Fundamentals of Prescribing Practice

This module is designed for optometrists wishing to expand their knowledge of eye disease, and differential diagnosis. It develops the knowledge and skills required for safe, lawful and ethical prescribing, with a focus on person-centred, evidence-based care, therapeutic decision-making, pharmacology and risk management. The module also covers legal and ethical frameworks,  governance, and record keeping, enabling learners to progress from clinical assessment to appropriate prescribing, monitoring, referral and management decisions.

The aims of this module are to enable you to:
* Ensure person-centred, evidence-based prescribing and shared decision-making
* Develop differential diagnosis and therapeutic decision-making skills
* Create safe and effective management plans

Who is it for?

The course if for GOC-registered optometrists. Optometrists wishing to become Independent Prescribers are required to complete this course as well as OVM071 Independent Prescribing – Learning in Practice.

Timetable

Online Launch Date:

Oct: 5^th October 2026

(Module will go live on Moodle)

Online Synchronous Teaching Dates:

Nov: 4^th November 2026 (10am – 4pm)

Dec: 9^th December 2026 (10am – 4pm)

Feb: 10^th February 2027 (10am – 4pm)

Assessment Date

(face-to-face attendance required on-campus)

Mar: 17^th March 2027 (10am – 5pm)

Benefits

Completion of this course (in addition to OVM071) will enable optometrists to be entered onto the GOC specialist register for therapeutic prescribing.

This module is worth 30 credits and can be taken as part of the MSc/PGDip/PGCert in Clinical Optometry.

By the end of the course you will be able to:

• Critically analyse and synthesise frameworks governing independent prescribing in optometric practice, demonstrating nuanced understanding of scope of practice, accountability and clinical governance.
• Appraise and apply contemporary evidence, including decision-support resources and clinical guidelines, to formulate safe, person-centred prescribing decisions in complex and uncertain clinical scenarios.
• Demonstrate advanced understanding of pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics, adverse drug reactions and interactions, including in special populations, to optimize therapeutic choices and risk-benefit judgements in eyecare prescribing.
• Integrate systematic diagnostic assessment of ocular disease with evidence-based therapeutic strategies to design, justify and critically evaluate comprehensive management plans, including prescribing, monitoring, shared care and referral pathways.
• Distinguish key information having taken an advanced comprehensive medical history in order to make a diagnosis
• Distinguish complex clinical findings from the examination of the eye using appropriate instrumentation and clinical techniques
• Critically evaluate the nature and severity of the presenting condition and generate an appropriate management plan in line with current guidance.
• Systematically conduct and document comprehensive diagnostic assessment in eye disease, integrating patient-reported symptoms and clinical findings to support safe, defensible prescribing decisions.
• Apply advanced clinical reasoning to select, initiate and adjust prescribing and non-pharmacological management strategies, including when to monitor, escalate or refer within shared-care pathways.
• Use evidence-based resources, clinical guidelines and digital prescribing systems efficiently to optimize individualized treatment plans while maintaining accurate, GDPR compliant records.
• Identify, anticipate and manage potential adverse drug reactions, interactions and adherence barriers through effective patient communication, safety-netting advice and participation in incident reporting and audit activities.
• Organise and communicate thoughts and ideas effectively using a range of strategies and technologies.
• Show professionalism and integrity and promote diversity, equity and dignity in all encounters with other students and staff.
• Demonstrate an independent ability to take overall responsibility for a patient’s care
• Work as a member of a team taking increasing levels of responsibility for the overall management of patients.

Take personal responsibility for learning and development

Teaching

The course is delivered directed asynchronous (online) lectures and 3 synchronous (online) workshops.  At Master’s level, candidates are expected to engage in self-directed independent study.

Assessment

Your progress in meeting the learning outcomes will be assessed using;

1. A 3 hour Written Exam comprising of a) short answer questions, b) multiple choice questions and c) patient management case scenarios
2. A 2 hour Key Feature Scenarios Exam which consists of multiple option patient management MCQs to test your clinical reasoning and decision making.

Assessment is face-to-face on campus.

Award

This is a professional and an academic qualification.  On successful completion of this module, you’ll receive 30 postgraduate credits, which count towards the PG Cert in Independent Prescribing and also count towards an MSc in Clinical Optometry.  CPD points are also available through completion of this module.

This module is provided by the School of Health and Medical Sciences.

Credits

This course is worth 30 credits toward eligible programmes.

This course is for GOC-registered optometrists.

English requirements

For those students whose first language is not English the following qualification is also required:

• IELTS: 7.0

Your module lead will suggest reading material and additional resources during the module.