2 Year Hospital Student Technician - BTEC/NVQ - Anyone Else??
Hi guys, i'm new to the forum so firstly would like to say hello.
I have been offered a place as Pre Registration Student Pharmacy Technician within a NHS hospital, starting in September. Incase you aren't aware the course involves studying for a BTEC level 3 and a NVQ level 3 and after two years leads to registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council as a Technician.
I was just wondering if anyone else on here has taken the same route, whether they be qualified, halfway through, or about to start in September themselves. If you have experience of this route can I ask how you have found the training and the course, particularly if like me, you were new to Pharmacy.
The reason I ask is that from reading some of the previous posts, many users state how difficult this route is someone who is new to Pharmacy.
Of course if you are about to start one of the many NHS roles this September and are in a similar position to me then please speak up as it would be good to hear from peaople in a similar position.
I've just completed a four week placement in a hospital pharmacy after working in community for a few years and the difference is appreciable to be challenging without totally unnerving..
If you're absolutely brand new to pharmacy it will knock your socks off having to learn to dispense from scratch, but if a trust is willing to train you up from scratch they'll not be expecting too much from you too soon.
I spoke to a few of the techs and there's a band 6 in the hospital I worked and was told of a band 7 working elsewhere....I was flabbergasted by the career progression since (as a pharmacy student) I'll be in approx £25,000 debt when I qualify, if I was to be looking at starting my degree now with the increase in fees It would be a damn hard choice since I could be getting trained up and paid as a tech with the possibility of more responsibility, warfarin clinics and getting out on the ward with no debt!
Hi Chris, I'm actually just finishing my first year on the same course as you. One more day at college to go, then the summer is mine! I don't know who you're doing it through, but my organisation give us study leave during work time. If I were you I would use it as best you can, since it means less work to do at home. The assignments aren't too hard, but they do take up a lot of time, then there's the NVQ work on top of that. You need to gather evidence to prove you've covered all the ticky boxes, such as dispensing some amoxicillin syrup or paracetamol tablets, then writing up a self-reflective account saying what you did. This then gets referenced against the criteria you have to cover, which takes as long as writing the thing did!
I used to work in a retail pharmacy, so I already knew how to dispense, but I was told that they prefer to hire people with no experience because they don't have to un-learn anything. You'll be taught how to use the computer system, and the basics of dispensing on the job, so don't worry about that. I started out in Inpatients to find my feet, and I've since been on various areas including stores (doing ward top-ups and receiving stock) and manufacturing (making sterile and non-sterile products such as syringes, creams etc)
Overall some people seemed to struggle more than others, but more with the college work than the actual job. All I can suggest is make sure that your year are willing to talk to and help each other, and don't be afraid to ask the lecturer's for help with the assignments. Sitting on your own struggling gets you nowhere - you're all in the same boat, and somebody else may be able to explain stuff to you. Most of all, don't forget to enjoy it!
Edit: Forgot to mention, we were told that if we already had a holiday booked then we could have that, but essentially you have to be dead or dying not to go to college. They strongly discourage you taking a college day off, and I agree. You cover so much material in one day, it's unbelievable, so even missing one week would put you quite badly behind - especially if there's a practical session that week.
Last edited by sparkybw; 2nd, July 2011 at 01:44 PM.
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