PM2PY1: Professional Practice 2

Module code: PM2PY1

Module provider: Pharmacy; School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy

Credits: 40

Level: Level 2 (Intermediate)

When you'll be taught: Semester 1 / 2

Module convenor: Miss Kate Fletcher, email: k.e.fletcher@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s): This module is only available to students on the associated Pharmacy programme (Open)

Co-requisite module(s): IN THE SAME YEAR AS TAKING THIS MODULE YOU MUST TAKE PM2PY2 AND TAKE PM2PY3 (Compulsory)

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: Micro placement

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: No

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 12 September 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

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.

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.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able 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
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

Module 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.

Students will also develop the following:

1. Develop their knowledge of team-based practices, coaching and the theories of leadership and their role in driving performance
2. Proactively maintain a Personal and Academic Development Portfolio showing an ability to reflect on experiences, own practice and development needs
3. Effectively promote healthy lifestyles using evidence-based techniques

Structure

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 permitted to complete the programme. Appropriate supplementary information and reading lists will be provided.

Study hours

At least 116 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve all of the following to pass this module:

1. A mark of 40% in each of the two exams
2. A pass in both the portfolio and OSCE
3. An overall module mark of 40%

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

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

Assessments with numerical marks

• 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 three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/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.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

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.

Reassessment

Additional costs