PSNC Endorsed Training & Resources

PSNC seeks to promote relevant information resources that will assist community pharmacists and their staff deliver NHS community pharmacy services. PSNC endorses some training programmes and information resources which are valuable for community pharmacists and their staff, and may be involved in the development of these programmes.

PSNC partners provide a range of materials to support community pharmacy contractors, and these may incorporate the PSNC logo. Responsibility for the content of any material lies with the person publishing it, and although PSNC seeks where possible to ensure that material is accurate and relevant, we are unable to guarantee the accuracy of any materials.

Skills for the Future (Programme 1)

A distance learning course from C+D in association with PSNC and the Medway School of Pharmacy.

As part of the new contract community pharmacists can be contracted by the NHS to provide the Medicines Use Review and Prescription Intervention service. The aim of this programme is to enable pharmacists to develop the skills they will need to deliver these new services, and the confidence that they are competent to do so.

More information is available here.

Skills for the Future (Programme 2)

A distance learning course from C+D in association with PSNC and the Medway School of Pharmacy.

Skills for the Future 2 is designed to equip pharmacists with the skills to provide effective medicines management services that can have a positive impact on patients' adherence to their medicines regimens and clinical outcomes. The course supports the learning materials provided in the Skills for the Future 1 MUR accreditation programme.

More information is available here.

Patient Monitoring in Practice

A distance learning course from C+D in association with PSNC and the Medway School of Pharmacy.

On May 19th 2007 a new six part distance learning course for community pharmacists was launched. Delivered to all C+D subscribers free of charge, thanks to support from Apotex UK, 'Patient Monitoring in Practice' will help pharmacists better understand and interpret the clinical tests that their patients undergo.

'Patient Monitoring in Practice' is a postgraduate certificate course accredited by the Medway School of Pharmacy and consists of six learning modules followed by a seventh assessment module:

Module 1: General principles and the interpretation of results

Module 2: Blood testing and anti-coagulant monitoring

Module 3: Cardiovascular

Module 4: Respiratory

Module 5: Endocrine disorders

Module 6: Gastrointestinal and genito-urinary conditions.

Many pharmacists who have completed the Skills for the Future MUR accreditation course have asked about further training they can undertake to support them in their developing roles. Feedback indicates that patient monitoring is an area they would like to know more about. The course is not allied to a specific pharmacy service, but will provide learning that may be applied to many current and future pharmacy service developments. More information can be obtained by clicking here.

Free access to eGuidelines.co.uk for community pharmacists

The normal rate for an annual subscription is £60 + VAT, but following discussions with PSNC, MGP are offering community pharmacists a lifetime subscription free of charge.

You can register for eGuidelines.co.uk today by clicking here.

NB: The free offer is only accessible via this link.

Community pharmacists increasingly need quick access to current clinical guidelines when they are dealing with prescription queries, conducting MURs or providing new clinical services.

eGuidelines.co.uk aims to promote best practice in UK healthcare by providing easy access to clinical guidelines. It is provided by MGP, the publishers of the Guidelines handbook and the Guidelines in Practice monthly journal.

Information on the website will help you:

Improve patient care by following the authorised summaries of national clinical guidelines from the Guidelines handbook;
Put the latest guidelines into practice - every article from every issue of Guidelines in Practice, the monthly clinical journal that helps clinicians implement national guidelines, is available online;
Save time by using the simple search facility - find what you need, when you need it;
Share best practice with your colleagues, using the CLIP database of clinical improvement projects;
Keep up to date via the monthly email update, which highlights new features and content on the site; and
Take part in the debate by leaving your comments on any summary from Guidelines or article from Guidelines in Practice - see what others have to say.