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Course information - MSc CPIPP

Programme structure - MSc Clinical Pharmacy, International Practice and Policy

The MSc programme is organised into five modules which are completed over three terms in twelve months. You can explore the course modules below.

 
 

Term 1

PHAY0024: Clinical Pharmacy Practice and Policy 1

Term 2

PHAY0025: Clinical Pharmacy Practice and Policy 2

Terms 1, 2 & 3

PHAY0026: Clinical Practice at Placement Site
PHAY0027: Leadership, Healthcare and Pharmacy Innovation
PHAY0053: Dissertation

There is also the extended placement module which allows students an opportunity to undertake a placement in a hospital (PHAY0071). This is available to students registered on the 18-month programme Further details can be found below.

Module outlines

You will receive more detailed Module outlines at the start of each module and the content may be slightly different to the information published here. This is because the academic team are constantly updating their teaching in light of developments in current research and new thinking.

PHAY0024 - Clinical Pharmacy Practice and Policy 1 (30 credits)

This module is held in Term 1 and covers clinical pharmacy topics and practice and policy skills. The clinical pharmacy topics include pharmacotherapy associated with WHO and NHS priorities of diabetes, respiratory diseases, infectious diseases and cardiovascular diseases.

Practice and policy skills covered include critical appraisal, interpreting medical notes, taking drug histories and consultation skills.

Assessment

i) Critical appraisal of a journal article submitted towards the end of Term 1, and

ii) Written examination held at the beginning of Term 2.

PHAY0025 - Clinical Pharmacy Practice and Policy 2 (30 credits)

Teaching for this module is held in Term 2 and covers further clinical pharmacy topics and practice and policy skills. The clinical pharmacy topics include pharmacotherapy associated with WHO and NHS priorities of psychiatric disorders, liver and kidney diseases, oncology, paediatrics and care of the elderly. Practice and policy skills covered include pharmaco-epidemiology, medication errors and adherence.

Assessment

Written examination and coursework both due early in Term 3.

PHAY0026 -Clinical Practice at Placement Site (30 credits)

This module extends through the year and is held at students’ placement sites. The clinical practice placements are with London-area teaching hospitals. Students are allocated to their sites in Term 1 and attend two days per week starting at week 11 in Term 1. At each site there is a Placement Tutor, a senior clinical pharmacist, who will co-ordinate the students’ placement visits. The overall aim of the placement is to learn appropriate methods to identify and manage pharmaceutical care issues for individual patients. Full details of the activities at placement site are given in the Module 3 Handbook.

Assessment

Student Portfolio encompassing activities from Term 1 and 2, Practice Case Presentation during Term 1, Case Presentation during Term 2, Portfolio Assessment during Term 2 and Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) held early in Term 3.

Additional sessions are arranged to equip students with further skills to enhance their future career opportunities. These include teaching and learning, pharmacist prescribing and change management. Students also visit a community pharmacy. These activities take place in Terms 2 and 3.

PHAY0027 - Leadership, Healthcare and Pharmacy Innovation (30 credits)

The Leadership, Healthcare and Pharmacy Innovation module teaching takes place in terms 1 and 2. The aim of this module is to address social, cultural, organisational and policy factors that influence health and pharmaceutical services in different countries. Students will collect information about health care systems in their home countries and then propose a pharmaceutical care service specific to these.

Taught sessions include international perspectives on healthcare, drugs use and pharmacy; access to and rational use of medicines; current issues in pharmaceuticals in international health, health economics and health workforce issues. Other sessions cover topics such as developing a business plan; financial planning, and marketing.

Assessment

A 2000 word report and an oral presentation, towards the end of term 2 or early in term 3. Detailed guidelines and dates for this assignment will be issued at the start of the module.

PHAY0053 - Dissertation (60 credits)

Teaching for this module begins in Term 1 and carries through to the end of Term 3. Taught sessions include search strategies, research methodologies, research ethics and data analysis, including use of SPSS.  Students will develop the aims and objectives of their research (usually a service evaluation or audit), carry out a literature review and develop their data collection tool, during term 2.

After an ethical review, data collection and analysis will be carried out in Term 3. The majority of time in term 3 is dedicated to project work. The research is carried out at the placement site and topics are arranged by the placement tutor based on relevance to practice, site-based need and feasibility. Each student has two supervisors, one at the School and one at the placement site.

Final assessment

A 10,000 word report and conference poster. Students will also be required to write up their research in the form of a paper for a peer-reviewed journal. Detailed guidelines for this assignment will be issued at the start of the module.

PHAY0071 - Extended Clinical Practice at Placement Site (90 credits) and available to those registered on the 18-month programme.

This module allows students to demonstrate advanced knowledge and systematic understanding of medicines optimisation and the delivery of pharmaceutical care in a hospital setting. This will be achieved by students undertaking 6 months of clinical practice and research or project work, under supervision in local NHS hospitals.

The extended time at placement further supports experiential learning gained from completing module 3 (Clinical Practice at Placement Site – PHAY0026) and module 5 (Research Skills - PHAY0053) of the MSc CPIPP.

You will attend placement throughout the 6-month period but will have one day per week for study time / project work. A placement supervisor will facilitate learning at the hospital site and demonstrate usual care patterns in the UK. Placement supervisors are senior clinical pharmacists with specialised roles in the designated area of care. You will work with other practitioners in the placement sites as advised by the placement supervisor. The overall aim of the extended time at placement is to develop effective clinical and leadership skills for safe pharmaceutical care and medicines optimisation issues for individual patients.

Assessment

Placement assessments including mini-peer assessment tool (Mini-PAT), hospital project work and presentation.