PM2PY1-Professional Practice 2

Module Provider: Pharmacy
Number of credits: 40 [20 ECTS credits]
Level:5
Terms in which taught: Autumn / Spring / Summer module
Pre-requisites: PM1A Fundamentals of Physiology and PM1B Medicines Discovery, Design, Development and Delivery and PM1C Introduction to Professionalism and Practice
Non-modular pre-requisites:
Co-requisites: PM2PY2 Clinical Therapeutics 1 and PM2PY3 Clinical Therapeutics 2
Modules excluded:
Placement opportunity: Micro placement
Current from: 2023/4

Module Convenor: Miss Kate Fletcher
Email: k.e.fletcher@reading.ac.uk

Type of module:

Summary module description:

This module focuses on pharmacy practice concepts and skills development. Hospital and general practice (GP) pharmacy will be described in more detail, teaching skills such as history taking, monitoring of drug therapies, medicines reconciliation and pharmaceutical care. The examples used in class are aligned to the Part 2 main therapeutic topics and pharmaceutical chemistry and drug delivery concepts are integrated into lectures and workshops where relevant. These skills will be put into practice through placement experience in structured hospital, community and GP visits. Science and practice-focused calculation skills are revisited in workshops and assessed summatively.

Aims:

This module aims to provide students with the opportunity to develop their skills in professional practice whilst using their core science knowledge (gained from Part 1 and Therapeutics 1 and 2). It will use an integrated learning approach to demonstrate to students how science impacts on professional practice, with applications to a range of sectors including community, hospital, GP and industrial pharmacy. It will also enable students to deliver hands-on public-facing healthy living assessments and advice to volunteer patients.

Assessable learning outcomes:

At the end of the module the student will be expected to:

1. Contribute to basic tasks required of a hospital pharmacist including drug history taking, medicines reconciliation, monitoring of drug therapy, counselling on medicines, drug chart assessment, record keeping, accuracy checking and drug calculations.


2. Contribute to basic tasks required of a GP pharmacist including history taking, health promotion advice, counselling on medicines, medication reviews, simple physical assessments, record keeping.


3. Explain the process for diagnosis, and ruling out the differential diagnoses, for minor ailments affecting the respiratory, cardiovascular, renal and GI tract.


4. Identify the science behind adverse drug reactions and drug interactions in order to demonstrate the ability to anticipate, recognise and deal with them including with complementary and alternative medicines.


5. Undertake a health promotion-related consultation, including gaining informed consent, safely performing and interpreting diagnostic tests, explaining results in a suitable form to be understood by patients, providing pharmacological and non-pharmacological advice, signposting to other sources of support and appropriately recording details of the consultation.

Additional outcomes:

Students should be able to:

• develop their knowledge of team-based practices, coaching and the theories of leadership and their role in driving performance.


• proactively maintain a Personal and Academic Development Portfolio showing an ability to reflect on experiences, own practice and development needs.


• Effectively promote healthy lifestyles using evidence-based techniques.

Outline content:

This module introduces students to the role of pharmacists in GP surgeries and hospitals and allows them to develop their professional behaviours, consultation and physical assessment skills as well as integrating science and evidence into professional practice in determining the best options for patients focusing on four therapeutic areas: gastrointestinal tract, renal, respiratory and cardiovascular systems. Healthy living assessments (HLAs) will provide students with the opportunity to utilise their clinical skills in supporting patients to achieve healthy lifestyles. Their professional development towards being a reflective practitioner will be evidenced in the Personal and Academic Portfolio.

Placement visit: Students will put the skills gained from Part 1 and other Part 2 modules into practice through two blocks of placement experience in hospital, GP surgery or community pharmacy.

Global context:

This module will develop core knowledge and show how this knowledge is relevant to the role of a pharmacist. The student will need to develop independent learning skills within this module to progress into Part 3 but should then be suitably equipped to tackle the rigour of an MPharm degree. The topics covered here will link into all modules of Parts 2 and 3.

Brief description of teaching and learning methods:

The course content will be delivered through a range of teaching methods including lectures, directed private study, self-directed learning, placements and workshops. Students will be signposted to additional resources to supplement the lecture material. Attendance to all teaching sessions is required and poor attendance will be recorded in the student’s personal file. Students failing to complete and engage in placements and interprofessional education sessions will not be permitt ed to complete the programme. Appropriate supplementary information and reading lists will be provided.

Contact hours:

	Autumn	Spring	Summer
Lectures	35	35
Tutorials			4
Practicals classes and workshops	20	20
Work-based learning	75	75
Guided independent study:
Wider reading (independent)	30	30
Wider reading (directed)	10	10
Advance preparation for classes	5	5
Completion of formative assessment tasks	10
Revision and preparation	14	14
Reflection	4	4
Total hours by term	203	193	4
Total hours for module	400

Summative Assessment Methods:

Method	Percentage
Written exam	100

Summative assessment- Examinations:

In the summer exam period:

1. Written examination (50% of module) - 2 hrs


2. Written examination (MCQ – with use of some provided resources) (50% of module) - 1.5 hrs

Summative assessment- Coursework and in-class tests:

1. Personal and Academic Development Portfolio (PADP) coursework submission - Pass/Fail (no module weighting)


2. Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCE) exam – Pass/Fail (no module weighting)

Formative assessment methods:

Formative assessment will be undertaken during workshops and on placement and will reinforce several of the learning outcomes of the module. These will be staff, workplace supervisor or peer assessed and will be related to communication, physical assessment and consultation skills. The workplace-based assessments undertaken whilst on placement will provide students with feedback on their achievement of the learning outcomes and there will be a requirement to submit them in their portfolio. It will also help to prepare them for the summative assessments in other modules.

Students will undertake a formative Healthy Living Assessment (HLA) Blackboard Test and practical skills assessment before carrying out the healthy living assessments on volunteer patients. This will help in preparation for the summative assessments.

Penalties for late submission:

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of five working days;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than five working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/cqsd-old-site-documents/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf
You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Assessment requirements for a pass:

All summative assessments must be passed at 40% (or a pass for ‘pass/fail’ assessments).

Reassessment arrangements:

Re-examination (written papers) in August.  Failed coursework and OSCE assessments will be reassessed during the August examination period.  Students failing the PADP due to non-attendance on placements or not achieving portfolio requirements will be required to resubmit in August having successfully attended additional learning in the summer with completion of the workplace-based assessments.

Additional Costs (specified where applicable):

1) Required text books: 

2) Specialist equipment or materials: 

3) Specialist clothing, footwear or headgear: 

4) Printing and binding: 

5) Computers and devices with a particular specification: 

6) Travel, accommodation and subsistence:  Travel, and in some cases, accommodation costs will be incurred

Last updated: 5 October 2023