Our second story for Pharmacy Technician Day is from Stacey, pharmacy assistant
Tuesday 18 October 2022 is Pharmacy Technician Day, a day we can celebrate all the wonderful contributions pharmacy technicians and support staff make to pharmacy, healthcare and wider society.
We want to say a massive thank you to all our fantastic pharmacy technicians and support staff. You make invaluable contributions to patient health, safety and are an integral part of the healthcare team and deserve all the accolades you receive. Without you there would be no pharmacy and you deserve a day for all your tireless work.
It is also a day for pharmacy technicians to reflect on their careers and realise the impact they've had on patients and fellow pharmacy professionals. We will be sharing some of their stories throughout the day.
Our second story for Pharmacy Technician Day is from Stacey, Pharmacy Assistant. She shares what she does day to day, her career journey, her transferable skills and what she enjoys.
Stacey – Pharmacy Assistant
I’m Stacey and I’m a pharmacy assistant within Nottinghamshire healthcare. On a day-to-day basis my job is very varied. I assemble medication for various inpatient wards and outpatient teams. I receive an issue stock in our stores department, handle telephone and email inquiries as well as liaising with other medical professionals. I also visit our other sites and complete ward stock top-ups which I really enjoy
For me to become a pharmacy assistant I had to have A*-C grades in GCSE Maths, English and Science. I also had to obtain a NVQ Level 2 in pharmaceutical skills. I was able to complete this on the job and I was supported thoroughly by the team and their wealth of knowledge.
My career didn’t begin in pharmacy, I was initially doing a hairdressing apprenticeship then moved onto customer services where I worked within the sector for several years. Then I decide I wanted a change and took the plunge to apply for a role within pharmacy. Many of the skills I gained previously, I use daily as many of the skills are transferable and I’ve been building on them since becoming a pharmacy assistant. One of the main skills you need is to be ability to remain focused for long periods of time, as well as have an eye for detail and accuracy.
As a pharmacy assistant there is the opportunity to become a senior pharmacy assistant which give you more of a leadership role within the team. There’s also the potential to become a trainee technician which would gain you the NVQ level three which upon completion you'd be able to become a registered pharmacy technician. When I began my career in pharmacy with the Trust, I’ve been supported to undertake the pharmaceutical skills NVQ level 2. It's not only given me a qualification, but it's also given me the foundation skills to build a career within pharmacy. I really enjoyed completing the NVQ and learning about all aspects of pharmacy. I did find the course challenging but I had plenty of support from my tutor and my colleagues when I needed It.
The best part of my job for me is that every day I learn something new, also the pharmacy team are very experienced and only want to share their knowledge which I love about working there. If I had to describe my job in one word - it would be varied there's no two days that are the same.
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