Prescribing Development Programme

Develop your prescribing knowledge, skills and confidence with our flexible learning programme for pharmacists at every stage of their prescribing journey.

Building your prescribing skills and confidence

Pharmacists across the UK are now being asked to provide clinical care from their first day of registration, to make prescribing a bigger part of their practice.

It’s a big ask. So, to support you as a prescriber and RCPharm member, we are offering a new Prescribing Development Programme of education and learning materials.

Access the Prescribing Development Programme

About the Prescribing Development Programme

The RCPharm prescribing programme is a comprehensive learning programme available as part of your RCPharm membership. It covers all aspects of being a prescriber: from getting started and first steps, to the practical challenges and nuances of prescribing in an area of practice, all the way to your next steps in your prescribing career.

Explore the themes of the Prescribing Development Programme.

Who is this programme for?

Whether you’re new to prescribing, an experienced prescriber, or are a long-time prescribing pharmacist exploring your next steps, our prescribing programme will help you. It has been created by experts and is suited to prescribing pharmacists in all sectors of practice.

You do not have to be working as a prescriber already — in fact, you might be looking at getting started, or might be considering returning to prescribing after a gap.

Our Prescribing Programme is for RCPharm members who are:

Pharmacists planning to train as prescribers who want to build their prescribing knowledge and skill.
Prescribers returning to practice or changing or expanding their scope of practice.
Qualified prescribers who have recently qualified and are starting their prescribing practice.
Prescribers wanting to build their knowledge and skill.
Foundation trainees thinking about their future prescribing practice.

Once you sign up to the RCPharm Prescribing Development Programme, we will email you regularly with details of each new learning activity. Details of the activities are available for each theme below.

What will I get from the Prescribing Development Programme?

Our programme is designed to make you a better prescribing pharmacist, giving you the confidence to practice at the very best of your abilities, and ultimately benefit people in your care.

You’ll get:

A deeper level of prescribing-related knowledge and skills
Clinical and non-clinical knowledge and skills related to prescribing
Ongoing support and development throughout to help in your prescribing practice.

How does the programme work?

Our flexible programme offers a pick-and-choose approach to meet your individual learning needs. It’s designed to adapt to your requirements and fit your personal and professional schedule.

You will start with guided insights on how to use the Prescribing Competency Framework and complete a self-assessment.

For more information, read the Prescribing Development Programme FAQs.

During the programme, from June 2025 to November 2026, you’ll cover six themes, changing theme every three months.

For each theme, you’ll receive:

Exclusive learning content	Your own exclusive learning content for each theme, including podcasts, blogs, and webinars on essential prescribing topics.
e-Learning on clinical and non-clinical topics	e-Learning on RCPharm Learn, our new learning system, bringing you exclusive learning on a range of clinical and prescribing topics.
PJ resources	Articles from The Pharmaceutical Journal highlighting the latest developments in prescribing.

Enhanced curriculum and credentialing

The enhanced curriculum and credential will support newly qualified pharmacist prescribers to develop their prescribing practice, build professional capability and progress with confidence.

RCPharm core advanced e-Portfolio

This was published when the organisation was the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. The Core Advanced e-Portfolio is aligned to our core advanced pharmacist curriculum and allows you to record your learning and evidence against the curriculum outcomes. To start recording evidence to demonstrate your learning, you will first need to register with the e-Portfolio. The process of accessing the e-Portfolio is slightly different for RCPharm members and non-members. Access your e-Portfolio How to register onto the Core Advanced e-Portfolio if you are a member of the Royal College If you are an RCPharm member, log in to your account and then select the link to the e-Portfolio at the top of the page: How to register onto the Core Advanced e-Portfolio if you are not an RCPharm member If you are not an RCPharm member, you can still access the e-Portfolio with a free, non-member account. You can create a free non-member account via a short registration from here. When all the fields are completed, accept the terms and conditions, and then click ‘Register’. Once registered, login to the e-Portfolio here. When can I submit my portfolio for assessment? RCPharm advanced pharmacist competency committees will meet remotely four times a year to review portfolio submissions. There will be a submission window and a final portfolio submission date. 2025 submission dates Intention to submit dateFinal submission deadlineAnticipated outcome dateApplication 19 February 20269 March 20266 May 2026Application 220 April 202618 May 202615 July 2026Application 322 June 202620 July 202616 September 2026Application 421 September 202619 October 202611 November 2026 Payment Access to the RCPharm Core Advanced e-Portfolio is free to both members and non-members. The fee for a portfolio submission to be reviewed is £375 for each attempt. The fee for a portfolio submission to be reviewed for ASII Faculty members is £280 for each attempt. Payment will be taken via card. We accept all major credit cards including Visa, Mastercard and American Express (AMEX). Payment will only be taken once you have submitted your portfolio for assessment. Is there a fee for resubmission and how much is it? Any reassessment will incur an assessment fee dependent on the number of domains being reassessed. Up to three domains: Discounted reassessment fee (£225) Four or more domains: Full reassessment fee (£375) Are there any recurring maintenance fees after I have been credentialed? No. Once individuals are credentialed, there are no recurring maintenance fees. Maintenance of competence will be through GPhC revalidation. Will I need to resubmit a portfolio to maintain my credentialing? No. Maintenance of competence will be through GPhC revalidation. Who assesses my portfolio? Portfolios will be assessed by an RCPharm advanced pharmacist competency committee (APCC), which will consist of at least three panel members fulfilling the following roles: Two advanced pharmacists, at least one of whom will have expertise from the candidate’s stated sector of practice. A pharmacist with appropriate research expertise. A pharmacist with appropriate educational expertise. The committee will be chaired by a senior RCPharm representative. What are the potential outcomes of the assessment? The potential assessment outcomes of the advanced pharmacist competency committee are as follows: Standard met – If the APCC agrees you have provided satisfactory evidence to demonstrate achievement of all the core advanced pharmacist curriculum outcomes under assessment. Standard not met – If the APCC agrees you not provided satisfactory evidence to demonstrate achievement of all the advanced pharmacist curriculum requirements under assessment. Clear feedback will be provided to you as to which outcomes have not been met and why and you will need to be reassessed in one or more domains of the curriculum. You will not be required to resubmit evidence for those domains where the APCC agreed all the outcomes in that domain had been met. All candidates will receive formative feedback on their submission from the committee regardless of the outcome of the assessment.

