PG Certificate in Advanced Pharmacy Practice (Critical Care)

This course is funded by NHS England for pharmacists working in a substantive role in adult critical care in an NHS hospital in England.

Pharmacists must be working in a Band 8a role or above, 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) is a 12-month course completed mostly at a distance, combining academic rigour with a focus on application of learning in the workplace.

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 to 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 facilitate 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.

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 delivered over 12 months. 

• Developing your Advanced Pharmacy Practice Portfolio

This module spans the full 12 months 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 in July 2024
• One face-to-face study day in September/October 2023
• One face-to-face study day in May 2025
• Ten half-day online learning sets between July 2024 and April 2025.

Both face-to-face study days will run four times to be delivered in each of the four regions of England (North, Midlands and East, London and South-East, and South-West). Pharmacists will be given a choice of which region they attend. 

Each online learning set will run twice and pharmacists will be able to choose which learning set they attend. 
The attendance requirements are summarised in the table below. Exact dates will be confirmed when the course commences. 

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
• Have the support of the department and the critical care unit to complete the course

Please also refer to the criteria for NHS funding for the course. 

English Language requirements

Applicants must be registered pharmacists with the GPhC and so must be able to meet the professional standards of the relevant professional body relating to communication.

International students

Applicants must be registered pharmacists with the GPhC and have a substantive role in adult critical care in an NHS hospital in England. 

Computer requirements

You must have access to a computer with fast and reliable internet connection. There is a minimum level of computer skills required, including the ability to:

• Navigate the Moodle virtual learning environment to locate teaching and learning materials and to access and submit assessments (with initial basic training)
• Communicate by email
• Work efficiently with Microsoft Word or similar word processing software
• Use the internet to search websites
• Scan and upload documents
• Navigate the e-portfolio system
• Participate in online conferencing (webinars)

 

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 demonstrable readiness to be working at an advanced level equivalent to band 8a)  
• Support of their department (e.g. line manager, Education and Training Lead, 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
• A letter from your department confirming their support for you to complete the course, and the support of the critical care unit.
• Completed application pack

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

• PG Cert Advanced Pharmacy Practice (Critical Care) Application Pack

  PG Cert Advanced Pharmacy Practice (Critical Care) Application Pack

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

Application form

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