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Becoming a designated prescribing practitioner

This page is intended for independent prescribers who are considering becoming a Designated Prescribing Practitioner (DPP) to support a pharmacist through their prescribing course or have been approached by a pharmacist to act as their DPP.

This page contains some information from the HEE Centre for Advancing Practice, which has been adapted to be relevant for those supervising IP learners specifically.

What is a Designated Prescribing Practitioner?

A Designated Prescribing Professional (DPP) is a healthcare professional in Great Britain or Northern Ireland with legal independent prescribing rights who supervises a health care professional during their independent prescribing (IP) course and provides ‘sign-off’ on their competency to prescribe.

You do not now have to be a doctor to supervise an IP learner. The role of DPP can be performed by any independent prescriber including doctors, nurses and Allied Health Professionals (AHPs).

Who needs a DPP?

It is a GPhC requirement that a pharmacist undertaking independent prescribing training must have a named DPP who takes overall responsibility for supervision and will determine that the IP learner is suitable for IP annotation on their professional register.

When the reforms to the Initial Education and Training of Pharmacists (IETP Reforms) come into place in 2025/2026, trainee pharmacists will need to have a DPP, as well as a Designated Supervisor (DS), during their foundation training year to complete their training. The DS and DPP can be the same person if the person in question has the right qualifications to do so.

What does a DPP do?

The specific activities that a DPP is required to undertake will vary between courses, so we advise that you discuss these requirements with the course provider. However, generally the DPP role encompasses the following activities:

Access to clinical experience: Facilitating access to a suitable clinical patient-facing environment to enable the learner to practice their prescribing skills, such as consultation and clinical assessment.
Supervision in practice: Providing supervision, support and feedback during the period of learning in practice to enable the learner to develop the skills required to prescribe competently, such as consultation, clinical decision-making and clinical assessment skills. The learner must spend 90 hours supervised in practice during their course (usually six months). However the number of hours the DPP is required to supervise the learner themselves varies from 10-90 hours depending on the course provider (usually 45-60). Please note this will differ following IETP Reforms.
Multi-professional supervision: Supporting and facilitating the supervision of the learner’s practice by other appropriate independent prescribers.
Assessment: Monitoring and assessing the learner’s practice against their prescribing scope and course requirements, completing documentation as required by the course provider and taking part in tripartite meetings (with the learner and their course provider) approximately three times during their training.
Accountability: Ensuring safe and effective patient care and being accountable for the learner’s period of learning in practice.
Assure competency: Signing to confirm that the learner has completed the required learning in practice hours, reached the level of competency required by the course provider and is suitable for annotation as an independent prescriber by the GPhC.

What are the requirements to be a DPP?

Generally course providers will refer to the RPS Competency Framework for Designated Prescribing Practitioners when describing their requirements of a DPP. However, the specific requirements will vary between course providers, so we advise that you discuss this in detail with them.

Usually, a DPP must:

Have current professional registration and be prescribing within their scope of practice
Be an experienced Independent Prescriber ‘who would normally have’ at least 3 years of recent prescribing experience
Be an active prescriber who makes prescribing decisions based on clinical assessment with sufficient frequency to maintain competence
Have appropriate knowledge and experience relevant to the learner’s scope of clinical practice
Be able to evidence Continuous Professional Development (CPD) or revalidation relevant to their role
Have experience of, or training in, teaching and/or supervising in practice
Be in a patient-facing role

Please note, these requirements may change in preparation for the reforms to the Initial Education and Training of Pharmacists due to come into place in 2025/2026.

Why should I become a DPP?

There is a pressing need to upskill the pharmacy workforce in clinical skills, including prescribing, so that all sectors can work together to provide the services patients need in their preferred setting. A large part of this involves primary care, especially community pharmacies, being ready and able to provide clinical services that may include the need to prescribe (please see the Pharmacy Integration Programme page for more information). IP Pathfinders are currently underway to explore these services and how they might be commissioned across community pharmacies in the future.

Being eligible to become a DPP, you will have learnt the necessary skills to prescribe and had the invaluable experience of working with patients in this capacity. You are now able to impart this expertise on colleagues who are in the position you once were and guide them towards excellent patient care.

Non-medical prescribers (NMPs) have only recently been able to perform the role of DPP, previously having to direct colleagues to a doctor to perform this role. No one is better placed to support and supervise somebody from a non-medical profession to prescribe independently, than an independent prescriber.

As an independent prescriber, you understand the requirements of the role and the responsibility that comes with it. Your supervision is essential to build the prescribing capacity of the current workforce, and therefore the DPP capacity of the future.

Supervising any learner contributes to your own development, both personally and professionally, and can be incredibly rewarding at any stage of your career. It helps you keep your knowledge and skills up to date and keeps you close to the forefront of the most recent developments in healthcare. It also feels good knowing that you are making a real contribution to shaping the future of the workforce.

