University of East Anglia (UEA), PgDip, Pharmacy Practice (General)

This postgraduate programme is part of the Joint Programmes Board (JPB) initiative which includes seven Schools of Pharmacy within the south and south east of England working in partnership.

The course is designed to enable pharmacists from community, primary care and hospital within the Eastern region to deliver patient-focussed services utilising good clinical and consultation skills. Undertaken to Diploma level it will enable hospital and primary care pharmacists to be able to apply for band 7 posts and community pharmacists to provide a range of enhanced services, and develop the clinical and organisational skills required to participate fully and competitively in the changing NHS.

The course is designed to develop pharmacist skills and knowledge which are appropriate for their workplace. Course topics include basic clinical skills and drug knowledge in a wide range of therapeutic areas together with general practice knowledge of how to maximise patient safety, introduce change within the workplace, conduct simple research, teach peers and how to engage with the national agenda for pharmacy and the wider NHS.

This course is open to all sectors of pharmacy and where applicable joint teaching is undertaken to enrich the learning experience with common skills such as consultation skills and leadership taught to mixed community and NHS pharmacist learning sets. However we recognise that sector-specific skills are important and also provide specialist experiences tailored to each sector. This approach facilitates the sharing of best practice both within and across pharmacy sectors.