CPD Masters Certificate of Professional Development: Oncology Pharmacy Practice in Secondary Care

Provides clinical knowledge and skills that are relevant to the needs of healthcare professionals working with medicines in oncology and to facilitate professional development, including fostering development of an enquiring, open-minded attitude, tempered with scientific discipline for oncology, which encourages lifelong learning.

After completing the course you should be able to:

• Gain an understanding of oncology as a discipline, apply knowledge to critically evaluate and reflect on medicines use in cancer care, and optimise treatment for patient benefit
• Assess and manage the safety issues and pharmacological care relating to cancer therapy within secondary or primary care
• Demonstrate commitment to continue to advance you own and others knowledge and understanding in oncology pharmaceutical care and document continuing professional development in the field

The final award is Continuing Professional Development for Oncology Pharmacy Practice in Secondary Care, 20 credits at Level 7.

You will have access to LJMU's virtual learning environment Canvas and online library resources. Programme content is regularly updated on Canvas, including contemporary reading lists and references to journal articles. You will be assigned a Personal Tutor for support and guidance throughout the programme via email or online tutorials. You can also access the Module Leader via phone contact or email.

The course features a variety of teaching approaches chosen to meet the stated learning objectives, including:

• Online lectures
• Online practical cases
• Pre-reading materials
• Quizzes
• Work-based examples

Tutorials: You will guide the contact time with your distance learning tutor as directed in your learning contract. It is recommended that you attend the introductory webinar and to arrange, as a minimum, monthly contact time with your tutor throughout the course.

Formative online and in-class tests:Online self-assessment questions will test your knowledge throughout the course.

Course topics

The programme provides opportunities for you to develop and demonstrate knowledge and understanding, skills, qualities and other attributes in the following areas:

• Application of core knowledge of oncology and haematology conditions, their monitoring and the treatment used, including in management of oncologic emergencies. Cancers that may be covered include breast, lung, colorectal, skin, lymphoma and leukaemia.
• Developmental cancer biology and kinetics with application to practice in oncology and haematology patients.
• Practicalities around using medicines in oncology and haematology, such as:
  
  • Monitoring patients and prescription review
  • Managing toxicity
  • Symptom control

Course length

The study mode is part-time distance learning using LJMU 's virtual learning environment Canvas and lasts for 6 months. No attendance is required as all study is web-based.

Acquisition of knowledge and skills are achieved mainly through directed student-centred and work-based learning. The course is designed to give a degree of flexibility in student choice. The learning outcomes associated with these student-selected topics are achieved through open learning with you selecting the most appropriate resource material as applicable to your area of practice around the world. References and guidance for resources will be available on Canvas and you are supported to identify relevant documents as applicable to your practice.

Qualification requirements

• Alternative qualifications considered

  Students entering the programme must be a registered Pharmacist with the relevant professional body in the UK, or with a professional body recognised to be of similar standing to the UK regulator bodies.

  Where English is not your first language, we would normally require a score of 6.5 in the IELTS system (or equivalent), with scores of greater than 5.5 in each of the domains. This is to ensure you can complete the necessary reading, communication with the programme team and assessments, which must all be completed in English. There may be some exceptions to this requirement if you are from a majority English speaking country or you have completed studies in English language in the UK or another English speaking country, in which case, a recent high school diploma or equivalent course title may be sufficient.

  You must be working in an environment that will provide sufficient access to patients with cancer to provide opportunities to develop skills in applying knowledge to real-life cases and collect evidence for the professional practice portfolio. This may include placements, if the placement provider can confirm that sufficient access/involvement in care will be possible during the placement and that the placement duration is of sufficient length to allow full development of the relevant skills. The programme team will assess the suitability of the access an individual has prior to admission, but guidance can be obtained prior to application by contacting the programme administrator.

To apply for this programme, you are required to complete an LJMU online application form. You will need to provide details of previous qualifications and a personal statement outlining why you wish to study this programme.

Download and complete the supplementary application form.

Complete the online application form, taking note of the below:

• Select the course that you would like to study from the drop-down menu. Please ensure you select the ‘Postgraduate Taught’ option under ‘Level of Entry’ and ‘Continuing Professional Development’ under ‘Mode of Study’. Select ‘Browse Courses’ and search for the course (Oncology Pharmacy Practice in Secondary Care or Oncology Pharmacy Practice in Primary Care), entry point (March or September) and year
• Ensure that you have provided details of your professional qualification and any other university qualifications (note, A-Level and GCSE/equivalent qualifications do not need to be listed) 
• Certificate(s) for any qualifications listed in your application 
• A copy of your IELTS certificate (if English is not your first language and you have not recently completed a university level qualification in English)
• A copy of the Purchase Order authorising payment of the course from your place of work

Upload the following documents to your online application:

Please note: all documents must be attached to your application within 24 hours of submission – if you wish to attach documents after this date, you will need to email them to the School office: PBS-Office@ljmu.ac.uk

Application deadlines

The closing date is Monday 20 January 2025.

Please note that six places are available on this course.

The course is mapped against some competencies, as detailed in the Expert Professional Practice Curriculum for Cancer Care framework, which was developed by the British Oncology Pharmacy Association (BOPA) and Faculty of Cancer Pharmacy (FCP).

Successful completion of the course will include two pieces of coursework. A patient care plan based on a work-based case and a critical reflection to demonstrate competencies. You will have an opportunity to provide a formative patient care plan (month three) prior to submitting the summative care plan so that your tutor can feed forward.

This Continuing Professional Development course can be studied within a Post-Graduate Diploma/Masters award framework where the module is documented within the programme specification or as a single CPD.