Supervising those learning to prescribe helps to improve your own prescribing practice. It contributes to the leadership and education pillars of advanced practice, and it will help to transform NHS services at the point of delivery.

Please take a look at the resources shared below, in which current DPPs share their experiences of the role.

Being a Designated Prescribing Practitioner for IP trainees is a rewarding role, enhances professional satisfaction and increases your knowledge. Trainees undergoing IP courses often challenge your practice and supporting trainees to progress through their careers helps with staff retention and team building.

Dr Graham Stretch, PCPA President, Chief Pharmacist and Partner, Argyle Health Group

What support can a DPP expect?

Course providers will support you through the process of becoming, and performing the role of, a DPP. Examples of the type of support you may be given, include:

Supervision skills/DPP training, if required (see Frequently Asked Questions at the end of this page)
An induction to the role at the start of the course. This usually includes a description of the course, documentation to be completed and your responsibilities as DPP. You may also be invited to meet with course staff to discuss the DPP role
The contact details of course staff and an invitation to contact them whenever you feel support is needed
Access to the course provider’s online learning platform and/or the course handbook (or a handbook specifically for DPPs)
An opportunity to seek advice during the three tripartite meetings

Peer support is also very important. You may be able to access a forum, network or Community of Practice (CoP) of other DPPs, via a course provider, your organisation via your NMP lead or your local ICB – or you could start something locally yourself!

It is also important to have the support of your employer, as supervision can be mentally taxing, physically tiring and may slow you down, as you take time to talk through your clinical reasoning with your learner. This may be especially true if you are undertaking the role for the first time. See the Frequently Asked Questions at the end of this page for more ideas on the benefits of being a DPP and employer support.

Experiences of current DPPs

Hearing from prescribers who have performed the role of DPP already may help you understand more about what is involved. If you would like to hear more about being a DPP in different sectors, please watch a recorded webinar from London and South East’s pharmacy team containing short presentations from Sarah, Kayt, Maureen and Annant:

Kayt Blythin, a care home pharmacist
Maureen Aruede, a community pharmacist
Sarah Trust, a GP pharmacist
Annant Damani, a hospital pharmacist

Although this was hosted in, and focused on, one particular profession, some of the experiences and ideas shared could be useful to your own journey to becoming a DPP.

If you would prefer to read a summary, please refer to these DPP profiles.

Am I eligible to become a DPP?

The following template may help you to map yourself against the RPS competency framework described above, document evidence and identify areas for development.

RPS DPP Competency checklist – Shared by Kayt Blythin

Can I still be a DPP if:

I have an independent prescribing qualification but I haven’t used it?

If you have not prescribed for three years, you are not currently eligible to act as a DPP. Courses are available from CPPE to enable you to return to prescribing practice. Discuss with your employer the benefits prescribing could bring to your practice and how it could benefit patients, your team and your organisation. See the pages relating to becoming an Independent Prescriber (IP) for more information on the role.

I am registered as a supplementary prescriber?

The GPhC Standards for the education and training of pharmacist independent prescribers states that DPPs must be registered healthcare professionals in Great Britain or Northern Ireland with legal independent prescribing rights. Therefore, if an individual has supplementary prescribing rights, and not independent prescribing rights, they are unable to take on the role of DPP.

How do I gain confidence to become a DPP?

This really depends on the cause of the lack of confidence. Just as with clinical practice there will be areas the practitioner feels more or less secure about. It is applicable in all aspects of workplace supervision and safe practice in healthcare. Supervising in a less familiar context, such as advanced practice, can highlight less secure supervisor capabilities and knowledge gaps. The accompanying uncertainty can be a useful prompt to engage in some learning and development.

Even experienced Independent Prescribers with a wealth of experience supervising in other contexts, may be concerned about providing effective supervision for an IP learner for the first time or from a different setting/specialist area.

Identifying learning and development needs in your prescribing practice helps to inform if you are best placed to supervise specific aspects of a learner’s practice. It does not prevent you from supervising, but it may prevent you from acting as a DPP if you cannot declare someone as competent and satisfy the required number of hours spent in practice with the IP learner (varies by course provider).

Some regions use, or are exploring the use of, a DPP/DPS model (Designated Prescribing Supervisor), which enables those not eligible or confident to act as a DPP, to gain experience in the role. This is a valuable model for encouraging those new to prescribing to take part in the supervision of an IP learner and develop the skills and confidence needed to act as a DPP. Use the contact details at the end of this page to find out if your area is encouraging this model. Even if not formally in place, most course providers allow alternative supervisors to contribute to an IP learner’s supervision. Therefore DPPs or IP learners can arrange this with you, if appropriate.

Talking to others in the role, ensuring you are confident in your prescribing practice and being confident in general educational and supervision skills will help to improve your confidence. Completing a self-assessment against the RPS DPP Competency Framework will help you to identify any gaps in confidence or competence.

If you are still unsure, talk to the course provider about any specific support they can offer you.

How do I gain my employer’s support in becoming a DPP?

