The importance of science into practice

 Advancing Practice through Science (APTS) is a 30 credit module to be undertaken in Year 4 of theMPharm course. 

 This module will build on previous modules in that you will utilise the knowledge and skills you have gained thus far but, crucially, emphasis will be placed on how sound science informs our decision making as practitioners and also allows us to develop the leadership skills within the health care team to make a real difference to patients. No other health care degree places as much emphasis on fundamental science as does the MPharm, nor does any other degree present the student with such a broad scientific skill base, ranging from social science through to basic molecular biology, engineering, synthetic chemistry and drug delivery technologies.

 On this basis, it can easily be argued that scientific skills, placed in the context of clinical relevance, is the unique knowledge and skill base that pharmacists bring to the health care team. However, as can be seen by any cursory inspection of current news items, healthcare challenges and opportunities change constantly, hence it is incumbent on us to prepare our students with the skill sets required to be able to pick up any new information base and both take decisions associated with that situation and communicate effectively to both the public and other health care professionals.

 The overarching purpose of this module is to give you the skills and confidence to be able to not only teach yourself the basic tenets of a previously unfamiliar topic that is of public interest, but also to communicate that information in a manner which is appropriate to the audience which may be peers, patients or fellow professionals.

 A further, unashamedly overt objective is to provide you with experiences that will help you distinguish yourself in an increasingly competitive market. Full engagement with the course will allow you to demonstrate achievements and experiences that are unique to the UCL School of Pharmacy.

 The course has been designed with input from students and we would wish to develop the module as a learning partnership, with ample opportunity for feedback in both directions, clear assessment criteria and multiple mechanisms for addressing any concerns or issues that may arise in either direction.

 Learning objectives of the course

 The objectives and learning outcomes are as follows

  To develop life and professional skills for our students ranging from research skills to
 
  management
 
  To allow creativity and public health awareness via team work to generate ideas on
 
  service development
 
  To allow and encourage self-study and initiative via a flipped classroom approach to
 
  specialised topic investigation
 
  To allow study of topics which are of considerable public interest and topicality