Unit Overview
- Description
This unit enables students to apply the advanced principles of safe and quality use of medicines aligned to Australia's National Prescribing Competency Framework. Students develop advanced health assessment and clinical reasoning skills to plan and implement person-centred pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions to provide culturally safe, person-centred prescribing practice through collaborative practice and shared decision-making. This unit incorporates a mandatory simulation learning component.
Teaching and learning synopsis:
- Pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, pharmacotherapeutics, drug interactions, and adverse drug reactions.
- Safe use of medicines, including complementary therapies, for diverse patient groups across common health conditions.
- Application of National and State legislative frameworks, including Poisons and Medicines Regulations, Therapeutic Goods Administration requirements, Quality Use of Medicines, and Australia's National Prescribing Competency Framework.
- Application of the principles of safe and quality use of medicines.
- Application of advanced clinical reasoning to plan and implement person-centred pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions, including medicines and funding models.
- Developing a framework for appropriate medicine selection using pharmacology and clinical therapeutics knowledge within a designated RN prescribing model.
- ScriptCheckWA
- Prescription Shopping Information Service
- Medicines and planetary health
- Synthesising evidence to enable shared decision-making for prescribing practice in a safe, culturally appropriate and person-centred manner.
- Collaborating with the interprofessional team to engage other health care professionals where appropriate for effective prescribing.
- Application of cultural safety and inclusion for prescribing practice.
- Comprehensive and systematic advanced health assessment using person-centred care.
- Professional communication to enable contribution to a collaborative care model in prescribing practice.
- Person-centred prescribing practice within legislative parameters, including medicolegal, ethical and professional obligations.
- Credit
- 12 points
- Offering
Availability Location Mode First year of offer Not available in 2026 UWA (Perth) On-campus flexible - Outcomes
Students are able to (1) demonstrate capability to engage in self-reflection and lifelong learning through a spirit of inquiry and an ongoing commitment to?ensuring capability for practice in self and others; (2) apply safe prescribing practices within the designated registered nurse prescriber scope of practice, demonstrating competency against the National Prescribing Competencies Framework; (3) interpret pathophysiological processes and clinical assessment findings to inform pharmacotherapeutic decision-making for patients/clients; (4) apply advanced health assessment, diagnostic reasoning, and clinical decision-making to select, prescribe, monitor and evaluate medications safely using a culturally safe, person-centred approach in accordance with state and territory legislation; (5) apply regulatory, medico-legal, ethical and legislative principles underpinning the quality use of medicines in registered nurse prescribing practice; and (6) demonstrate educational and relational leadership skills in collaborative prescribing practice within complex health care governance and system structures.
- Assessment
Indicative assessments in this unit are as follows: (1) portfolio and (2) viva. Further information is available in the unit outline.
To pass this unit, a student must: (a) achieve an overall mark of 50 per cent or higher for the unit; and (b) achieve the requisite requirements(s) or a mark of 50 per cent or greater, whichever is higher and specified in the unit outline, for the portfolio and viva components.
Student may be offered supplementary assessment in this unit if they meet the eligibility criteria.
- Unit Coordinator(s)
- Professor Olivia Gallagher
- Unit rules
- Prerequisites
- Enrolment in92230 Graduate Certificate in Designated Registered Nurse Prescribingand Successful completion of
Approved quota: 260—priority quotas will be established for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants and rural and remote applicants. Remaining quota will be filled on a first come, first served basis. - Contact hours
- Synchronous online tutorials: 4 hours/ week
Mandatory simulation: 16 hours (2 days) - Note
- This unit enables students to apply the advanced principles of safe and quality use of medicines aligned to Australia's National Prescribing Competency Framework. Students develop advanced health assessment and clinical reasoning skills to plan and implement person-centred pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions to provide culturally safe, person-centred prescribing practice through collaborative practice and shared decision-making. This unit incorporates a mandatory simulation learning component.
- The availability of units in Semester 1, 2, etc. was correct at the time of publication but may be subject to change.
- All students are responsible for identifying when they need assistance to improve their academic learning, research, English language and numeracy skills; seeking out the services and resources available to help them; and applying what they learn. Students are encouraged to register for free online support through GETSmart; to help themselves to the extensive range of resources on UWA's STUDYSmarter website; and to participate in WRITESmart and (ma+hs)Smart drop-ins and workshops.
- Visit the Essential Textbooks website to see if any textbooks are required for this Unit. The website is updated regularly so content may change. Students are recommended to purchase Essential Textbooks, but a limited number of copies of all Essential Textbooks are held in the Library in print, and as an ebook where possible. Recommended readings for the unit can be accessed in Unit Readings directly through the Learning Management System (LMS).
- Contact hours provide an indication of the type and extent of in-class activities this unit may contain. The total amount of student work (including contact hours, assessment time, and self-study) will approximate 150 hours per 6 credit points.
Face to face
Predominantly face-to-face. On campus attendance required to complete this unit. May have accompanying resources online.
Online flexible
100% Online Unit. NO campus face-to-face attendance is required to complete this unit. All study requirements are online only. Unit is asynchronous delivery, with NO requirement for students to participate online at specific times.
Online timetabled
100% Online Unit. NO campus face-to-face attendance is required to complete this unit. All study requirements are online only. Unit includes some synchronous components, with a requirement for students to participate online at specific times.
Online Restricted
Not available for self-enrolment. Students access this mode by contacting their student office through AskUWA. 100% Online Unit.
NO campus face-to-face attendance. All study and assessment requirements are online only. Unit includes some timetabled activities, with a requirement for students to participate online at specific times. In exceptional cases (noted in the Handbook) students may be required to participate in face-to-face laboratory classes when a return to UWA’s Crawley campus becomes possible in order to be awarded a final grade.
External
No attendance or regular contact is required, and all study requirements are completed either via correspondence and/or online submission.
Off-campus
Regular attendance is not required, but student attends the institution face to face on an agreed schedule for purposes of supervision and/or instruction.
Multi-mode
Multiple modes of delivery. Unit includes a mix of online and on-campus study requirements. On campus attendance for some activities is required to complete this unit.