What are Pharmacy Services?
Pharmacy Support Workers are an integral part of the pharmacy team and work as part of the pharmacy family across all the pharmacy interfaces such as acute hospitals, primary care in GP practices or community hospitals and prisons, and community pharmacy.
The role of Pharmacy in NHS Lothian is to ensure patients get the best out of their medicines in a variety of setting across single system pharmacies. You may be involved in many aspects of the medicines journey of procuring and supplying, assembling medicine in many forms from oral medication to complex intravenous chemotherapy preparations. You may be responsible for supporting patients by educating them on how best to take their medicine to ensure they get the best out of them or work by working alongside a pharmacist or pharmacy technician to ensure any amendments to a patient s medicines are appropriate for their medical condition.
What is the MA in Pharmacy Services Pathway?
Enjoy science and have the ambition to develop yourself in a healthcare profession. This pharmacy route could be for you? This education pathway has the potential to allow you to develop your career to become a registered professional with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) as a Pharmacy Technician.
You will start your career as a Pharmacy Support Worker (PSW) completing a MA in Pharmacy Services SCQF L6 in a day-release programme, which will enable you to progress into the role of a Pre-Registration Pharmacy Technician and into a Technical Apprenticeship underrating the Diploma in Pharmacy Services SCQF L8.
Pharmacy Support Worker Role:
PSW role – the PSW works under the direction of a Pharmacist or Pharmacy Technician and is vital to delivering pharmacy services. You may work as a member of the hospital or primary care team in a variety of pharmacy settings such as procurement, dispensing services, which will include working in cleanroom environments and clinical settings in wards and GP practices – supporting patients to take their medicine correctly.
Pharmacy Technician Role:
If you pursue the career and education pathway, you will have the opportunity to undertake further study to become a registered professional. Pharmacy Technicians are highly trained individuals who are responsible for the final accuracy checking of dispensed medicines. In this role, a pharmacy technician will be more involved in the procurement of medicine, preparation, and dispensing of medicine to ensure a robust supply chain. You may be involved in reviews of medications taken by patients, where you may signpost via referral pathways to the appropriate healthcare professional.
Resources:
NHS Scotland – Pharmacy Careers
Chloe’s Story – Pre-Registration Pharmacy Technician
Current Adverts
We currently are not advertising any Modern Apprenticeships as a Pharmacy Support Worker. If you would like to be contacted when our adverts go live, please register interest by following the link below.
