Nvq 3

[bluemerlin]

Hi, I started the NVQ 3 in January but I am now thinking of giving up on it. I receive no help or tutoring, no time at work to do anything, do all my study at home and then have to plead and beg to get the modules marked so that I can post them off. I love working in the dispensary but the stress where I work is so bad that its either the NVQ goes or I do. Does anyone know if there are any financial implications if I stop the NVQ or do they just accept it?

[laura/nottingham]

Not sure on the financial side, but would it not be possible to go to a different pharmacy to do the training? I have done most of my work at home.

[I♥NewYork]

If its the NPA course then I think it costs about £600 and its usually paid for by your firm. Most firms would expect you to pay them back if you drop out or leave the company - I know I had to sign a contract confirming I would pay them back if I did either of those.

Just to let you know that you aint alone ....... I get very little help and get no chance during the day to do anything due to how busy our pharmacy is. So far I have done everything at home and the only thing I can do at work is photocopy evidence for the units. I have to shove my work in front of my pharmacist as soon as there is a quiet second or two in order for him to sign it.

Try not to give up as all the ppl on here will tell you its worth it in the end ...... I dont know that yet as I am still where you are struggling along !!

[bluemerlin]

Hi, In reply it would not be possible to move to another pharmacy as
at the moment I have to be around for my young children. The hours work well for my family but the day to day stress is getting to much to bear. I (now mistakenly) thought that an NVQ meant training on the job. If I'd have wanted to learn at home I could have done an OU course!
If the pharmacist is supposed to tutor you, then thats what they should do. The internet does not have all the answers. I am trying not to give up but as I say the stress at work is so high due to the way the pharmacy is run I'm not sure how much more I can take. I even tried to ask the AM about it and the answer was an hours TIL a week. How does that help. I spent all day taking one step forward and three steps back.

[JPtech]

Hey there blue
I think most of us know how you feel as i think most of us have been in that situation The unfortunate truth is that being a mentor and teacher isnt something you have to learn as part of a pharmacists degree but don't give up hope! Many of us here have been working this course for a while or have already completed it so we can offer advice or guidance where possible or if not then maybe point you in the right direction! If you're on the NPA version then i know from personal experience that the deadlines can be flexed which takes some of the pressure off! As for getting study time its unfortunate, hard and unpleasant but sometimes you have to be firm and a bit selfish if it means getting a fair break to study! Anyhow i hope you can find a solution that makes you happy because that's the most important thing

[MrsBossMan]

Hi
Does anyone have any suggestions on reference books which would be of help to doing the NVQ 3? (Apart from the Drug Tariff and BNF!)

[PtitpupUK]

I did my NVQ training at home because of low staffing levels and no real tutor (pharmacy was run by locums). It took me 2&1/2 years instead of the recommended 2 years.
Now we have a manager but it's still a struggle for my colleagues to get any time to do their NVQ. One of the girls counted her time and spent something like 300 hours study at home over the two years. Of course that's unpaid and on her own with no real help or mentoring. Trying to get some time to query things and ask questions to the manager is virtually impossible.
Back along if you left during the training or up to 1 year after you had to repay the course. But you could discuss this with your manager/area manager that if they don't meet the conditions to make it possible for you to train then the onus should be on them. You shouldn't have to stress or struggle about the training.

[I♥NewYork]

Mrs BossMan,

I bought the Oxford Concise Medical dictionary and the BMA New Guide to Medicines & Drugs.

Both have been good reference sources so far. They both have information written in English as opposed to the doctor/pharmacist language that you get within the BNF !!!

The rest of the books (Stockleys, MEP etc) tend to be kept in the pharmacy so I never needed to buy a copy.

[MrsBossMan]

Great, thats very helpful, thank you!
Having said that, what is Stockleys and MEP, am pretty sure we don't have these!!! x

[I♥NewYork]

Stockleys is a book of interactions - believe it contains even more than the appendix in the BNF, as it shows lots of interactions between drugs and foods etc, plus homeopathy stuff I think.

The MEP is the Medicine, Ethics and Practice book and this is definitely needed for module 5 - although I believe most of it is listed on the RPSGB website too.