Senior Pharmacy Technician - Education & Training Review

I am the Senior technician for education & training within the inpatient pharmacy at New Cross Hospital. I am educational supervisor for 10 pre-registration student technicians who complete a 2 year program with us in order to gain their qualification & professional registration. I also work within the dispensary to accuracy check medication & participate in late nights, weekends & bank holidays as the lead for the area.

Since joining the Trust I have undertaken various in-house courses to support my career development in management & emotional intelligence. I have also completed an ACPT course which allows me to accuracy check medication and an Assessors qualification to be able to assess NVQ levels 2 & 3.

I am finding my current course really interesting & it is encouraging me to develop critical thinking/analysis alongside learning the background to education theory. I can already see how I will be able to put my new learning into practice with my own students & the wider team as well as sharing best practice.

The course is really well structured, the learning materials are clear which makes completing the required tasks straight forward. The tutors are responsive & always willing to help with any queries, workshops encourage us to discuss our thoughts & not be afraid to put our individual point of view across. We are encouraged to choose our own ways of presenting work.

My line manager is really supportive & has arranged for me to work from home 1 day a week in order to have protected learning time. She encourages me to switch off/limit work emails on these days. I am able to speak to her for advice about completion of tasks where I require guidance about the best way to present.

There is always someone to speak to in the event of a query & I am kept informed of any changes (where relevant). Guidance is given on a regular basis as well as informing us of future learning if that's something we are considering. I feel well supported in my studies.

This qualification is giving me the background to education theory which in turn is giving me a better understanding of where I can 'tweak' my work based practices with learners to give them a better learning experience within our department. By understanding the values that are important to my learners it will help me adapt sessions so they get the most out of them.

Currently we have: regular 'learning at lunch' sessions which are held primarily on Teams sessions held by external providers Pharmacist/Technician led sessions Wellbeing team - activities organised throughout the year Professional networking opportunities are cascaded out to the wider team Pharmacy bake off - to encourage individuals to show off their skills & compete for a trophy

Yes

There are excellent career opportunities within our department & the wider Trust. Numerous opportunities for learning, gaining qualifications & working under mentors to guide you as you progress. Lots of exciting progress is being made in the NHS as a whole & RWT aims to be at the forefront of these. Staff are encouraged to share best practice.

Consider speaking to staff currently in post, ask to visit the department you are interested in, find out what opportunities there are for development. Ask questions, there is no such thing as a 'silly' question! Look at the Trust website & ensure you consider the Trust visions & values, think about how these align with your own.