Courses
Assessing Staff Competence to Administer Medicines | In Person
This course will provide you with the skills, knowledge, and materials to assess staff competence to administer medicines.
- This course is only available for groups
- For individuals, please book our virtual webinar version of this course instead
- A face to face in person course
- Run privately just for your team
- Run at a venue of your choice
- £1995+ VAT per workshop (max 12)
Course overview
Course last audited august 2025
This course gives you the skills, knowledge, and resources to assess staff competence in administering medicines safely.
You’ll learn best practice guidance, understand the assessor’s role, and review your competence checklists to ensure they support safe, correct processes across different medicine types.
We’ll explore common medication errors, including real client examples, to help you spot risks and strengthen your assessment approach.
The training includes practical assessment activities, team-based competence practice, and observation of medicine administration across a range of dosage forms, supported by the use of our direct observation checklists.
Format:
- Foundation Course in Medicines Administration (FCMA): online pre-work module providing essential knowledge and underpinning theory.
- Face-to-face training day: full-day, in-person course where you will practise assessing staff using our structured competence checklists in realistic scenarios.
- Final assessment module: an online, video-based module designed to evaluate and strengthen your assessment skills.
Learners must complete the final module within 4 months. Refer to our assessors FAQs for more details.
Aimed at
Care staff and nurses who assess staff competence to administer medication.
Pre-Learning
We include an online foundation module within this course, which you need to study first. If you have already passed this foundation course (either online or in-person) the last 6 months, then let us know, and you can skip this pre-learning. Visit our Assessors FAQ page (click here) for more details.
Course content
- Describe the legal/best practice requirements for assessing staff competence
- Tailor the direct observation checklist to your own organisation
- Observe someone administering the following dosage forms and state if they are competent or not:
- Solid oral medicines (tablets, capsules etc.) from original packs
- Solid oral medicines (tablets, capsules etc.) from monitored dosage (blister) packs – optional additional content if needed
- Oral liquids
- Topical medicines (creams, ointments etc.)
- Inhalers
- Eye drops
Accreditation
This course is accredited by CPD Assessed.
Certification
Mapping
- The Care Certificate
- CQC Quality Statements: QS 1, 7 and 8
- NICE – Management of Medicines in Care Homes, March 2014
- NICE – Management of Medicines in Community Settings, March 2017
- Health and Social Care Act (Regulated Activities) 2014