Pharmacy technicians are registered healthcare professionals and, as such, they are responsible and accountable for their own safe practice. The role of the pharmacy technician expanded quite significantly when professional registration was introduced in 2011 and pharmacy technicians now work in a wide range of settings including medicines optimisation, medicines procurement, public health and research.

Pharmacy technicians undertake a vocational training program whereas pharmacists must study for a master’s degree. “The two professions work alongside each other to provide pharmaceutical care ……….. We are two professions but we are very much one team”, says Ms Steele.

Growing numbers of pharmacy technicians are taking up senior positions in the NHS. There are many opportunities for career advancement for pharmacy technicians and many now choose to study for master’s degrees or PhDs to support their career aspirations.

“I would say being a pharmacy technician is a fulfilling and rewarding career”, says Ms Steele. “[It] is not the same as being a dispenser – you are expected to use your knowledge and skills to directly support patients with their medicines and you have to maintain your professional development as a registered healthcare professional”, she adds. She suggests that interested individuals should visit a pharmacy, talk to pharmacy technicians and visit the APTUK website to find out more about the work involved and the opportunities available.

APTUK President, Claire Steele’s message:

“Every year we celebrate International Pharmacy Technician Day and I would like to take the opportunity to thank every pharmacy technician across the UK for their hard work and dedication. The future is bright for pharmacy technicians and I, for one, am excited to see what comes next in our journey”.

Read and watch the full series on our website or on YouTube.

APTUK is the professional leadership body for pharmacy technicians working in all pharmacy sectors across all countries in the UK: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Find out more here – https://www.aptuk.org/

Growing numbers of pharmacy technicians are taking up senior positions in the NHS. Ms Steele explains,

“In the NHS there is a hierarchical structure for pharmacy technicians, generally from band 4 to band 7. However, there are now many pharmacy technicians in higher-banded posts and we are seeing an increase in the number of posts where a pharmacy technician or pharmacist is eligible to apply. The higher-banded posts tend to be where a pharmacy technician is responsible for delivering services and setting the strategic direction. To demonstrate the skills required for this you usually have to be able to evidence working at a regional or a national level – working with APTUK does actually provide that and we’ve seen many of our previous executive committee members go on to achieve great roles.”

One example here is medicines procurement. Until recently medicines procurement services were mainly run by pharmacists but now, in some places in England, pharmacy technicians are running medicines procurement services, often not just for one hospital but for a Trust.

Currently, there is not a clear career pathway for pharmacy technicians because of the variety of roles and sectors in which pharmacy technicians can work.  “While this means there is ample opportunity for individual pharmacy technicians to forge a successful career it does mean that there’s often a lack of advanced training opportunities for pharmacy technicians”, Ms Steele acknowledges. However, more opportunities are opening up for pharmacy technicians and many now choose to undertake Master’s degrees or PhDs to advance their careers. Typically, these are focused on leadership and management topics.

Fulfilling career

Ms Steele says:

“I would say being a pharmacy technician is a fulfilling and rewarding career. There’s a very high demand for pharmacy technicians and ample employment opportunities and actually most pharmacy technicians stay within the profession. Many pharmacy technicians start their career as pharmacy support staff and this provides a good grounding for a career as a pharmacy technician, particularly, if …. you want to understand more about how medicines work. But you do also need to make sure that you have the minimum educational requirements to train to be a pharmacy technician. I just want to add that being a pharmacy technician is not the same as being a dispenser – you are expected to use your knowledge and skills to directly support patients with their medicines and you have to maintain your professional development as a registered healthcare professional. So, [I’d] say to any young person out there, if you’re interested in a career as a pharmacy technician, I suggest you take the opportunity to talk to pharmacy technicians, visit a pharmacy and make sure that you research the requirements around professional registration…. The other thing that I would like to say as well is that as a professional I feel it’s important to join and work with professional leadership bodies and APTUK offers free membership to pre-registration training pharmacy technicians and a special early years’ rate upon registration.”

International Pharmacy Technician Day

APTUK President, Claire Steele’s message:

“Every year we celebrate International Pharmacy Technician Day and I would like to take the opportunity to thank every pharmacy technician across the UK for their hard work and dedication. The future is bright for pharmacy technicians and I, for one, am excited to see what comes next in our journey”.

Read and watch the full series on our website or on YouTube.

APTUK is the professional leadership body for pharmacy technicians working in all pharmacy sectors across all countries in the UK: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Find out more here – https://www.aptuk.org/

APTUK, the professional leadership body of pharmacy technicians in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, has now been in operation for 70 years. It is “run by pharmacy technicians for pharmacy technicians”, Ms Steele emphasises. She undertakes the role of president alongside her day-job as a pharmacy technician working for NHS-Fife in Scotland. This involves representing the profession at key stakeholder meetings and providing leadership and strategic direction to ensure that the profession’s potential is realised.  APTUK sees itself as being “a major influencer in shaping future models of care, creating and safeguarding roles for pharmacy technicians and, ultimately, improving outcomes for patients”, explains Ms Steele.  To this end she works with a number of bodies including the Pharmacy regulator, other regulatory bodies, professional bodies and associations, government departments, employers and training providers to provide the voice of the pharmacy technician.  APTUK is a company limited by guarantee which means that it is a not-for-profit organisation.  In addition to being president, Ms Steele is a director of APTUK with responsibility for the organisation’s financial and business activities.

Registered healthcare professionals

Pharmacy technicians are registered healthcare professionals and, as such, they are responsible and accountable for their own safe practice. “We have an integral role in helping patients make the most of their medicines safely.  The role of the pharmacy technician spans all areas of pharmacy practice …… and we work with pharmacists, pharmacy support staff and other members of the healthcare team to support the safe and effective use of medicines”, says Ms Steele.  The role of the pharmacy technician expanded quite significantly when professional registration was introduced in 2011. Pharmacy technicians now work in many different areas including procurement, manufacturing, medicines optimisation, [medicines] governance, public health, clinical services, research, service management, medicines information, medicines administration and education and training. Pharmacy technicians also have a role to play in supporting other services that are linked to the use of medicines, for example, smoking cessation services and blood pressure monitoring services both of which are recent additions deliverable by pharmacy technicians within the Community Pharmacy contractual framework in England, she explains.

Pharmacists have a different educational background from pharmacy technicians. Pharmacists undertake a master’s degree whereas pharmacy technicians undertake a vocational training program. “The two professions work alongside each other to provide pharmaceutical care ……….. We are two professions but we are very much one team”, says Ms Steele.  Pharmacists who have undertaken additional training are able to prescribe medicines whereas pharmacy technicians do not have this option. Pharmacists (and some other healthcare professionals) are also able to operate under a Patient Group Direction to allow the supply and administration of medicines without a prescription in certain situations. “We’re expecting a consultation on enabling pharmacy technicians to undertake this activity in the near future”, says Ms Steele.

Read and watch the full series on our website or on YouTube.

APTUK is the professional leadership body for pharmacy technicians working in all pharmacy sectors across all countries in the UK: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Find out more here – https://www.aptuk.org/