NHS Royal Devon | Pharmacy Technicians

Pharmacy Technicians

Explore this role:

What is it like to work at the Royal Devon?
Becoming a Pharmacy Technician at the Royal Devon
What does a career pathway look like?
Your bespoke learning journey
Advancing your career
Case study
Salary
Video

Pharmacy Technicians work alongside Pharmacists throughout our acute and community services, supporting our busy dispensaries, clinical settings, and the wider pharmacy department.

Alongside preparing medicines, checking prescriptions, and delivering supplies, you will play a vital role in making sure patients and carers understand how to take their medication. This will include instructing on dosage, duration, and frequency as well as providing advice to specialties across the Trust.

On the wards, you will support by maintaining patient drug charts and helping with queries such as missed dosage or supply as well as making sure patients have everything they need ready for discharge.

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What is it like to work at the Royal Devon?

Pharmacy Technicians are equipped with an impressive set of skills including dispensing, medicines management, and in-depth knowledge about specialist areas. Alongside their technical capabilities, Pharmacy Technicians are compassionate about patient care, ensuring that those who use our services receive individualised care and professional counsel.

The Royal Devon can support you with dedicated apprenticeship routes to become a Band 4 Pharmacy Technician and beyond.

Becoming a Pharmacy Technician at the Royal Devon

How do I train to become a Pharmacist Technician?

You can start your career by applying for a Band 2 Pharmacy Assistant role and gaining valuable experience before joining our apprenticeship programme. You'll work towards achieving a level 2 qualification, and providing you have the relevant entry criteria, you could join our apprenticeship programme.

Pharmacy Assistants

Trainee Pharmacy Technicians

Providing you have the relevant entry criteria, we will support you with the access exam needed to access the Pharmacy Technician Apprenticeship programme. You will be studying and working as a Pre-Registration Trainee Pharmacy Technician whilst completing the level three course. This is fully funded via the apprenticeship levy.

Pharmacy Technician routes

Registering with the GPhC

Qualified Technicians must register with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC).

General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC).

What does a career pathway look like?

There are so many ways to achieve a fulfilling and rewarding career as a Pharmacy Technician. You may be starting afresh and looking for a brand new role, or perhaps you have dedicated a few years to other goals and are looking to return to practice. If you are interested in developing your role, we have a wealth of opportunities you can harness too.

To help you on your way, we produced a brochure to kick start your career with us.

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.

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Advancing your career

Band 5 Medicines Management Technician

Reaching a Band 5 position will reward you with great autonomy and responsibility. As a Medicines Management Technician, you’ll have direct patient contact and specialist skills in medicines reconciliation. As you grow and learn, you will have the opportunity to take on further responsibilities and build your knowledge including completing a course approved by Pharmacy Workforce Development South. This would put you in good stead when applying for a Band 6 position.

Pharmacy Workforce Development South

Band 6 Lead Pharmacy Technician

Band 6 Lead Pharmacy Technicians act within a management capacity, taking on further responsibilities within our busy dispensaries and clinical services under the supervision of senior pharmacy professionals.

You may be interested in developing specialist knowledge about an area you are passionate about, such as cancer services or rheumatology. You’ll also have the opportunity to access in-house training and courses whilst you build your experience.

Royal College of Pharmacists

Band 7 and Band 8 Senior Management Pharmacy Technician

As a Band 7 or Band 8 Senior Management Pharmacy Technician, your diverse experience will lead and manage your team, providing expert guidance and support to ensure services run smoothly and efficiently.

Alongside continued professional development (CPD), you will have protected time to teach, inspiring the next generation of pharmacy professionals. Innovation is hugely important for your role, whether you are contributing to research on the cutting-edge of pharmaceutical science or mapping future services that meet the growing needs of our communities.

NHS Leadership Academy

Case study

Lucie Adcock, Trainee Pharmacy Technician

I joined the Royal Devon in November 2022 as a rotational pharmacy assistant, but have since been given the fantastic opportunity to undertake the two-year Trainee Pharmacy Technician Apprenticeship, where at the end of the two years, I will be a General Pharmaceutical Council registered pharmacy technician. I am four months into the course, which is a combination of training on the job and one day a week studying online at college.

My career journey started about four years ago when I started within the community where I completed my NVQ level 2 as a Pharmacy Assistant, and then moved to a commercial Community Pharmacy. I decided to try a hospital setting in Barnstaple and I can honestly say I haven’t looked back since!

For me, working in pharmacy is particularly exciting because of the amount of knowledge and skills you gain. I am currently studying a module with Bradford College about the actions and uses of medicines, which is really interesting to learn about, and I am so excited to be able to apply my newfound knowledge when I qualify.

Working with the Royal Devon has changed my life. Everyone is so friendly, encouraging, and empowering. They have allowed me to come out of my comfort zone, explore my own interests under the supervision of my line manager, and discover interests I never knew I had. My line manager has already encouraged me to begin thinking about anything I would like to specialise in for my own personal development prospects. I am aware of multiple routes I could take to progress.

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.

NHS pay explained

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Being a Pharmacy Technician

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