Pharmacy Technician

To practise in Great Britain, pharmacy technicians must be registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) and have satisfied the Council that it meets its detailed requirements.

Registered pharmacy technicians have to keep their skills and knowledge up to date with annual continuing professional development (CPD).

To practice as a pharmacy technician you need to study for an accredited qualification such as:

• BTEC National Diploma in pharmaceutical science
• NVQ/SVQ level 3 in pharmacy services
• National Certificate in pharmaceutical science

To apply for a course, you need to be working in a pharmacy setting.  All employers will ask for at least 4 GCSEs (9-4/A*-C), including English, maths and two science or equivalent qualifications.

Training to become a pharmacy technician usually takes two years. It combines practical work experience with study, either at college or by distance learning. Courses cover:

• human physiology
• disease management
• actions and uses of medicine pharmacy manufacturing
• pharmacy law

Once qualified, many pharmacy technicians join the Association of Pharmacy Technicians (APTUK). The APTUK runs courses, conferences and seminars where pharmacy technicians can exchange ideas and update their skills.

Qualified and experienced pharmacy technicians can go on to study to become a pharmacist.

Pharmacy Technician recruitment into primary care in the Black Country is a quickly expanding initiative. When recruiting and interviewing candidates, I hope this document outlines some useful guidance to maintain a high-quality recruitment process, which is objective and primarily based on selecting the suitable candidate on merit.

Application form

When reviewing the application form, please keep in mind these individuals are registered and regulated professionals. With this in mind, spelling grammar and punctuation should be of a high standard. If an individual fails to articulate themselves effectively in a written form, then the employer should consider the potential implications of this in the future.

• The application should highlight their key attributes, what skills and knowledge can they bring to the organisation? Are the skills applicable and relevant for the role?
• Consider the commitment outlined in the application from the candidate. Are they committed individuals? Are they going to be a loyal employee that dedicates to long periods of employment in the past with one organisation? What extra courses, qualifications or knowledge seeking/ self-development has this individual undertaken to reflect the commitment to the profession?
• Gage the professionalism of the candidate in the affluent writing skills in the application form. Are they articulate and concise communicators?
• Review the layout of the application form written prose; is it organised? Is it flowing well?
• Does the application contain the information your requesting? Does the applicant meet the person specification? If they do not meet the criteria, do they evident potential to meet the essential criteria?
• Have they got commitment to the primary care sector? Are they indicating that the role they have applied for is a desired career pathway? Are they enthusiastic about obtaining the role?
• Does the individual have the resilience required to embark on challenges associated with the role? E.g are they able to commit to dedicating hours beyond core working hours to complete a course, do they do any voluntary work or self-directed CPD?

Interview

If the candidate is shortlisted to this stage, then it can be assumed these are potentially a strong candidate for employment. Understandably, the interview is an incredibly unique experience for successful candidates. For many it could be a very unfavourable, nervous experience and for others they may rise to the challenge and enjoy the experience. With these factors taken into perspective, the interview panel should score individuals accordingly. Interview questions and method should be determined by what information the interviewers want to gather. Categories for questions can range from establishing commitment to role and profession, to teamwork engagement, to understanding the person’s organisational skills and even asking their experiences and personal qualities.

Here are some examples of potential questions:

• General questions
  • We have had a great response to our vacancy advertisement. Why are you the right person for this role?
  • What are your views on development and what training needs do you feel you may have for this role?
  • How has your career impacted on your decision to apply for this role?
• Attributes
  • Please explain the attributes you possess will be beneficial for this role and the organisation.
  • Explain the attributes and skills can you bring to this role?
  • Give an example of a time you have gone the “extra mile” for the benefit of the patient care or the workplace?
  • Can you describe and explain a significant event, error or complaint that you have recently dealt with?
  • What do you find challenging about your current work? Are there any challenges you envisage in this role?
• Professionalism / Development
  • What is your understanding of clinical governance?
  • What, if any, is/ are your areas of specialist interest? How have you developed your scope of practice to reflect this specialist interest?
  • What innovative ideas do you have to for this team or for your colleagues with regards to galvanisation and team cohesion?
  • What is the most recent CPD you have undertaken, and how has that impacted on your practice?
  • As we are an integrated organisation/ team, how will you integrate yourself into becoming a valued member of the team?
  • Explain the challenges you envisage that primary care may be facing over the next 5 years? How do you believe this will impact on this role?