Arrangements for supervision and assessment in practice

Meetings and progress reviews 

To ensure that students are appropriately supported a minimum of three meetings between the student, PE and PS are required. 

1. The initial meeting is an opportunity for clarification and agreement as to how the student will be supported and assessment decisions made. 

2. The midpoint meeting is an opportunity for review of the students progress and a discussion around any concerns from any party. This should include the student, PE and PS. The AA may be involved as required. 

3. The final meeting will be before the assessment of competence and is an opportunity for any final discussions. 

The initial and mid-point meetings should result in a plan being created/reviewed and all should be documented in the e-Portfolio. 

Designated Prescribing Practitioner (DPP) 

The requirements for this role are outlined in the RPS (2019) A Competency Framework for Designated Prescribing Practitioners which should be read in conjunction with this document. The document is available at the following link: www.rpharms.com/resources/frameworks/designatedprescribingpractitioner-competency-framework 

All entrants to the programme must have a Designated Prescribing Practitioner or Practice Educator who will provide them with supervision, support and opportunities to develop competence in prescribing practice. 

Throughout the period of learning in practice, which is recorded on the PebblePad platform, the student must achieve all of the competencies in the RPS (2021) Competency Framework for all Prescribers. 

Practice Educator 

To act as the Practice Educator (DPP), the healthcare professional must be an allied health professional (AHP), registered nurse, midwife, doctor or pharmacist and must: 

● Be an active prescriber working in the area the student intends to prescribe in. 

● Hold appropriate educational experience. 

● Hold appropriate registration with the relevant PSRB (i.e. NMC, GMC, HCPC, GPhC).

● Have knowledge of the University of York non-medical prescribing programme. 

● Have self-assessed as achieving the RPS (2019) competencies. 

● Have an up to date knowledge about the relevant process within the University of York (i.e. use of student’s portfolio, raising concerns etc.). 

● Have agreed to act in the role and fulfil responsibilities as laid out in the student’s Professional Regulatory Body Standards frameworks (i.e. HCPC (2017) Standards of education and training, HCPC (2019) Standards for prescribing). 

● Have completed a self-declaration form submitted with the student’s application. 

The Designated Prescribing Practitioner should be willing and able to devote a sufficient part of their time to guide the student in the achievement of the competencies. We recommend that the student works 90 hours with their Practice Supervisor or Educator in practice. This may include, for example: observation, case and clinic management, patient reviews, shadowing and discussion with prescribing colleagues acting as practice supervisors. 

Assessment of the student’s achievement of the prescribing competencies from a practice perspective is the responsibility of the Practice Educator. 

Practice Supervisor 

To act as the Practice Supervisor (DPP), the healthcare professional must be an allied health professional (AHP), registered nurse, midwife, doctor or pharmacist and must: 

● Be an active prescriber working in the area the student intends to prescribe in. 

● Hold appropriate educational experience. 

● Hold appropriate registration with the relevant PSRB (i.e. NMC, GMC, HCPC, GPhC). 

● Have a good awareness and understanding of how learners should be supported and facilitated in practice. 

● Understand the role and how this links with the Practice Educator and Academic Assessor. 

● Have knowledge of the University of York nonmedical prescribing programme. 

● Have self-assessed as achieving the RPS (2019) competencies. 

● Have an up to date knowledge about the relevant process within the University of York (i.e. use of student’s portfolio, raising concerns etc.). 

● Have completed a self-declaration form submitted with the student’s application. 

It is not normally permitted for the Practice Supervisor and Practice Educator roles to be fulfilled by the same person. However, there may be exceptional occasions where it is not possible for the Practice Supervisor and Practice Educator to be different people. Arrangements in such situations are subject to scrutiny and agreement from the programme team. Where there is no opportunity for different people to act as Practice Supervisor and Practice Educator in the clinical area, the student must identify a prescriber who meets the requirements to be a Practice Educator. This person will then act as both Practice Supervisor and Practice Educator. This will only be possible with the agreement of the Programme Lead. 

Academic Assessor

Handbook for Designated Prescribing Practitioners, Practice Educators & Practice Supervisors 2023/4 Last updated: October 2023 This is a member of academic staff who is assigned to the student by the programme team. The Academic Assessor triangulates the assessment of the student and confirms that the programme learning outcomes have been achieved. This is documented in the e-Portfolio (PebblePad).

Practice assessment process

As a minimum, the prescribing student and the Practice Educator must record three formal meetings. The first meeting, conducted by week 4 of the programme, should identify learning opportunities and formulate a plan for the student to be able to achieve the competencies. A further meeting at the mid-point of the programme should take place between the Practice Educator and student to review progress. If any concerns about progress should be noted at this point an action plan should be documented. The action plan should clearly indicate what the nature of the concerns are and the opportunities that are available to the student to address the concerns. The Academic Assessor should be involved in this process. At the end of the supervisory period, the DPP/Practice Educator will need to complete and “sign off” each competency statement and the assessment of practice form within the e-portfolio. This will confirm that the student has completed the period of learning in practice and identify whether the required competencies have been met.

The Academic Assessor confirms the decision of the DPP/Practice Educator.

Examples of how achievement of the competencies may be assessed in practice

The assessment method should reflect the competency being assessed and may include:

● Direct observation of consultation/clinical examination skills and verification of competence

● Question/answer sessions where the student shares the knowledge and skills they have acquired within a competency area and the Designated Prescribing Practitioner assesses understanding by questioning and giving feedback on the responses

● Short case studies/reflective narratives that make explicit the knowledge and skills acquired by the student within one or more specific competency areas

● Care Record – the Designated Prescribing Practitioner examines patient care documentation completed by the student for evidence of successful application of skills

● The Designated Prescribing Practitioner examines documents developed by the student, for example, clinical management plans/audit/patient care reviews and provides guidance to underpin best practice in prescribing

● Simulation – competence in consultation/clinical skills could be judged in a simulated session or through videoing in the clinical environment

Assessment Guidelines are available here

Ongoing support for your role

Regular updates will be held within the Department and dates and times will be advertised on the website. If you would like support outside of one of these please contact the programme team. This guide can be accessed through the University website as well as the students e-Portfolio.

Liability of employer

Where a nurse, midwife, pharmacist or AHP is appropriately trained and qualified and prescribes as part of their professional duties with the consent of their employer, the employer is held vicariously liable for their actions. In addition, non-medical prescribers are individually and professionally accountable to their Professional Statutory and Regulatory Body (NMC/GPhC/HCPC) for this aspect of their practice, as for any other, and must act at all times in accordance with professional standards, codes and within their scope of practice.

Raising and escalating concerns

We ask that if any DPP, Practice Educator or Practice Supervisor has any concerns with regard to the current practice of the student prescriber that in addition to following their organisation’s policy they also raise those concerns with a member of the programme team immediately. Contact details can be found in section 1 of this handbook or on the Department of Health Sciences website.

There is further information on the Department of Health Sciences Practice Education Support website.

Resources and links

• HCPC standards for prescribers

• Designated Prescribing Practitioner Competency Framework

• Health Sciences practice support

Information for the Designated Prescribing Practitioner acting as Practice Educator (PE) and Practice Supervisor

• Where a student is suspended from practice  by the employer/organisation an automatic leave of absence will be put into place and the students' place on the programmed suspended pending investigation.

• If the student is concerned about their experience and level of supervision, this should be raised with the PE and/or PS as well as the AA at the earliest available opportunity.