PG Certificate in Advanced Pharmacy Practice (Critical Care)

Pharmacists must be working currently in an Agenda for Change band 8a, or above role (or substantive specialist B7 role in critical care with demonstrable readiness to be working at an advanced level) and have the support of their department and the critical care unit to complete the course. 

This PG Certificate in Advanced Pharmacy Practice (Critical Care) course completed mostly at a distance, combining academic rigour with a focus on application of learning in the workplace. This is a 60 academic credit course which will require commitment during work time and include personal study. Practitioners can expect to undertake approximately 600 hours of study to meet the learning outcomes of the course, including online & in person learning sets, tutorials, seminars, portfolio activities, assignment tasks, reading and completion of supervised learning events.

It will equip pharmacists with the advanced professional capabilities in critical care and confidence to complete research and evaluation in critical care, lead and develop pharmacy staff, teams and services, and enhance their own and others’ professional development. 

The programme design and assessment strategy are closely aligned to the RPS/UKCPA Advanced Specialist Pharmacist Critical Care Curriculum and the RPS Core Advanced Pharmacist Curriculum. Completion of the course will support completion of a portfolio of evidence for credentialling against these curricula. 

Learning through enquiry-driven practice and engagement with research are at the core of the teaching strategy throughout the programme (as both are essential elements of healthcare professionals’ practice). Students will critically appraise and apply research evidence to inform patient care and select and apply appropriate approaches to improve clinical practice.

Key information

Programme Entry Points 
The course commences on 15th January 2026.

Mode and Duration
This is a part-time Postgraduate Certificate. The course will be delivered using a blended approach, combining online learning, self-directed learning, live learning sets delivered via Teams, and two regional face-to-face study days. 

Tuition Fees (for the cohort starting on 15th January 2026)

NHS England are providing funding for places on the course, for pharmacists who meet the following criteria:

Eligibility for an NHS England funded place are:

• Pharmacist with a substantive role in adult critical care in an NHS hospital in England 
• Currently in an Agenda for Change band 8a, or above role (or substantive specialist B7 role in critical care with demonstrable readiness to be working at an advanced level)    
• Support of their department (e.g. line manager, lead for clinical pharmacy services, or Chief Pharmacist)
• Support of the critical care unit (e.g. clinical director for the unit or senior critical care consultant doctor)
• Commitment to develop a portfolio for RPS credentialling at an advanced level 
• Submission of a statement of purpose

Please note, if any of the following exclusion criteria apply, applicants will not be eligible for a funded place:

• Studying another programme mapped to advanced level practice (e.g. PGDip/MSc Advanced Clinical Practice, RPS supported e-portfolio route) 
• Already credentialed at Advanced or Consultant level 
• Employed in a setting not delivering NHS care in England
• Previously enrolled and subsequently withdrawn from the course   

The course is only open to pharmacists who meet the criteria for an NHS England-funded place. 

Application dates

Applications are now open for the course commencing 15th January 2026. Please see below for information regarding the application process.

Teaching and Learning 

The aim of the course is to equip pharmacists with the advanced professional capabilities in critical care and confidence to complete research and evaluation in critical care, lead and develop pharmacy staff, teams and services, and to enhance their own and others’ professional development. Upon completion of the training pathway, practitioners should be able to:  

• Demonstrate the knowledge and skills in the RPS/UKCPA Advanced Specialist Pharmacist Critical Care Curriculum.
• Identify portfolio gaps and develop a personal development plan to facilitate submission of an e-Portfolio to the RPS for credentialing against the RPS Core Advanced Pharmacist and RPS/UKCPA Advanced Specialist Critical Care Curricula.
• Apply effective clinical reasoning and decision-making skills in complex situations within the critical care domain.
• Contribute to advancing the evidence-base in critical care therapeutics through clinical research.
• Contribute to improving the delivery of critical care services through service evaluation, audit or quality improvement.
• Critically evaluate and reflect on their own professional development and practice.
• Apply education theories to the education, training and developing of the wider pharmacy and multidisciplinary team.  
• Demonstrate effective clinical leadership within a multi-professional critical care environment.

Course Outline

The course consists of four 15-credit modules. The teaching is delivered over approximately 12 months. 