Take a look at the employer pages via the tile below. Help your employer to understand the benefits of supporting you to develop as a prescriber and clinician, the benefits of hosting learners in a team and of reducing the ‘burden’ on current DPPs by helping to develop more DPPs of the future.

Allow your employer to voice their concerns and agree to research how these can be minimised. Look at the experiences of other DPPs and the case studies of different models of supervision to help you. Talk to a course provider who may be able to give you examples of how existing DPPs have co-developed, with their employer, a way of ensuring supervision of learners has minimal impact on the workload of the team, practice or pharmacy.

Do I get paid for taking on the DPP role?

There is no financial reward for taking on the role of DPP but, as outlined above, there are other benefits:

- Your own professional development as an educator

- Improving your own prescribing practice through the supervision process

- Providing evidence to support revalidation

- DPP training can be counted as CPD and included as part of your CV

- Supporting the professional development of others and contributing to their career progression

- Supporting progression to advanced practice to meet the competencies in the RPS Advanced Practice Framework

- Putting you own previous learning into practice

- Helping your organisation build prescribing capacity

- Building future DPP capacity

- Helping to develop the local workforce

Can I supervise someone other than a pharmacist?

Yes. DPPs can supervise someone of another profession undertaking a prescribing course if they meet the DPP requirements of the course provider. You may find it useful to visit the interprofessional supervision page, which contains information for non-pharmacists, on supervising pharmacists.

Can I supervise a learner from a different setting from me?

Learners and their supervisor(s) must be together in a clinical setting for the specified time required (supervised time in practice). This may involve the learner spending time in the supervisor(s)’ setting, as long as the patient cohort and type of activity aligns to their proposed scope of practice.

Consider therefore, how much time can be spent supervising the learner’s practice, either in their setting or your own, and whether this will meet the course provider’s requirements.

If you would like to know more about how the supervision might work, please have a look at our case studies of novel models of supervision.

Can a DPP supervise an IP learner that has a different scope of practice?

The RPS describes Scope of Practice as the prescribing activities a healthcare professional carries out within their professional role, for which they have the required training, knowledge, skills and experience to deliver lawfully, safely and effectively.

Whilst there are various definitions of scope of practice provided by regulators or other professional groups which vary slightly, it should be noted that scope of practice is not the same as a therapeutic/specialist area or setting.

As DPP, you should have an appreciation of the scope of practice, specialty area and usual setting of the learner.

Regardless of specialist area or setting, a healthcare professional can undertake the DPP role, provided they:

- Feel they have the required training, knowledge, skills or experience to do so and can perform or facilitate the other activities of a DPP described above

A healthcare professional cannot undertake the DPP role, if they:

- Do not feel they have the required training, knowledge, skills or experience to do so, e.g. medicines they are unfamiliar with, patients more complex than they are used to or a setting or communication pathway with which they do not have confidence

- Cannot enlist the assistance of other suitable supervisors if a gap in their knowledge or skills is identified (taking into account the number of hours the course provider requires the DPP to spend with the IP learner in practice) or

- Cannot perform or facilitate the activities of a DPP described above

Is there any information to support extending scope of practice?

Yes. The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has issued guidance for those wishing to extend their scope of practice.

CPPE have recently launched a new Extending Scope of Prescribing e-course. For more information, please visit the CPPE website.

Do IP learners need to spend any time with a medical doctor?

It is unusual that all supervised hours in practice need to be spent with the named DPP. It can be very beneficial for the IP learner to spend time with a range of prescribers to get a range of experiences relating to their scope of practice and it enables the DPP to share the workload of supervision. Course providers will lay out their expectation of how many hours should be under the direct supervision of the DPP but, for the remaining hours, DPPs can facilitate time spent with medics, nurses or allied health professionals (AHPs).

Can supervision be provided remotely?

The types of activities that count towards supervised time in practice, and the ways in which these can be achieved, vary greatly between course providers. However, generally supervision must be completed in person. Some providers may specify a maximum number of hours of remote supervision in recognition of the difficulties in some sectors. However, it is generally accepted that the majority of supervision takes place in person.

What training resources are available for supervisors?

Supervisor training is offered through Pharmacy teams in NHS England Workforce, Training and Education regions. Contact your regional office for more information on supervisor training available within your region.

London: england.wtepharmacy.london@nhs.net

South East: england.WTEpharmacy.se@nhs.net

South West: england.wtepharmacy.sw@nhs.net

Midlands: england.wtpharmacy.midlands@nhs.net

East of England: england.wtepharmacy.eoe@nhs.net

North West: england.wtepharmacy.nw@nhs.net

North East and Yorkshire: england.wtepharmacy.ney@nhs.net

Training packages may be available at no cost, to help you become a DPP:

For those wishing to supervise pharmacists in community pharmacies, please see the community pharmacy training page for more information.

*This page contains some information from the HEE Centre for Advancing Practice, which has been adapted to be relevant for those supervising IP learners specifically.

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