Pharmacy Technician

Pharmacy Technicians podcast – Prescription for success

Welcome to the podcast series with local Pharmacy Technicians about their current roles, led by Clare Johns, who has been a Pharmacy Technician for almost 40 years. When Clare trained in the 80s, there were only roles available for Pharmacy Technicians in hospitals and as counter assistants in Community Pharmacy. The role has moved on significantly and the COVID-19 pandemic showed that this profession can come together as one workforce to support other healthcare services. Now Pharmacy Technicians are an integral part of the Pharmacy workforce, and as Pharmacists become independent prescribers at qualification and move into more clinical roles, Pharmacy Technicians have the opportunity to develop their skills to support this change in workforce dynamic. The series aims to showcase the fabulous Pharmacy Technicians in Surrey, their current roles and careers to date and it provides an insight into other opportunities available. Each podcast is 10-15 minutes long so you can listen over a cuppa or lunch break. If you want to take part and chat to Clare or any of the Pharmacy Technicians featured in the series about their roles, please get in touch by contacting Surrey Training Hub and we can put you in touch.

For pharmacy updates, webinars and pharmacy-specific training resources please visit the new Pharmacy Page.

Role Description

The Pharmacy Technician is a patient-facing and patient-supporting role ensuring effective medicines use, through shared decision-making conversations with patients.

Pharmacy Technicians complement the Clinical Pharmacists, Community Pharmacists, and other members of the PCN multi-disciplinary team. Pharmacy Technicians are different to Clinical Pharmacists as they are not able to prescribe or make clinical decisions, instead working under supervision to ensure effective and efficient use of medicines.

A pharmacy technician should develop working relationships with other pharmacy technicians, pharmacists, and members of the multi-disciplinary team.

Please click here to view RSFT Registered Pharmacy Technicians Progression Pathway document. It is designed to give pharmacy technicians and their line managers an idea of the level that they should be working at based on the JD of their job role and support aspirations should they wish to progress or learn more about a particular area. It also supports those who are happy with their job progression, but who still want to develop within that role and support gathering of CPD evidence for renewing registration.

What can a Pharmacy Technician offer to patients in a Primary Care setting?

Undertake medicines optimisation tasks such as effective medicine administration (eg. checking inhaler technique), supporting medication reviews, and medicines reconciliation
Improving repeat prescribing processes in General Practice
Promotion of repeat dispensing and online ordering
Minimising clinical risk and aiming to reduce wasted medicines.

Qualifications

GPhC-accredited courses and GPhC-recognised qualifications or
GPhC approved apprenticeship pathway

Additional Qualifications/Training Required for Primary Care

To have completed or be enrolled on the Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education (CPPE) Primary Care Pharmacy Education Pathway (PCPEP) 18-month pathway, unless they have already completed the Medicines Optimisation in Care Homes (MOCH) pathway

Regulatory Body

Pharmacy Technician registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council GPhC.

Supervision Requirements

A pharmacy technician should be working under appropriate clinical supervision such as that provided by a clinical pharmacist or GP

What can the Training Hub offer you?

Access to online courses and workshops on various topics related to pharmacy.
Tools and resources for improving communication and professional skills.
Best practices and guidelines for pharmacy teams.
Networking opportunities with other pharmacy teams and healthcare professionals.
Continued education and professional development opportunities.
Access to the latest research and information.