Non-Medical Prescribing Student Placements
£1,500 per student placement (up to 90 hours)
Typically 1 day/week for 12 weeks, or 12 consecutive days
Earn up to £9,000 extra per year
Provide mentorship & supervision to non-medical prescribers
Host prescribing students in your practice
Open to GPs, pharmacists or nurses with 2+ years prescribing experience
FAQ's
Q: What does the Practice need to provide to facilitate a placement? A: Designated Prescribing Practitioner (DPP) - a GP, pharmacist, or nurse with at least 2 years of prescribing experience. Approximately 8 hours of supervision across the 12 day placement.
Q: What training do the students receive before the placement? A: Before the placement begins, students complete online CPD accredited training with Clinical Pharmacist Academy which includes: •Clinical Pharmacist Accelerator Programme oSystmOne + EMIS Web oMonitoring Requirements oDecision Making in Primary Care oOSCE assessment •What good looks like •Clinical Medication Reviews in Primary Care [20 conditions] •Setting up Repeat Dispensing in Primary Care •A-Z of Asthma/ Hypertension (optional, dependent on your specialist area)
Q: What are the supervision requirements? A: The mentor will need to review their work at the end of the clinic, session or each consultation. This depends on the mentor and the student's competence. We recommend a 30-minute slot at the end of morning session and 30-minute slot at the end of afternoon session. This will allow the mentor to sign off any prescriptions for the patients that have been seen on that day. Please note, the mentor (or their deputy) should remain available throughout the learning hours in case the trainee needs help with the patient.
Q. Please provide some further information about the supervision commitment A: •Provide 90 hours of supervision (12 x 7.5-hour sessions) for each assigned trainee, with the option to delegate up to 50% to other qualified clinicians while maintaining minimum required direct supervision as per university requirements •Use standardised assessment guides provided by University to evaluate clinical and professional skills •Assess relevant Physical Examination skills •Provide a final declaration of competency
Q. What is the level of competencies of the pharmacists? A: Mostly new to primary care, but will have completed Primary Care focused training.
Q: What type of patient can they see? A: Each trainee will focus only on one condition such as Hypertension, Asthma, Diabetes. You can let us know if you prefer one over the other.
Q: What type of QOF reviews can they do? A: It will depend on the area of speciality they select from your given list. If for example they focus on Diabetes, then they will be able to complete Diabetes Reviews.
Q: Will the student be carrying out medication reviews? A: No, this would be outside their competency as it will require them to know all common chronic conditions.
Q: Is it face to face, telephone appointments or can it be a mixture? A: The two options are face to face or mixture; the Practice can specify your preference.
Q: How does invoicing / payment work? A: The Practice submits a single invoice to DPP Connect for all their students at the end of each cohort. The payment is then released to the Practice after the students complete their learning in practice period.
Q: Is there a percentage of the placement that needs to be face to face appointments? A: The requirements vary among universities across the country. Generally, we recommend a minimum of 3-4 days of in-person interaction out of the 12-day placement. It's best to discuss and agree on the specific arrangement with the trainee in advance or DPP Connect know so they can include this on their website.
Q: How does the student get assigned to the practice? A: Each DPP indicates which day of the week they can host students, and then create "slots" accordingly - for example, every Tuesday for 12 weeks with specific dates. The slots include details such as location, dates, times, and the DPP's areas of specialty (such as Asthma, Diabetes, Hypertension). DPP Connect publish these slots on their website, allowing students to book their preferred option.
Q: What happens if a student misses one/two/three days of placement? A: DPPs and students can reschedule days if it's mutually convenient, and we typically don't need to be involved in these arrangements. However, if a student misses days or arrives late without a valid reason, please inform us so we can intervene. We expect trainees to maintain professional standards and follow their regulators' code of conduct.
Q: What happens if a student fails a placement or needs further hours? A: If a DPP determines a trainee to be incompetent, they can sign them off as such, and we will still provide their remuneration. If a student requires additional days, we charge the student and pay the DPP for these extra days on a pro-rata basis. However, please ensure these additional days are agreed upon with our training coordinator in advance.
