1. The prescriber’s role: purpose, scope and accountability
What prescribing is; independent/supplementary models; competence; accountability; deciding not to prescribe.
Learning programme · #P15
Foundations of Prescribing for Non-Medical Prescribers
A 12-module pre-prescribing foundation programme covering clinical assessment, applied pharmacology, safe prescribing, medicines optimisation, monitoring, patient partnership, antimicrobial stewardship and prescribing governance. Preparatory education only; it does not confer prescribing authority, qualification, register annotation or employer authorisation.
Who this programme is for
Registered nurses, pharmacists and other eligible regulated professionals preparing for formal prescribing education. Completion is educational preparation only and is not a substitute for regulator-approved training, supervised practice, registration/annotation or employer governance.
Certificate process: Integrated final assessment + optional private reflection + course completion certificate
Sign in to record progress and qualify for a programme certificate.
2. Clinical assessment and diagnostic reasoning
History, examination principles, red flags, investigations, differential diagnosis, uncertainty and escalation.
3. Applied pharmacology for prescribers
Mechanisms, dose-response, therapeutic index, adverse effects, tolerance/dependence and class reasoning.
4. Pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and individual variation
ADME, half-life, steady state, dose adjustment, age/frailty/genetics/physiology.
5. Safe prescribing, calculations and medicines information
Prescription components, numeracy, formulations/routes, BNF/formularies, evidence and decision support.
6. Interactions, contraindications and high-risk medicines
Drug interactions, allergies, high-risk medicines, monitoring and escalation.
7. Medicines optimisation, polypharmacy and deprescribing
Reconciliation, structured review, burden, adherence, deprescribing and shared decisions.
8. Prescribing in special situations
Renal/hepatic impairment, frailty, pregnancy/breastfeeding, children, weight, multimorbidity and route issues.
9. Monitoring, adverse reactions and pharmacovigilance
Baseline/follow-up monitoring, ADRs, Yellow Card, toxicity, safety-netting and incident learning.
10. Antimicrobial prescribing and stewardship
Diagnosis, microbiology, local guidance, spectrum, dose/duration, review/de-escalation and resistance.
11. Patient partnership and complex prescribing decisions
Consent, capacity, communication, adherence, remote prescribing, self/family prescribing and complex judgement.
12. Governance, errors and transition to formal prescribing education
Professional standards, documentation, scope, legal/employer governance, incidents, portfolios and next steps.
Course completion
Sign in to complete the integrated final assessment and receive the course certificate.
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