Advanced Pharmacy Practice

Teaching, learning and assessment

The programme uses a blended and flexible approach to learning, which allows students to choose the most appropriate route for them.  The learning and teaching strategy includes attendance at study days, eLearning, role play, webinars and work-based learning. Students will also produce an eportfolio each year to demonstrate their progression along the Advanced Pharmacy Framework (APF); the professional benchmark at this level. 

There is optionality for students throughout the programme, both in their choice of modules and in their choice of assignments. This allows a personalised learning experience to suit each student’s development needs. Most optional modules will include inter-professional learning with other healthcare professionals, giving students the opportunity to learn with, and about others.

The programme is designed to provide students with continuous formative and summative assessment and feedback to enable them to develop and demonstrate their knowledge of the topics as well as their work-based skills. 

Students will demonstrate:

• The confidence and ability to communicate effectively with patients and healthcare professionals, including communicating complex, contentious or sensitive information
• The ability to take a leadership role as a member of the healthcare team to provide safe, high-quality person-centred care
• The ability to work autonomously to solve complex problems and use sound reasoning and judgement in decision making 
• The behaviour befitting a role model and the ability to effectively lead and mentor others
• The ability to map progress to the relevant competency framework and plan personal development activities accordingly

Students will work on their (synoptic) eportfolio throughout the programme. This includes evidence of their practice to demonstrate their progress on the Advanced Pharmacy Framework. Students will identify their own development needs (with the support of their personal academic tutor and/or practice tutor) to ensure they cover the entire framework. A pass in the Advanced Synoptic 1 module is a requirement for the award of Postgraduate Certificate. A pass in Advanced Synoptic 1 and Advanced Synoptic 2 is a requirement for the award of Postgraduate Diploma and MSc.

In order to develop the communication skills that pharmacist leaders in practice need, there are a variety of summative assessments, including written assignments, objective structured clinical exams (OSCEs), presentations and work-based assessments.