Prescribing webinar

A practical and engaging webinar designed to help you prescribe with confidence.

Watch the webinar

If you’re thinking about prescribing, this practical and engaging webinar is a great place to start.

Hear from experienced professionals who share what prescribing looks like in real practice. The session explores how to assess your readiness, reflect on your learning needs, and manage some of the complexities and uncertainties that come with the role.

We also address common myths around prescribing, and offer clear advice on how to take the next step in your development. Whether you’re just starting to explore the idea or preparing to apply, this webinar will help you feel more confident and informed.

Watch the webinar recording to support your learning and planning, and you’ll learn how to:

Understand the structure, requirements and commitments of the prescribing programme
Identify your current knowledge and learning needs
Build strategies to navigate uncertainty and prescribe safely in complex clinical situations.

Speaker: Danny Bartlett, Lead Pharmacist, Horsham Central PCN and Senior Lecturer, University of Brighton

Prescribing competence, principles of prescribing, applying the principles of prescribing while
recognising your strengths, identifying development needs, and building confidence.

Know how to use the Prescribing Competency Framework to develop your practice and learn
how to complete a self-assessment.
Recognised your strengths and transferrable skills relevant to your practice as a prescriber,
and create a development plan for your short, medium and longer-term development needs.
Be more confident to work within your current scope of practice.

Access these components here

Exploring what mastery in prescribing looks like and how to advance your practice with
insight from experience.

Considering what mastery in your prescribing practice looks like, to help you in your
initial steps.
Already prescribing? Think about key elements to take your prescribing practice to the
next level.
Hear from an experienced prescriber about their experience of overcoming common
challenges in prescribing practice.

Access these components here

Peer support and reflection to grow your prescribing practice through shared learning and
community.

How to learn from others to develop your own prescribing practice.
Build a support network to support your prescribing practice.
Why a community of practice is a valuable resource during your journey as a prescribing pharmacist.

Access these components here

Grow, adapt and develop your prescribing practice throughout your career.

How will your prescribing practice will change over time?
Discover ways to expand, develop or change your prescribing practice.
Learn how to return to prescribing after a gap.

Access these components here

Navigating the challenges of safe, effective prescribing through good governance,
accountability, and real-world insight.

Prescribing challenges include record keeping, liability, governance, as well as dealing with workplace pressures and workload.
Learn from an experienced prescriber how to navigate these challenges.
Ensure your prescribing practice is safe, effective and cognisant of good practice.

Access these components here

Your growth as a prescriber to shape future career and development opportunities.

As you establish and develop as a prescribing pharmacist, consider your next career steps.
Recollect the skills, knowledge and experience gained from prescribing.
Consider further development opportunities in prescribing…and beyond!

Access these components here

Frequently asked questions

Is this programme suitable for all sectors of practice?

The RCPharm Prescribing Programme is suited to prescribing pharmacists in all sectors of practice including hospital, community, primary care and other settings. You will hear from a variety of experienced and expert prescribers from different sectors, sharing their experiences, and helping you become an effective prescriber.

Do I have to do the whole programme?

No, the RCpharm Prescribing Programme is designed to be flexible, to meet your personal learning needs. You pick the elements that suit you and which meet the learning needs identified in your personal development plan.

You will find it extremely useful to attend the first webinar where you will gain familiarity with the RCPharm Prescribing Competency Framework and leave being able to complete a self-assessment and personal development plan. This will help you to pick and choose elements across the rest of the programme that suit your learning needs.

Are the webinars recorded?

Yes, webinars will be recorded for you to access and listen to at your convenience. This will help you in being able to pick the parts of the programme that work for you and meet your learning needs.

Can I use the programme toward credentialing and my portfolio?

Yes, absolutely. This programme can support your RCPharm e-Portfolio and can contribute directly to your credentialing journey.

Access the Prescribing Development Programme

Throughout the programme, we’ll guide you to map your learning to the RCPharm Post-registration Foundation Pharmacist Curriculum and the RCPS Core Advanced Pharmacist Curriculum. Each learning activity clearly highlights which competencies it supports, making it easy to build evidence for your portfolio and work toward credentialed recognition.

By engaging with the programme, you’re not just building knowledge — you’re also actively progressing through the stages of professional development toward advanced levels of pharmacy practice.