What is it about?
Podcasts are an increasingly popular way for people to learn on the go but little is known about how to design them effectively for healthcare education. The authors found a gap in the availability of podcasts created specifically for health professionals studying pharmacology as part of a non-medical prescribing programme. This article explores development of the pharmacology podcast series 'Prescriber Pod'. Practical guidance for educators wanting to create their own podcasts is summarised as ten top tips.
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Why is it important?
Pharmacology is a high-stakes topic for non-medical prescribing (NMP) students: * The Nursing and Midwifery Council requires non-medical prescribing students to pass a pharmacology exam with a minimum score of 80%. * Pharmacology maps to multiple competencies in the Royal College of Pharmacy Competency Framework for all Prescribers, which sets out good prescribing practice. Podcasts provide flexible, accessible learning: Health professionals undertaking NMP programmes can struggle to manage postgraduate study alongside personal responsibilities and demanding work schedules. Audio podcasts empower students to choose where and when they learn, allowing study to be combined with everyday tasks like commuting or exercising. There is a shortage of relevant, verified podcasts for NMP students: 'Prescriber Pod' is tailored to the needs of NMP students, evidence-based and quality assured. The authors followed a systematic process designed to help students build knowledge and improve their overall learning experience. It provides practical guidance for educators: Drawing on published literature and their own production experience, the authors share ten practical tips for creating high-quality, evidence-based educational podcasts.
Perspectives
When curating podcasts for non-medical prescribing students, I have found it challenging to find relevant, quality-assured content. I could see the potential for podcasts to help busy healthcare professionals repurpose everyday tasks into study time on the go, so I decided to create the content I was struggling to find! Developing ‘Prescriber Pod’ presents academic and technical challenges, but I am fortunate to work with some great people who enable me to make the content so much better. I could not have moved the project this far forwards without them. I hope this article gives other educators thinking about creating evidence-based podcasts a head start and, above all, that non-medical prescribing students find the podcast really useful.
Sally Porter
University of York
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: ‘Prescriber Pod’: development of a pharmacology podcast for health professionals on a non-medical prescribing programme, Journal of Prescribing Practice, September 2026, Mark Allen Group,
DOI: 10.12968/jprp.2026.0092.
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