PM2PS2: Professional Skills 2

Module code: PM2PS2

Module provider: Pharmacy; School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy

Credits: 40

ECTS credits: 20

Level: 5

When you’ll be taught: Semester 1 / 2

Module convenor: Mrs Donna Baker-Lacey, email: d.a.baker-lacey@reading.ac.uk

Module co-convenor: Professor Becky Green, email: rebecca.green@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s): This module is only available to Associated Pharmacy students. (Open) BEFORE TAKING THIS MODULE YOU MUST TAKE PM1PS1 (Compulsory)

Co-requisite module(s): IN THE SAME YEAR AS TAKING THIS MODULE YOU MUST TAKE PM2SPA (Compulsory)

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: Micro placement

Academic year: 2026/7

Available to visiting students: No

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 26 March 2026

Overview

Module aims and purpose

This module builds on the Professional Skills module undertaken in Year 1 and is available only to students enrolled on the Physician Associate programme. The module further develops the clinical, professional and interpersonal skills required for safe and effective practice in healthcare settings.

Students will gain experience through a combination of simulated learning activities and structured clinical exposure, providing opportunities to apply knowledge and skills in authentic practice contexts. A key component of the module is participation in a programme of interprofessional education (IPE), where students learn with, from and about other healthcare professionals to develop collaborative decision-making and team working skills.

The module continues to develop effective communication skills, including written, verbal and listening skills within clinical consultations and professional interactions. Students will also further develop clinical calculations, problem-solving and early clinical reasoning skills. These activities enable students to integrate underpinning scientific knowledge, including anatomy and physiology, into clinical scenarios.

The module also supports the development of reflective practice and independent learning. Students will document their development through a Personal and Academic Development (PAD) portfolio, reflecting on clinical experiences, interprofessional learning and personal development needs.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate effective patient-centred communication and structured information gathering in simulated and clinical environments.
2. Apply clinical reasoning and evidence-based principles to interpret clinical information, perform clinical calculations, and make safe decisions within defined professional boundaries.
3. Demonstrate professional behaviour and work effectively within interprofessional healthcare teams, recognising the roles and responsibilities of different professionals.
4. Reflect on experiential learning from clinical, simulated and interprofessional educational activities and apply introductory research and enquiry skills to develop a structured project proposal addressing a healthcare or clinical question.

Module content

This module includes the following areas of study: 

• Development of patient-centred consultation and communication skills
• Structured approaches to clinical history taking
• Interprofessional education sessions focusing on collaborative decision making and team-based care
• Problem-based learning workshops exploring clinical themes and developing enquiry and research skills
• Development of clinical reasoning, including recognition of red flags and awareness of professional limitations
• Structured learning experiences in simulated and clinical environments
• Development of clinical calculations, numeracy and interpretation of clinical data
• Reflective practice and development of a Personal and Academic Development (PAD) portfolio
• Introduction to research methods and clinical study design
• Critical appraisal of clinical studies and interpretation of research evidence
• Development of a structured project proposal addressing a healthcare question
• Problem-based workshop sessions exploring clinical themes and developing research and enquiry skills

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

You will be taught using a variety of teaching and learning methods that include lectures, flipped-classroom, problem-based learning, case-based learning, workshops, learning in simulated and real clinical settings and via inter-professional education.

Study hours

At least 120 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve all of the following to pass this module:

1. A mark of 50% in the Portfolio
2. A mark of 50% in the Multi Component Professional Skills Assessment (MCPSA). Four out of five stations must be passed. There will be five separate stations, each examining specific areas relevant to the skills acquired during the module.   Four out of five MCPSA stations must be passed for progression. The pass mark is 70% for the calculations station and 50% for all other stations.
3. A mark of 40% in the written coursework
4. An overall module mark of 40%

The Portfolio and MCPSA assessments each form the competence (k-element) to determine progression through the Physician Associate programme.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each calendar day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three calendar days;
• where the piece of work is submitted up to three calendar days after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in you Individual Learning Plan), the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three calendar days after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three calendar days after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three calendar days of the deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three calendar days after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

Where a piece of work is submitted late after a deadline which has been revised owing to an extension granted through the Assessment Adjustments policy and process (self-certified or otherwise), it will be subject to the maximum penalty (i.e., considered to be more than three calendar days late). This will also apply when such an extension is used in conjunction with a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Students receive formative feedback on written and oral communication skills throughout year. Students receive individual feedback after mock MCPSA.

Students have the opportunity to review their portfolio contents before submission.

Reassessment

Additional costs