Course description
Clinical Pharmacy is a well-established area of pharmaceutical expertise that provides significant input into the overall provision of healthcare throughout the National Health Service. To this end, all Schools of Pharmacy in the United Kingdom now offer Clinical Pharmacy, not only in their undergraduate programmes but also as a specialised postgraduate provision.
Clinical Pharmacy is available as:
* PG Certificate in 1 year part-time
* PG Diploma in 2 years part-time
* MSc in 3 years part-time or 1 year full-time.
Diploma students also undertake an updated practical component - Skills in Practice module (formerly Clinical Clerkship) where the practitioner undertakes tasks in their hospital, community pharmacy or primary care workplace.
To allow students from different backgrounds to study in their chosen area of interest in the options module, offers a broad range of subjects.
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Course Content
Stage 1
Postgraduate Certificate (PgC) 60 credits
You study the following core modules:
* Evidence Based Practice: including Critical Appraisal and Pharmacoeconomics
* Clinical Biochemistry
Together with the first 3 Therapeutics modules:
* Cardiovascular
* CNS
* Endocrine
Stage 2
Postgraduate Diploma (PgD) 60 credits
You will continue with 3 further Therapeutics modules:
* Gastrointestinal
* Musculoskeletal
* Respiratory
And also 1 further core module:
* Skills in Practice
Plus 2 optional modules from this list:
* Anticoagulation
* Dermatology
* Infection
* Natural Health Products
* Palliative Care
* Public and Population Health
Stage 3
Masters (MSc) 60 credits
* Research Methodology
* Project
Teaching and Assessment
Teaching is through open learning, lectures, seminars, group work and structured practical experience, and is delivered by staff from University of Sunderland with some lectures from clinical specialists. The project requires you to investigate a topic of practical relevance to patients' needs, and may either involve your own practice base, or else be based entirely at the University.
Assessment is mostly using a variety of types of coursework, including reports, oral presentations, case studies, critical appraisals as well as OSCE and a thesis for the MSc project.
All the MSc, PG Diploma and PG Certificate programmes will continue in the open-learning format with a small number of study days.
Students will use a mixture of paper and internet based materials (distance-learning units or workbooks) covering all aspects of the syllabus, much of the reference material is provided and guidance as to the sources of other material is detailed. This material will continue to be authored by University of Sunderland staff and expert practitioners and be validated by experts in the fields.
Study days for part-time students include tutorials and workshops and a series of specialist keynote lectures presented by staff or by occasional lecturers.
Career Opportunities
For pharmacists this programme opens up careers in such areas as: prescribing support pharmacists, pharmaceutical advisors, practice pharmacists, research and teaching.
Supplemental Information
Attendance
There is one introductory day for all students and 6 compulsory study days in year 1 and approximately 6 to 7 study days in year 2 (depending upon options chosen). The remainder of study is directed through open learning workbooks and workplace tasks.
