employer-sponsored applications/apprenticeships/self funding applicants

Apprentices: If the V300 programme is taken as part of the MSc Adult Social Care Nursing or Homeless and Inclusion Health Nursing Apprenticeship programmes, then the levy fee arrangement through your employer will cover the cost of the V300 as the module is included within these programmes.

Self-funded students:

If the V300 is studied as a standalone programme, at level 6 or level 7, the cost is £2000 (cost).

If the V300 programme is taken as part of a full master’s (MSc Adult Social Care Nursing or Homeless and Inclusion Health Nursing), the cost of the MSc is £9350 (cost), which will include the V300.

Master’s students can apply for a postgraduate loan to cover the course cost of a full MSc programme. Funding for postgraduate study can be found at Gov.uk. The maximum available loan is £12,471 for the upcoming year (courses starting from 1 August 2024)

This programme is not available to international students.

Key information

Teaching and assessment

The programme is designed to have a 50:50 split between theory and practice. You will be taught general principles on study days through a variety of teaching methods, then relate your learning to your own practice area with the support of your Practice Supervisor and Practice Assessor.

The induction day, two practical sessions and ALL assessments at the end of each semester are held onsite at the University's Moss House campus (OSCE and 2 x written exams).

Assessment:

• 2-part online invigilated exam – 90 minutes pharmacology (80% pass mark) and 30 minutes prescribing calculations (100% pass mark)
• Practice Assessment Document (PAD) (90 hours of supervised practice) This is to record practice-based assessment and achievement of the practice competencies for independent and supplementary prescribing
• Portfolio containing 2 x 2000-word case-based assignments or reflections

Our teaching and assessment is underpinned by our Teaching, Learning and Assessment Strategy.

Teaching methods include:

• Online lectures
• e-learning workbooks
• Group discussions
• Tutorials/academic assessor meetings
• Interactive sessions, including quizzes
• Problem-based learning case studies and scenarios
• Practical prescribing sessions
• Healthcare numeracy and prescriber calculation practice
• Action learning sets/small group tutorials

90 hours of supervised prescriber practice (protected learning time)

You are required to meet a minimum 90 hours of supervised prescriber practice to meet the Royal Pharmaceutical Society Competency Framework for Prescribers.

In partnership with your employer, you must identify a suitable Practice Assessor (PA).

A Practice Assessor is a Registered Healthcare Professional with a prescribing qualification and a minimum of three years’ recent prescribing experience in this role, for example, a doctor, nurse, pharmacist or other professionally registered, V300 trained independent prescriber.

In conjunction with your Practice Assessor, you must identify suitable Practice Supervisor(s) (PS) to support your practice learning.

Practice Supervisors should also be registered V300 Independent/Supplementary Prescribers (or equivalent) with at least one year of experience in this role.

In exceptional circumstances (for example, where there is limited access to non-medical prescribers), nurses can request from the programme lead that the same person acts as both Practice Assessor and Practice Supervisor.

Further details of supervision and assessment requirements can be found in the Royal Pharmaceutical Society Designated Prescribing Practitioner Framework: RPS English Competency Framework 3.pdf (rpharms.com)

Your Practice Assessor, along with your Academic Assessor, who will be a member of the university programme team, is responsible for signing you off as a competent and safe prescriber by the end of the programme.

Self-directed study

It is recommended that you complete a further 12 days of self-directed study across the year in addition to the 24 advertised university study days, or six days if studying the 40-credit module only.

Self-directed is required for research for assessments, writing assignments and preparing for exams.

Timetable

The programme is a 40-credit module, taught and assessed across one year (September to March or February to August), with supervised learning in practice running alongside theory sessions. Each module starts in either September or February.

There are 24 taught study sessions in total. This is one study session per week including online learning/self-directed study plus supervised prescriber practice in the workplace up to a total of 90 hours.

Assessments will be in March and July and any required resits in August.

All sessions are mandatory attendance.

Tuition fees for home students

If you are a home student enrolling on a V300 Independent and Supplementary Prescribing course at University College Birmingham, the 2024/2025 academic year tuition fee for part-time study will be £2,000.

View tuition fees for home students

Career opportunities

• Community specialist practitioner: Average Salary: £36,370
• Advanced clinical practitioner: Average Salary: £50,173
• Advanced nurse practitioner: £35,000-£50,000

Who we work with

A snapshot of some of the employers we have worked with:

• Cygnet Healthcare
• Practice Plus Group (Health in Justice)
• Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care System, and the Trusts and Organisations within this:
  • University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust
  • Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Foundation Trust
  • Birmingham Women's and Children's NHS Foundation Trust
  • Royal Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
  • Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
  • Birmingham and Solihull NHS Training Hub (GP Practice)
  • Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust (City, Sandwell, Rowley Regis)
  • Change Grow Live
  • Birmingham Council
  • Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council
  • WMCA