The aim of this learning programme is to update your clinical knowledge of Lewy Body Dementia to enable you to optimise the medicines of people living with this condition. It builds on other learning we have available, which can be found on our Dementia learning gateway.
Valproate: the hard conversations - focal point
The aim of this focal point is to develop your skills and confidence in using a person-centred approach to help manage the risks associated with valproate.
Mental Health Therapeutics PgCert
The Postgraduate Certificate in Mental Health Therapeutics at Aston University is a distance learning course that has been written, taught and assessed by specialist mental health pharmacists. The Programme aims to enable students to demonstrate and apply the knowledge and skills to validate, recommend and critically appraise the use of medicines in a mental health context in a person-centred manner. This qualification is often a requirement for specialist clinical mental health positions in the NHS. Completing this qualification allows progression to the Postgraduate Diploma in Psychiatric Pharmacy.
Transforming Dementia Care Level 7 module
This Transforming Dementia Care Level 7 module will enable students to develop as leaders in the delivery of person centred care and the progression of research, skills and knowledge in relation to the care and management of the person with dementia and their family.
Caring for the person with dementia and their families has for many years included a person-centred approach. However, with an increasing ageing population and increasing number of people with dementia the importance of timely diagnosis, approach to treatment and preparation for the person's journey plays a vital role in maintaining good quality of life and reduced inappropriate hospital admissions whilst avoiding under treatment or over-burdensome treatments for the person living with dementia.
The module will critically review the current approaches, research and treatments in relation to the different types of dementia, the disease trajectory including end of life care. Due to the nature of the condition ethical decision making is fundamental to quality of life throughout the disease journey and into end of life care and therefore will underpin the module.
Cannabis-based Products for Medicinal Use
Following the Government’s announcement to reschedule certain cannabis-based products for medicinal use on 1st November 2018, NHS England has developed an information package with Health Education England elearning for healthcare and the University of Birmingham on cannabis and cannabis based products for medicinal use which all healthcare professionals can access.
The session includes the pharmacology of cannabis, legislation governing medical use and therapeutic areas and evidence for its use. This module will be updated as more information becomes available.
Supporting patients living with dementia
The overall aim of this programme is to develop your knowledge and skills to enable you to recognise, manage and optimise care for people living with dementia and their carers.
On completion of all aspects of this learning programme you should be able to:
- recognise the signs and symptoms of cognitive dysfunction
- discuss the issue of anticholinergic burden in people with dementia and be familiar with the tools used to calculate anticholinergic burden
- outline adjustments you and your team could make to improve consultations for people living with dementia and their family/carers
- consider the use of medicines in dementia and your role in ensuring they are prescribed appropriately
- signpost and refer people and their carers to engage local support services
- become a Dementia Friends Champion and engage your team with the initiative.
Deprescribing opioids in people with chronic pain - focal point
The aim of this programme is to develop your skills and confidence to support people living with chronic pain. You will consider the safe and effective use of medicines, focusing on opioids, and how to use a person-centred approach to empower people to live well with pain.
On completion of all aspects of this learning programme you should be able to:
- explain the basic principles of analgesic stewardship
- demonstrate approaches to overcome barriers and potential challenges to safe and effective use of opioids you may encounter in practice
- apply a shared decision-making approach to discussions involving pain, with a focus on safe and effective use of opioids
- discuss your role in supporting people with opioid reduction and deprescribing
- support people to self-manage their pain while demonstrating a person-centred approach.
This programme is designed for pharmacy professionals in all sectors to gain new insights into different areas of mental health and how you, in your own setting and practice, can make a difference to people with these, often invisible, conditions.
The cards focus on different areas of support for people living with mental health conditions.
On completion of all aspects of this programme you should be able to:
- define a range of mental health conditions and recognise the impact that these can have on people's lives
- identify appropriate support options that you can offer to people with different mental health conditions
- demonstrate patient-centred consultation skills to engage people living with mental health conditions
- promote physical health and wellbeing as part of a treatment regime and encourage positive lifestyle choices
- provide mental health first aid to people in a crisis situation
- explain the importance of medicines optimisation as a strategy to support people living with mental health conditions
- support a non-discriminatory approach to people with mental health conditions, both inside and outside of the workplace.