Pharmacy technician
Prepare and supply prescription medicine to treat people's illnesses and health conditions.
About the job
Salary
Source: National Careers Service
Weekly
£481
Entry level
£673
Experienced
Monthly
£2,083
Entry level
£2,917
Experienced
Yearly
£25,000
Entry level
£35,000
Experienced
2,900
people are currently employed
Low growth
100 more jobs in 5 years
These figures refer to this job and similar ones with comparable skills and qualifications. They only apply to Scotland. Source: Oxford Economics
What it's like
You would prepare and supply prescription medicine to treat people’s illnesses and health conditions.
You could be based in a community, hospital pharmacy or primary care (for example, GP practices or care homes). You’d work under the supervision of a qualified pharmacist.
You would:
select the correct items to make up a prescription
weigh out ingredients, measure liquids and count out tablets
put together ointment mixtures, and medicines
make sure prescriptions are legal and accurate
create labels which give information about the medicines and how to use them
order new stock using computerised systems
If you work in a hospital pharmacy you might be responsible for making up medicines for patients who are having cancer treatment. These need to be made in special sterile conditions to avoid contamination. It is especially important in these cases to be as accurate and methodical as possible.
You would also be responsible for making sure that each department in the hospital has the right amount of medicine in stock. With experience, you could specialise in a particular area such as quality control, clinical trials or medicines information services.
If you work in a community pharmacy, you would talk with customers to:
advise them about prescription medicines and over-the-counter products
advise about healthy living
explain how to deal with minor illness
Some pharmacy technicians also provide a stop smoking service.
You’d need to be able to explain things clearly. People may be embarrassed about their health conditions so you’d need to have tact and discretion.
You would refer them to a pharmacist or healthcare professional when necessary.
You can see more about this role in the National Health Service on the pharmacy technician page on the NHS Scotland Careers website.
Hours
Environment
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Top skills
Skills are things you're good at. Whether you know what yours are or not, everyone has them!
It's useful to learn which ones are important in a job so you know the areas you need to brush up on. It can also help you work out if you're suited to a career.
Here are some of the skills you'll need to do this job:
- understanding
- taking responsibility
- implementing ideas
- attention to detail
- social conscience
- verbal communication
- supporting
- positive attitude
Your skills are important
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Getting in
Explore the sections shown for more information about getting into this career.
You might have qualifications which are not shown here but will allow you access to a course. You can compare your qualifications by looking at their SCQF Level. For more information about this, check out the SCQF website.
Always contact the college, university or training provider to check exactly what you'll need.
Colleges and universities will list subjects you'll need for entry to a course. Some useful subjects include:
Biology
Chemistry
Human Biology
Skills for Work: Laboratory Science
You'll need to complete a two-year accredited pharmacy technician course involving a mix of practical work experience and study. You'll usually be employed by a pharmacy as a pre-registration trainee pharmacy technician and study for a Level 3 apprenticeship.
You can then register with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) and practice as a qualified pharmacy technician.
Visit NHS health careers to find courses to become a pharmacy technician.
You can find more information on the NHS health careers website.
To work as a pharmacy technician you need to be registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC).
To register you need to successfully complete:
one of the accredited qualifications
two years of work experience
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