RPS to explore potential of early years pharmacy technicians

Gail Fleming, director for education and professional development at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society

Work towards a UK-wide foundation pharmacy technician framework will be undertaken by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) and Work Psychology Group — a team of organisational psychology consultants.

As part of the research into this, the two bodies will examine the current roles of pharmacy technicians in the early stages of their careers. They will also look at foundation training programmes in other professions with a view to developing a framework that will suit pharmacy technicians working in a range of pharmacy environments across Great Britain.

The project was launched by the Association of Pharmacy Technicians UK (APTUK) and Health Education England (HEE), with the latter saying it will use the project’s findings to “identify the development needs of pharmacy technicians in all care settings”.

“The contribution of each member of the pharmacy team needs to be defined and recognised to ensure pharmacy has the greatest impact in the multidisciplinary team”, said Gail Fleming, director of education at the RPS.

“This work is an important step in understanding the current and future roles of pharmacy technicians across different sectors of practice.”

Liz Fidler, president of APTUK, added that the work “is critical to enable the full range of skills and knowledge of the pharmacy technician profession to be fully utilised”.

She continued: “The results of this analysis will lead to supporting an evidence based career pathway underpinned by standardised education, which will benefit the patients and the pharmacy profession.”

Last updated
Citation
The Pharmaceutical Journal, RPS to explore potential of early years pharmacy technicians;Online:DOI:10.1211/PJ.2019.20207072

You may also be interested in