Dispensary Assistant Course

[Hayley]

Hi, im just wondering if anyone has had to get a extension to any course really and how they went about it? thankyou

[mandy]

I didn't do anything the NPA contacted my supervisor re my dispensary assistants course after i gave him it back. He told them i had been having family problems.....the real problem was him not giving me enough support i have now got 6 months to finish it with him helping me every day

[razorbladekisses]

A colleague of mine needed some more time to finish her course, the pharmacist contacted the NPA and they granted an extension.

[Hayley]

Mandy, thats just the situation im in! mines got to be in by 1st of december and so far ive only sent off 1 module despite having actually finished 3. ive had support from the other staff but my supervisor has no time for me so ive basically done what i can without him but cant send anything else off until he looks at it and signs the sheet. its so frustrating because i can do the actual course thats not the problem but im worried that i'll need an extension because i cant send anything off. and also if it ends up me having to have an extension i know my supervisor will tell the npa that its me struggling or something when its really not! thankyou very much for your reply, good luck this time round and let me know if you need a hand with anything.

[Hayley]

A colleague of mine needed some more time to finish her course, the pharmacist contacted the NPA and they granted an extension.

Hi, thankyou for your reply, im hoping it wont come to that but its not looking likely. i wasnt sure if you could contact them yourself as i really dont want the supervisor to make out that im struggling when im not. i hope your colleague does well.

[jessie]

Hi
I started this course 2months ago, but only work two days a week in my pharmacy on the counter, so my knowledge of the dispensary itself is very limited. Is there any other books that can be suggested that I could read along side the modules to gain more knowledge. I have a great pharmacist who is really busy but works on their own, and my company will not allow me an extra time to work in the dispensary to gain the knowledge I need to do the course! Catch 22 situation here!!

I have already spent unpaid time at the start trying to get a general understanding of what was going on, but have never printed a label apart from my course. I gained my sales of medicines within 6months and was asked if i would like to do this course.

Any suggestions greatly received.

[ScrabbleGirl]

Is there any other books that can be suggested that I could read along side the modules to gain more knowledge. I have a great pharmacist who is really busy but works on their own, and my company will not allow me an extra time to work in the dispensary to gain the knowledge I need to do the course! Catch 22 situation here!!

I have already spent unpaid time at the start trying to get a general understanding of what was going on, but have never printed a label apart from my course.

I found that the books that are most helpful for this course depend on which bit of the modulres you're studying - eg BNF is needed for the section in module 2 on what information needs to be included on labels (avoid alcoholic drink for metronidazole, complete the course for antibiotics, don't stop taking except on your doctor's advice, etc), while you need to look at various RPSGB publications for other bits of the course (they're often online if you need to access online: Rpsgb.org: Download Society publications) and then you need to look at the Drug Tariff for some of the work. It might be most helpful to ask your pharmacist to have a look at the modules you're studying and suggest what books (or which bits of books, rather than entire books!) would be most useful, though I think the workbooks also contain advice on where you can find information if you need it...

It does sound a bit unfair of your company to expect you to do the course without having time in the dispensary though - is there no way they would reconsider? If you completed your counter assistants course so successfully then you've obviously got the ability to complete the dispensary assistants' course successfully, you just need their support to do so!

If you need advice on any particular bit of the course please post again, I'm sure there are people here who have done the course in the past and might be able to give you some ideas.

[roper]

It's not just "unfair" it sounds unethical. Surely they have to sign you off as competent in dispensing tasks e.g labelling and if they never let you do them how can they do that?

[jessie]

Hello

Thankyou for your response; the link provided will keep me busy for a while!

As my husband said, you cannot become a painter by being given a paintbrush alone.

I think a long chat is in order, my appraisal is soon, so I'll take a deep breath and see how it goes.

[Ginny]

Yes I got an extensiopn of 1 month for my Dispnesary Assistant course. I think my Pharmacist phoned the NPA, or whatever it says to do in the guidelines. He explained that because of holidays I didn't have the chance to do it & they were fine. My problem came as I was doing Module 4 over the summer holidays. With the pharmacist having time off, and me having to cover other people I didn't stand a chance. Hope that helps