Independent/Supplementary Prescribing (V300) level 7

Independent/Supplementary Prescribing (V300) Level 7

This programme is designed to prepare students to work as an independent/supplementary prescriber.

Entry Criteria
Structure and assessment
Facilities and features
Opportunities and careers
Take your next steps
Contact us

Overview

On successful completion the student will be awarded 45 credits at level 7 in addition to the professional qualification.

One of the major changes promoted within the NHS 5 Year Forward plan is the changing roles of nurses/midwives and allied health professionals who with appropriate training can undertake some of the roles previously under taken by doctors. The Independent/Supplementary Prescribing (V300) programme addresses this by preparing nurses/midwives and allied health professionals to prescribe.

The programme has been validated by the NMC and HCPC and prepares students to prescribe from the BNF within their competency and professional bodies’ authorisation.

The curriculum has been designed with expert advice from a multidisciplinary team of clinicians and academics to address the academic and clinical demands of the role of a prescriber.

The programme is designed to have a 50:50 split between theory and practice. You will be taught general principles in class, but will need to relate these to your own practice area with the support of your practice supervisor and practice assessor. You must complete 12 days (84 hours) in a supernumerary capacity observing a variety of prescribing decisions. The student will be allocated time for these practice days but is responsible for organising suitable experiences to enhance their knowledge.

The V300 course must be studied as a total of 45 credits (one 15c Module and x1 30c Module) to be able to achieve the V300 NMC award and students must enrol onto the modules as part of the MSc Professional Clinical Practice programme.

Please note Pharmacists wishing to undertake the prescribing programme should visit the Practice Certificate in Prescribing for Pharmacists page.

How to apply

Initially contact your education and prescribing lead, as they will need to be involved in approving your application and interviewing with the university.

Complete the online application form. Once it has been processed you will be asked to complete a number of appendices.

Application forms and guidance notes

You will need to apply through the Professional Clinical Practice programme unless you are already enrolled on the Advanced Clinical Practice programme in which case you apply through this programme.

The modules are:

PRES 5005 - Applied Prescribing
PRES 5006 - Pharmacology for Prescribers

For the October cohort you must apply for PRES 5005 - 1 and PRES 5006 -1

For the January cohort you must apply for PRES 5005 – 2 and PRES 5006 - 2

For further information contact:

Emma Readman
Senior Lecturer
T: 0116 201 6466
E: emma.readman@dmu.ac.uk

DMU has been shortlisted for the Postgraduate Award in the 2025 Whatuni Student Choice Awards (WUSCAs), as voted for by students.

UK
EU/International

Institution code: D26

Module Codes:

PRES 5005
PRES 5006

Duration:
This postgraduate (Level 7) programme runs once per year: October 2025, and January 2026. If you wish to study at undergraduate level please see our Level 6 page.

October 2025 and January 2026:

Attendance: For October starters, attendance is one day per week on a Thursday, from October 2025 to May 2026. For January starters, attendance is one day per week on a Tuesday from January 2026 to September 2026.

Start dates:

October intake: 2 October 2025
January intake: 27 January 2026

Students undertake 84 hours of practice supervised by and assessed by their practice supervisor/practice assessor over the two semesters.

Location of study: 777ӰԺ Leicester UK

Those working in the NHS may be eligible for funding from the Education Commission Unit of the East Midlands Strategic Health Authority.

Fees and funding: For full-time fees please see the Learning Beyond Registration funding pages

Apply now

This course is not currently available to international students.

Entry criteria

Candidates should:

- Be a nurse (level 1) or midwife registered with the NMC or a:
  - physiotherapist
  - podiatrist
  - paramedic
  - therapeutic radiographer
  - dietician
  - diagnostic radiographer
(all registered with the HCPC)
Possess 2:2 or equivalent BSc (Hons) degree
Have been on a relevant HCP /NMC Professional Register for a minimum of one year
Be competent in: patient assessment, diagnostics, planning and evaluation of care.

Ideally you should possess a course such as a "Consultation and Physical Examination skills" module or equivalent before you apply for the V300

Alternatively, you can present your portfolio of evidence of how you have developed these skills to the Programme Leader ddowsett@dmu.ac.uk or the Module Leader emma.readman@dmu.ac.uk.

Have the support of a suitably qualified Practice Supervisor and Practice Assessor
Have the support of a prescriber willing to take on the role of continuing professional development facilitator on qualification
Have, if applicable, managerial and non-medical prescribing lead support (for self-employed candidates this is not required but a professional reference is required instead.)
Complete a placement audit for their practice area
Complete a good health good character form
Have an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check within 3 years of start of the course
Be interviewed by the prescribing team/practice staff

Find out about the requirements for the role of practice supervisor and practice assessor.

English language requirements:

If English is not your first language an IELTS score of 7 or equivalent when you start the course is essential. English language tuition, delivered by our British Council accredited Centre for English Language Learning (CELL), is available both before and during the course.

Structure and assessment

In order to achieve the professional qualification of Independent/Supplementary (V300) Prescriber students must pass 2 modules:

PRES 5005 Applied Prescribing Module

This is a 30-credit module taught over 2 semesters.

PRES 5006 Pharmacology for Prescribers Module

This is a 15-credit module taught over x2 semesters

Note: All modules are indicative and based on the current academic session. Course information is correct at the time of publication and is subject to review. Exact modules may, therefore, vary for your intake in order to keep content current. If there are changes to your course we will, where reasonable, take steps to inform you as appropriate.

