Pharmacy assistant

Earn while you learn in the workplace.

The Job

Pharmacy assistants work as part of a pharmacy team under the direction of a registered pharmacist.

The work includes:

• using computer systems to generate stock lists and labels
• ordering items
• receiving, loading, unloading deliveries
• delivering medicines to other parts of a hospital or health centre
• answering customers questions face to face or by phone
• pre-packing, assembling and labelling medicines
• preparing medicines
• referring problems or queries to the pharmacist 

Pharmacy assistants c an also be involved in manufacturing medicines when ready-made preparations are not available. For example, certain cancer treatments and intravenous feeding solutions need to be tailor made under sterile conditions for individual patients.

Requirements

You will learn and develop on the job, we expect you to have good literacy, numeracy and IT skills.

Personal qualities

In order to be successful in this role, you will need to be:

• accurate and methodical
• responsible
• able to pay attention to detail
• able to understand law and guidelines on medicines
• able to read and carry out instructions
• interested in people’s health
• able to explain clearly to members of the public

Your development

You will gain formal qualifications through a Pharmacy Assistant Level 2 apprenticeship.