Enhanced/Prescribing for Health Professionals

This course helps you continue your professional development. Learn in practice with an assessor. They'll be a registered healthcare professional and experienced prescriber. Qualify as both an independent and supplementary prescriber. You can choose your own level of study.

Student looking at boxes of medicine in the pharmacy dispensary

LevelShort courses and CPD

Duration6 months

Start dates26 January 2026

Fee£1,500

Course codeCID1350

Course summary

Prescribing is an important part of specialist and advanced practice for health professionals. It's often needed for career progression and certain job roles.

Independent and supplementary knowledge and skills are essential in prescribing. This short course leads to a qualification in both.

Before you can prescribe, you must complete an approved module. The Professional Standards and Regulatory Body (PSRB) requires this. This includes the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) and Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). These organisations approve the module to make sure it meets current prescribing standards.

Why Sunderland for Short courses and CPD

What you'll study

This module meets the 'Standards for prescribing programmes' outlined by the NMC (2024). It's underpinned by the principles in:

The 'Standards Framework for Nursing and Midwifery Education'
The 'Standards for student supervision and assessment'.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) supports the practice element of the course. The 'competency framework for prescribers' (2021) divides into these areas:

Assess the patient
Consider the options
Reach a shared decision
Prescribe
Provide information
Monitor and review
Prescribe safely
Prescribe professionally
Improve prescribing practice
Prescribe as part of a team.

How you'll learn

The course structure reflects practice requirements. This involves a one-week block at the beginning and end of the course, plus one day between.

Through our teaching, we make sure you can apply relevant theory to your practice. This helps you make safe and effective decisions. These methods include:

Lectures and seminars
Group work
Problem-based learning
Interactive discussions
Workshops
Case-based analysis of practical experiences
One-to-one and group tutorials.

Simulation and role play support clinical assessment and diagnostic decision-making skills. You'll use our Virtual Learning Environment and e-learning during your studies. These include practice maths tasks, short answer questions, and links to helpful sources.

You'll also undertake supervised practice. This will be with a qualified and experienced assessor. You'll complete:

78 hours if you're registered with the NMC and90 hours if you're registered with the HCPC.

Assessment methods include a:

Portfolio of evidence from practice
2,500-word critical essay
1,000-word reflective supplementary essay
Pharmacology/British National Formulary (BNF) exam
Numeracy exam.

Entry requirements

To apply for this course you must:

Be a registered first level nurse and/or specialist community public health nurse (NMC)
Be registered with the NMC or HCPC for at least one year before applying
Confirm you're capable of safe and effective practice. This needs to be at a level of skill appropriate to the course and intended area of practice. This could be clinical/health assessment, care management, or planning and evaluating care.
Pass a 20-question drug calculations entry test with a mark of 80% or above
Prove successful, relevant study at academic Level 6 in the last three years.

You'll also need written confirmation from:

Your employer. This confirms the necessary governance structures are in place. This includes clinical support and access to protected learning time. If you're self-employed, you must show strong systems are in place to support safe prescribing and medicine management.
A qualified practice assessor and practice supervisor. They need to meet eligibility criteria for supervision of nurse prescribers. They must also agree to provide the required term of supervised practice.

Fees and finance support

Employers usually meets course costs. We advise that you speak to your workforce development lead before applying.

We also accept self-funded applicants. If you'd like to explore your options, contact us at cpd@sunderland.ac.uk(opens in new tab).

Apply now

Contact our team for further information about applying for this course. Call 0191 515 3361(opens in new tab) or email cpd@sunderland.ac.uk(opens in new tab).