Teaching and assessment

As you are studying at postgraduate level you are expected to take responsibility for your own learning and contextualising the information given in class to your own specific practice area.

You will be taught alongside students and will benefit from inter-professional learning as students from a variety of specialities and professional background are taught together. The teaching is a mix of lectures, tutorials, action learning sets and self-directed study. The timetable will vary but you can expect approximately 4 hours taught information per week and approximately 4 hours private study a week. Students can find the pharmacology challenging particularly if it is a new subject, so you will need to re-visit these lecture notes to consolidate your learning.

Attendance dates

These are the Programme dates for the Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health Professionals undertaking the V300 Prescribing programme.

Please note:

Attendance dates are taught days at DMU.
Practice days are to be arranged by yourselves and can be moved to fit your schedule.
Self-directed study days are an opportunity for you to prepare for the next taught session.

October 2025 cohort

2 October 24 – Taught Day

9 October 24 – Taught Day

16 October 24 – Practice Day

23 October – Self-directed Study

30 October – Taught Day

6 November – Practice Day

13 November – Self-directed Study 2: Summative Numeracy Assessment

20 November – Taught Day

27 November – Practice Day

4 December – Self- directed Study

11 December – Taught Day

18 December – Practice Day

25 December – ANNUAL LEAVE

8 January 25 – Practice Day

15 January – Taught Day

22 January – Practice Day

29 January – Self- directed Study

5 February – Taught Day

12 February – Practice Day

19 February – Self-directed Study

26 February – Taught Day

5 March – Practice Day

12 March – Self-directed Study

19 March – Taught Day

26 March Practice Day

2 April – Self-directed Study

9 April – Practice Day

16 April – Practice Day

23 April – Practice Day

30 April – Self-directed Study

January 2026 cohort

27 January 2026 – Taught Day

3 February 2026 – Taught Day

10 February 2026 – Practice Day

17 February 2026 – Self-directed Study

24 February 2026 – Taught Day

3 March 2026 – Practice Day

10 March 2026 – Self-directed Study

17 March 2026 – Taught Day

24 March 2026 – Practice Day

31 March 2026 – Self- directed study

7 April 2026 – ANNUAL LEAVE

14 April 2026 – Practice Day

21 April 2026 – Taught Day

28 April 2026 – Self- directed Study

5 May 2026 – Practice Day

12 May 2026 – Taught Day

19 May 2026 – Practice Day

26 May 2026 – Self- directed Study

2 June 2026 – Taught Day

9 June 2026 – Practice Day

16 June 2026 – Self-directed Study

23 June 2026 – Taught Day

30 June 2026 – Self-directed Study

7 July 2026 – Practice Day

14 July 2026 – Taught Day

21 July 2026 – Practice Day

28 July 2026 – Self-directed Study

4 August 2026 – Practice Day

11 August 2026 – Practice Day

18 August 2026 – Practice Day

25 August 2026 – Self-directed Study

Facilities and features

Heal and Life Sciences facilities

Substantial investment in Health and Life Sciences has developed our teaching and learning facilities to help you develop your practical experience and theoretical knowledge beyond the classroom.

The 19th century Hawthorn Building has facilities designed to replicate current practice in health and life sciences, including contemporary analytical chemistry and formulation laboratories, audiology booths and nursing and midwifery clinical skills suites.

Purpose-built clinical skills areas allow you to apply theory to practice in a safe environment. You will receive guidance and support from staff, to ensure that your practical ability in the clinical skills suites is accurate.

Library services

On campus, the main Kimberlin Library offers a space where you can work, study and access a vast range of print materials, with computer stations, laptops, plasma screens and assistive technology also available.

As well as providing a physical space in which to work, we offer online tools to support your studies, and our extensive online collection of resources accessible from our , e-books, specialised databases and electronic journals and films which can be remotely accessed from anywhere you choose.

We will support you to confidently use a huge range of learning technologies, including Learning Zone, Collaborate Ultra, DMU Replay, MS Teams, Turnitin and more. Alongside this, you can access LinkedIn Learning and learn how to use Microsoft 365, and study support software such as mind mapping and note-taking through our new Digital Student Skills Hub.

The library staff offer additional support to students, including help with academic writing, research strategies, literature searching, reference management and assistive technology. There is also a ‘Just Ask’ service for help and advice, live , online workshops, tutorials and drop-ins available from our , and weekly library live chat sessions that give you the chance to ask the library teams for help.

Learning zones

Our Learning Zones and The Greenhouse also provide space for group or individual work and study.

There are 1,600 study places across all library locations, more than 700 computer stations, laptops to borrow, free wi-fi and desktop power outlets.

You can also book rooms with plasma screens, laptops and DVD facilities for group work and presentations, secure an individual study room with adjustable lighting or make use of our assistive technology.

Opportunities and careers

Placements

You will need to complete 78 hours practice experience where you are able to observe and reflect on o er prescribing decisions. You will need to work wi your Designated Medical Practitioners to achieve e prescribing competencies for is programme.

Graduate careers

is advanced specialist recoable qualification for nurses, midwives and allied heal professionals will be a valuable asset in your professional toolkit. It is designed to prepare advanced and specialist practitioners wi e critical inking skills to influence and develop quality and innovation in prescribing service delivery wi in e prescribing team, wi e aim of promoting greater safety and quality care for your patients.

Take your next steps

Postgraduate research students are nurtured and recognised by scholars and research leaders.

DMU graduates can benefit from a tuition fee discount, available on selected full-time and part-time postgraduate taught courses.

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