The Royal Pharmaceutical Society and the Work Psychology Group have been tasked with analysing and reporting on the roles of early career pharmacy technicians.

The early career report was commissioned by the Association of Pharmacy Technicians UK and Health Education England, and was announced at the annual APTUK conference on September 13.

Work on the project will include desk research, as well as a comparison of foundation training programmes in various other professions.

UK-wide framework

APTUK said it would use the analysis to help inform its UK-wide foundation framework for pharmacy technicians, which it said would help establish the professional capabilities that will need to be tested at key stages of training programmes.

HEE said it would seek to “identify the development needs of pharmacy technicians in all care settings in line with the NHS Long Term Plan”.

The RPS advised its members that they would have an opportunity to share their views through a survey “in early 2020”.

RPS: Roles must be defined

RPS director of education Gail Fleming said: “The contribution of each member of the pharmacy team needs to be defined and recognised to ensure pharmacy has the greatest impact in the multidisciplinary team.
 
“This work is an important step in understanding the current and future roles of pharmacy technicians across different sectors of practice. We are delighted to be involved and to proactively support the development of the whole pharmacy team.” 

APTUK president Liz Fidler said the report was “critical to enable the full range of skills and knowledge of the pharmacy technician profession to be fully utilised”.

Ms Fidler added: “Understanding the skillset of pharmacy technicians is a key enabler to ensuring pharmacy services can evolve through effective skill mix within the pharmacy team. The results of this analysis will lead to supporting an evidence-based career pathway underpinned by standardised education, which will benefit the patients and the pharmacy profession.”