Julie Holloway
Senior Lecturer - Primary Healthcare
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Non-Medical Prescribing Programme
Key Facts
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Duration
18 weeks Part Time
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Level
Post RegistrationPO MSc
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Starting
September, March, June
SEP, MAR, JUN
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Part Time: £1,890 (40 credits)
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Waterside
Updated 04/11/2025
Updated 04/11/2025
Overview
Please note that our Non-Medical Prescribing Programme is extremely popular. Due to high demand, we are unable to guarantee that applicants will be given their chosen intake. Places are only guaranteed at the time of offer.
This 40-credit Non-Medical Prescribing course equips nurses, midwives, and allied health professionals to prescribe safely and effectively, within the boundaries of their professional scope of practice. On successful completion, you will gain both the academic accreditation and advanced skills needed to prescribe safely in accordance with current professional regulations and become eligible to register as an Independent & Supplementary Prescriber with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) or the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).
This is a professional qualification (V300 prescribing course) and can be undertaken as a stand-alone module or as part of a package of modules which together can build to an MSc Advanced Clinical Practice or MSc Advancing Practice.
Highlights
- Module will comprise of face-to-face sessions on campus, online activities, numeracy and pharmacology exam and the completion of a competency portfolio
Entry Requirements
Admissions to the non-medical prescribing programme enables all nurse, midwife and SCPHN registrants OR Allied Health Professionals registered with the HCPC (including NHS, Self-employed or non-NHS employed registrants) to apply for entry to the programme. Admission to the programme is dependent on the following minimum criteria:
The applicant must be an NMC registered nurse (level 1), midwife or a SCPHN for at least 12 months or HCPC registered for 3 years prior to applying to the programme:
- There must be an identified clinical need for prescribing by the employer.
- Have employer support and protected learning time.
- The applicant must have knowledge and experience in the area in which they intend to prescribe.
- An Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Services check had been undertaken.
Applicants should be assessed and approved by their employer as competent within their scope of practice, at history taking, assessment, diagnosis/care management, planning/evaluating care and have completed a period of clinical skills learning. In the case of self-employed nurses/midwives, they will need to demonstrate how they meet this criteria directly to the module lead prior to enrolment onto our prescribing course.
The Admissions Policy for the Prescribing programme is in accordance with the University’s admissions for students, Equality and Diversity policies. It seeks to select the students from diverse educational and social backgrounds who can benefit from and motivation to complete the programme. The programme welcomes applications from those from a variety of educational qualifications and will consider on merit applicants with no formal qualifications.
- An appropriate healthcare or bachelor’s degree with honours.
- Students must be employed within a health and social care related environment and be a UK registered healthcare professional or
- Students who do not have a relevant Bachelor’s degree must satisfy the University that by virtue of their professional standing, qualification and/or training that they are fit to register for, and to benefit them from, their proposed programme of study.
As per the University of Northampton Academic Regulations where an applicant for admission to a programme is unable to present evidence relating to the general entry requirements, they may be considered for ‘special admission’.
In such cases the Special Admissions Policy must be followed, which identifies principles governing the admission of associate students. In these circumstances applicants will be referred to the programme leader to discuss suitability for ‘special admission’.
With your non-medical prescribing course application you will be required to upload the following documents:
- Relevant SIF Form which is related to your employment status – Employed at an NHS and non-NHS organisation (coming soon) or Self-employed; and
- A copy of your up to date Enhanced DBS certificate (Child and Adult workforce), issued within the last three years. We require to see all pages, even if they are blank as we must see the full completed certificate. If you do not have an Enhanced DBS certificate you can still make an application and the Admissions office will notify you of your options.
You can find these documents on the postgraduate application guidance page.
You can find information about how to apply for this course on the Health CPD application page.
What You'll Learn
During this non-medical prescribing course you will develop the skills required to undertake a comprehensive and safe consultation, exploring theory and practical applications of knowledge to prescribing practice.
The principles of pharmacology will be developed and applied to clinical situations through the development of a Competency portfolio linked Royal Pharmaceutical Society Framework for Prescribers (2022). Consideration will be given to differential diagnoses, diagnostic tools utilised in practice and the safety netting of all prescribing decisions. Theories and methods underpinning clinical reasoning and decision-making in healthcare, advanced communication strategies, legal and ethical issues of advanced assessment and evidence-based practice will be explored within the module.
Teaching approaches on the non-medical prescriber course are varied, using an active-blended learning approach and include lectures, interactive group work, online learning activities and enquiry-based learning. You will have access to tutor support throughout the module. Students will have 12 face-to-face taught days at the University, with online activity days and the completion of a competency portfolio over an 18-week period.
The assessment strategies in this non-medical prescribing programme offer students the opportunity, through critical reflection, evaluation and synthesis to review their personal learning, development and practice in relation to prescribing. Assessment methods are varied and include:
- Portfolio of evidence – providing a purposeful compilation of a student’s evidence and achievement in relation to prescribing within their area of practice. Completion of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (2022) Competency Framework will demonstrate practical application of the core competencies associated with Prescribing Practice – this is verified and signed off by the Practice Assessor, Practice Supervisors and the Academic Assessor (NMC) or a Designated Medical Practitioner for the HCPC module.
- Short answer paper – an assessment under examination conditions, a written Pharmacology exam with open-ended questions requiring students to create an answer or choose from multiple answers.
- Exam – an assessment under examination conditions to assess numerical skills and their application to Prescribing Practice.
March 2026 cohort
- Start date: 4 March 2026
- Numeracy exam: 25 March 2026
- Pharmacology exam: 27 May 2026
June 2026 cohort
- Start date: 04 June 2026
- Numeracy exam: 25 June 2026
- Pharmacology exam: 27 August 2026
September 2026 cohort
- Start date: 23 September 2026
- Numeracy exam: 14 October 2026
- Pharmacology exam: 16 December 2026
Who do I contact for more information on the V300 course?
If you have any questions, please email: prescribing@northampton.ac.uk.
Information about how to apply and application guidance for Health CPD programmes can be found on our How to apply for Health CPD Study page.
Fees and Funding
2025/26 Tuition Fees
Fees quoted relate to study in the Academic Year 25/26 only and may be subject to inflationary increases in future years.
- Part Time: £1,890 (40 credit)
For more information about possible funding options, please visit our Fees and Funding pages.
Fees quoted relate to study in the Academic Year 24/25 only and may be subject to inflationary increases in future years.
- Part Time: £1,840 (40 credit)
Staff
Krishna Gohil
Senior Lecturer in Podiatry
Bhav Vaghela
Senior Lecturer in Advanced Nursing
Christopher Eze
Senior Lecturer in Advanced Nursing
Anne Butterworth
Senior Lecturer in Practice Development (Advanced Practice)
Careers and Employability
This 40-credit level non medical prescribing course can be used as a module towards a BSc or Masters Programme within the University of Northampton or can be undertaken as a stand-alone module.
