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Pharmacy Assistants
Begin your career journey as a Pharmacy Assistant and learn how to safely dispense and distribute medicines, transforming the way our patients can access our services.
You’ll be ensuring the safety and recovery of our patients by providing impeccable service across our acute sites and within our communities, making sure the right person receives the right medication at the right time.
You’ll be supported every step of the way by a team who feel just like a family.
What's it like to work at the Royal Devon?
Working in a Pharmacy Assistant role is an ideal vantage point for exploring the different careers available within the NHS. We are proud to nurture a workforce of real homegrown talent, many of whom discovered their dream job during their time working as Pharmacy Assistants.
Guided by senior members of the team, you’ll progress along your chosen career pathway with the help of our learning and development opportunities. This all starts with a fantastic induction programme, after which you’ll be teamed up with a ‘buddy’.
How do I train to become a Pharmacy Assistant?
How do I get started?
You don’t need experience to get started! We’ll provide all training on the job and help you achieve your Level 2 qualification. Once you have achieved this and providing you have Maths and English GCSE’s or equivalent, we’ll help you take the next steps in your career.
Band 2 Pharmacy Assistant
You don’t need any experience to get started! We’ll provide all training on the job to help you build your confidence and learn and develop essential skills. You will work towards achieving a level-2 qualification whilst building practical knowledge, helping you to earn as you learn.
Band 3 Pharmacy Assistant
Band 2 Pharmacy Assistants can progress to a Band 3 Senior Pharmacy Assistant position after achieving the relevant level 2 qualification. This opens up opportunities to further develop your dispensing skills, learn about controlled drugs, and master complex dispensing procedures whilst gaining essential underpinning knowledge needed for the role.
You may be interested in becoming a Pharmacy Technician. To do so, you will need to complete a Pharmacy Technician apprenticeship.
Your bespoke learning journey
You’ll be supported to create your own personal development plan. This is used to identify your individual training needs, which can be met from the wide range of learning opportunities available such as clinical skills, management development, coaching and mentoring, IT skills and much more.
What can I expect to get paid?
Agenda for change
Known as ‘Agenda for Change’, NHS pay is structured around different bandings for a fair and transparent pay structure. Levels of pay vary within each band according to experience. As your career develops, you can expect to earn more and move to the top of your pay banding before working your way up to the next one.
