nvq level 3 unit 1 valid witnessess??please advise

[millycat01]

Hi ,
I am in my first year of my NVQ Level 3 Pharmacy services and opened Unit 1. My assessor is like a dragon and EXTREMELY demanding and makes my life very difficult. We work in a busy hospital along side senior dispensing ATO's and while i was dispensing along side a Senior dispensing ATO , i asked her if she could witness several presciptions for me for element 1.3- Assembling and Packaging. She signed the witness sheet and a i photocopied my prescriptions as evidence. When i presented this to my assesor, she declined it saying it must be witness by a Technician or Pharmacist.Which she never once told me. However, my arguement is that surely it is down to the assessor's discretion as the assesor is line manager to the Senior Dispensing ATO and puts her in charge of the Controlled Drugs bench by herself and employs her to dispense and label medicine within the department i am requesting her to witness!! She has also completed NVQ Level 2 Dispensing! Is my assessor being picky??

[hibernia]

Hi ,
My assessor is like a dragon and EXTREMELY demanding and makes my life very difficult

Look on the bright side.
I'm sure it is difficult for you but after working with her everything else will then seem easy.

[millycat01]

thanks for that, but i am still left wondering

[dizzyb23]

I had loads of various staff as witnesses. As long as you fill in your witness sheets and get them signed....what's the problem??? There appears to be some differences between educational providers. Give the external assessor a call and ask them.

[millycat01]

How will i find out who my external verifier is and how to contact them? I raised this concern AGAIN with my training manager and she said them same to back up my assessor and said it must be a qualified Technician or Pharmacist and that the Dispensing Ato wont have the same knowledge as me ( even though i am a student (!) )and is noy accredable even though she is working alongside doing the same job.i am really struggling to meet with my assesors as they are busy, 'patients come first' etc etc. HATE this course and the work environment even more. I am military and been put back into a civillian environment and my assessors clealry dont like me as i seem to knuckle down and get the work done with no messing around, But i am perceived as pushy??

[dizzyb23]

Not pushy, just keen.....Firstly, find out who your course provider is. It's sometimes another hospital who has the resources to provide the course work and staff (assessors). This info should be on all your paperwork. Then find their phone number and call them directly. They should be able to tell you who is the external assessor/verifier. Although you should have been given all this info at the beginning.

And as for witnesses, anyone that has strong experience and qualifications in the area you are studying is fine to be used as a witness. My main witness was my Stores Manager who hadn't even finished her NVQ 2 but there was no one in the department experienced enough to tutor someone in Stores work......similarly with the office staff.....When you get the chance to talk to your assessor he/she will tell you the same things. Keep at it, put your foot down with people and assert your rights as a student Tech....

[millycat01]

The i.V'S and staff work at the hospital. I am at college tomorrow and i will ask my tutors, they know the staff/assessors at the hospital. I have expressed to me the trouble they have had in the past with the assessors at this hospital and previous students now working as qualified techs have said they had a nightmare meeting with assessors, they cancelling etc etc. They said that Store keepers etc can sign Unit 2- stores unit for exapmle as they unpack orders as part of their jobs, but bviously they cant sign me off unit1- dispensing- which i completely 100% agree with. But when i argued my case to submit my work for unit 1 and i had a senior ATO Dispenser who was working along side me dispensing herself and i had the prescription as prrof, why cant she witness?? It was for element 1.3- assembling. I got her to witness me putting on a bloody clic cloc top on a bottle etc for christ sake not asking her to proffessionally check a prescription!! Theyre response was, they only have knowledge on NVQ 2 and as a technincian i will have more knowledge than her. Even though i dont as i am a student, and she has been dispensing for around 10 years!! I wrote up statements that she did accept with knowledge points, and my assessor scrutinises them with a magnifing glass!! i will write a whole paragraph detailing one k point and she will make me add one point or something, and make me re-write it.eg. I wrote about a k point on what details need to be on a label. I wrote, patient details, hopital details, drug, strength, form, qty, duration blah blah. But gave it back because i didnt write ' the label needs to be central to the box and on straight' and i needed to expand on that!!!

[dizzyb23]

Blimey...your assessor sounds like an absolute nightmare but, and I don't want to put you off here, i've worked with Pharmacists who are like this. So, if you can get through working with this person without punching their lights out, then you'll be able to work with all the idiot "i'm it, you're shit" Pharmacists that are about these days....

[millycat01]

It does drive to insane, and sometimes i feel like throwing a tantrum and walking out, but through gritted teeth, i sit and tolerate it, only 18 months to go then i can leave the world of civilian and get back to the military. Completed 3 units since November last year and just plodding through to get down fairly quick, least amount of time spend in their company the better!!

[Katey]

Jen?

I mentioned this to our hospital... ours don't really like the ATO's being used as witnesses unless they are the only ones who are able to.. So in stores the store keeper or senior ato in distribution as our lead tech isnt always available.
But in dispensary they prefer techs.. but it is up to the assesor and you can ask the opinion of another assesor if yours is not accepting the work. because at the end of the day this ATO is senior, she knows alot more than us students and shes allowed to work with the CDs. Doesn't make sense that they should trust her to work with CD's but not trust that she has witnessed you do some work (which anyone can say they have).
Try speak to another assesor, because the work is done and it would be a waste for them not to accept it. If that doesn't help speak to the I.V.
Our tutors are going to speak to City and Guilds next week so hopefully she will have something to say when she comes back.