• Developing your Advanced Pharmacy Practice Portfolio

This module spans the entire duration of the course and teaching focuses on the capabilities within the RPS/UKCPA Advanced Specialist Critical Care Curricula. The module induction includes a learning needs assessment and creation of a personal development plan to guide learning in the Clinical Practice domain. Practitioners will use this to guide their self-directed learning and their learning in the workplace.

Practitioners will attend two regional face-to-face study days where core elements of the clinical practice domain will be taught by critical care specialists. They will also attend two, half day, online learning sets where they will engage in peer learning, directed by their learning needs assessments. 

By the end of the module practitioners will have developed a portfolio of evidence to demonstrate they agave met the learning outcomes. They will also write a reflective essay that identifies portfolio gaps and an action plan for completion and submission of an e-Portfolio to the RPS for credentialing against the RPS Core Advanced Pharmacist and RPS/UKCPA Advanced Specialist Critical Care Curricula. 

• Leadership and Management

This module focuses on leadership skills in the critical care environment and facilitates development of the Leadership and Management capabilities of the RPS Core Advanced Curriculum. Practitioners will attend three half-day online learning sets to support this module. The assessment is an essay focussing on a critical care practice process/system challenge and to include a literature review on the related clinical therapeutics of the challenge.

• Education, Training and Development

This module focuses on education and training in the critical care environment and facilitates development of the education capabilities of the RPS Core Advanced Curriculum. Practitioners will attend two half-day online learning sets to support this module. The assessment will focus on specific education challenges in the critical care environment and include a proposal for educational programme development.

• Research and Evaluation

This module focuses on research and evaluation in the critical care environment and facilitates development of the research capabilities of the RPS Core Advanced Curriculum. Practitioners will attend three half-day online learning sets to support this module. The assessment is a research proposal for a critical care therapeutics topic and will include a literature review on the existing evidence on the topic.

Assessment

The programme draws on a range of assessment methods which assess knowledge, competence and performance, using the following approaches:
•    Portfolio including practice-based assessments
•    Oral examination
•    Written Assessment
•    Research proposal presentation

Pharmacists must pass each module in order to pass the course. 

Attendance Requirements

Pharmacists will be required to attend the following:

• Course induction – half day online learning set
• Two in-person study days
• Ten half-day online learning sets 

Both in-person study days will run twice.

Induction & Learning Set Dates 2026

Note: dates are provisional and subject to change

Two dates are offered for each learning set & study day – attendance only required at one

Entry Requirements

The entry requirements for the PG Cert APP (Critical Care) are as follows:

• Be a registered pharmacist with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)
• Have a substantive role in adult critical care in an NHS hospital in England for NHSE-funded place (see above)
• Have the support of the department and the critical care unit to complete the course

For further information please contact the programme team via email  

 sop.criticalcare@ucl.ac.uk

How to apply

In your application you will need to demonstrate that you meet the following criteria for funding:

• Pharmacist with a substantive role in adult critical care in an NHS hospital in England
• Currently in an Agenda for Change band 8a or above role (or substantive specialist B7 role in critical care with demonstrable readiness to be working at an advanced level)  
• Support of their department (e.g. line manager, lead for clinical pharmacy services or Chief Pharmacist)
• Support of the critical care unit
• Commitment to develop a portfolio for RPS credentialling at advanced level
• Submission of a statement of purpose

In your application, you must provide the following:

• A statement describing your current role, how completing the course will support your development in your role, and your commitment to developing a portfolio for RPS credentialling at advanced level
• Completed application pack
• (Optional) A letter from your department confirming their support for you to complete the course, and the support of the critical care unit

Applications are made by completing both an online application form below AND the application pack which can be downloaded here:

When completing the online application form, please ensure you upload the completed application pack and all supporting documents as a single file into the ‘Additional documents’ section of the application. 

The application deadline has been extended to 12pm (noon) GMT on Thursday 18th December 2025. Applications submitted after the deadline will not be considered.

Applications can be made via the online portal: https://evision.ucl.ac.uk/urd/sits.urd/run/siw_ipp_lgn.login_enc?0qhYzuG1h9udTFM8i9sPhtGiUgIR6D6iLsX9m0M5fVkspYUEnYVmR_KVkM08vqwg59I0prXszL8=

If you have any questions about the application process please contact  sop.criticalcare@ucl.ac.uk