The Independent Prescribing unit takes place over six months and includes a series of compulsory workshops, please note that attendance at these workshops is mandatory (GPhC accreditation requirement) and non-attendance/partial attendance will result in failure of the course. Applicants are expected to ensure they are available for all days before submitting their application. Workshop dates for each cohort are given below.

You can read this detailed description of the unit to understand more about the time commitment, workshops and assessments.

Upcoming intakes for the 2023/24 academic year are as follows:

• March 2024 (Remote delivery)
• March 2024 (Hybrid delivery)

Hybrid cohorts will be delivered using blended learning including some face-to-face workshops on the Bath campus, and the virtual cohorts will be delivered online.

Your university registration will commence prior to the first workshops, to allow you to orientate yourself to our online resources.

Course features

• Blended delivery: you will attend workshops with your fellow learners as well as having your learning in practice supported by our multi-professional team and the resources available via our online learning environment.

• Excellent academic and pastoral support from our dedicated teaching team.

• General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) accredited: successful completion will allow you to apply for annotation as Independent Prescriber on the General Pharmaceutical Council register.

• Award of 30 academic credits (CATS credits), which can be used to contribute to a range of academic awards with us including Postgraduate Certificate, Postgraduate Diploma and MSc.

• Nominate your own clinical area of focus for the unit (you should have some existing expertise relevant to your selected topic).

• After completing the prescribing unit you can further develop your skills by taking our follow-on Advanced Clinical Assessment unit.

The workshop dates are planned as below, but in exceptional circumstances may need to change. We would always aim to give you as much notice as possible for any changes.

Workshop dates: March 2024 start (Remote)

• Workshop days 1 & 2 (Induction): 25 & 26 March 2024 (Remote)
• Workshop day 3: 15 April 2024 (Remote)
• Workshop day 4: 16 May 2024 (Remote)
• Workshop day 5: 3 June 2024 (Remote)
• Workshop day 6: 27 June 2024 (Remote)
• Workshop day 7: 25 July 2024 (Remote)
• Workshop day 8 (Assessment): 12 September 2024 (Remote)

Deadline for applications: 10 November 2023

Workshop dates: March 2024 start (Hybrid)

• Workshop days 1 & 2 (Induction): 27 & 28 March 2024 (Remote)
• Workshop day 3: 18 April 2024 (Remote)
• Workshop day 4: 13 May 2024 (face to face)
• Workshop day 5: 6 June 2024 (Remote)
• Workshop day 6: 24 June 2024 (face to face)
• Workshop day 7: 22 July 2024 (face to face)
• Workshop day 8 (Assessment): 11 September 2024 (face to face)

Deadline for applications: 10 November 2023

Applications for the October 2023 intake for Independent Prescribing training are now closed and applications for the next intakes are now open. Training will begin for these in March and we are offering two options running side by side – one fully online and one hybrid.

The application portal is now open and will close on 10th November (or before if we receive a large volume of applications) so if you are keen to secure a place please apply as soon as possible.

• Do ensure your application is complete, chasing your DPP/referees for forms as necessary, as only complete applications will be considered. We strongly encourage applicants to check on the application portal if their references are present. The university emails the referees once, both references need to be present for us to consider your application when we allocate the places for each cohort. We also strongly encourage you to read the text at the start of the supplementary application form and check the form is completed correctly, we cannot consider applications where the required information is not present.

• Unfortunately we are not able to accept applications from pharmacists enrolled on CPPE’s Primary Care Pharmacy Education Pathway (PCPEP) for the March intakes as we have already allocated all funded places for this category of learner.

• We would still encourage applications from community pharmacists (including locum pharmacists); pharmacists employed in General Practice (who are not eligible for, or enrolled on, the Primary Care Pharmacy Education Programme (PCPEP) and those who are working to provide primary care services (e.g., working in primary care) who are not employed in ARRS roles); and Health and Justice pharmacists, and pharmacists working in an NHS Hospital Trust or Mental Health Trust (NHS managed sector); pharmacists working in an integrated care board, ICB (previously CCG pharmacists).

• We will review all applications in line with the selection criteria detailed below.

1. Existing award students (see below)
2. Health Education England funded applicants in line with the requirements attached to this funding (regional considerations at the discretion of the funder, as applicable), including:
3. all application documents completed in full, all references and supplementary documents present and DPP form completed by the closing date
4. date of application
5. training environment (DPP commitment to support in practice, description of specialism, plan for completion of mandatory clinical practice hours and identified clinical need/future role)
6. previous experience of postgraduate study

• We would encourage applicants who could attend the university campus for 4 days during the course to apply for the hybrid version of the course. The remote course attracts applicants from all over the country and we are limited to 40 students for the remote version and 40 for the hybrid version.

• You will be notified of the decision of the University as soon as possible before the start of the course. We are currently accredited for up to 40 students per cohort. We reserve the right to close applications early based on demand. In the case of places being over-subscribed we may need to interview applicants and would let you know about arrangements for this as soon as possible.

• Applicants are responsible for finding their own Designated Prescribing Practitioner

• Apply to Bath for the March 2024 (remote) cohort

• Apply to Bath for the March 2024 (hybrid) cohort

The deadline for applications is 10 November 2023.

Application process

There is an additional supplementary information form that is required, as well as the online application. The form must be submitted by the deadline for you to be considered for a place.

We will review all applications in line with the selection criteria detailed below. You will be notified of the decision of the University as soon as possible before the start of the course. We are currently accredited for up to 40 students per cohort. We reserve the right to close applications early based on demand. In the case of places being over-subscribed we may need to interview applicants and would let you know about arrangements for this as soon as possible.

If the unit is oversubscribed, we will prioritise as follows:

• Existing award students (see below)
• Health Education England funded applicants
• Training environment (DPP commitment to support in practice, description of specialism, plan for completion of mandatory clinical practice hours and identified clinical need/future role
• Previous experience of postgraduate study

Fees and funding

Go to our fees pages for more information on fees and how to pay them.

Health Education England (HEE) have awarded contracts for funded places for pharmacist prescribing students. The University of Bath has been selected as a provider under this contract, so if you qualify for HEE financial support, you can apply to us for a funded place. Please see our 'supplementary information form' for funding categories. Please also see the Health Education England website for more information.

General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) requirements

• Have current registration with the GPhC Pharmacy Regulator or PSNI as a pharmacist
• Disclose any current or pending formal investigations into your practice or any pending issues that may affect your future ability to practice. The application form provides space to notify the Director of Studies that you have an issue to discuss.
• Have an identified area of prescribing practice and a clinical setting in which to develop these skills.
• Have identified an appropriate clinician to act as your Designated Prescribing Practitioner (DPP). Download our guide with more information about the role of a DPP.

English language requirements

If your first language is not English, you will need an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) score of at least 7 overall with no less than 6.5 in all components or at least 250 (computer-based test) with a score of not less than 5.0 in the TWE or 100 (internet-based test) with not less than 24 in each of the components.

Values Based Recruitment

If you are working in or plan to work in the NHS, we follow the NHS Values Based Recruitment Guidance. We strongly believe in the NHS values and will be looking for them in our applicants.