Becoming a professional: Perspectives of community Pharmacy Technicians in England

This study explores community Pharmacy Technician’s (PTs) views about being awarded professional status in 2011, with a focus on how professionalism is demonstrated in working practice and its impact on their engagement with learning and continuing professional development.
Research into professionalism rarely considers PTs and Pharmacy Technician (PT) research generally adopts a quantitative approach. This qualitative study engages a hard to reach group through focus groups and interviews. Four locations across England were purposefully selected to give a range of standpoints. Nineteen individuals participated in focus groups with two from each location participating in follow-up interviews. Data was thematically analysed.
Becoming a PT was more often serendipity than vocation, but participants recognised the social value of their role and articulated attributes of professionalism they demonstrated in practice. They set and maintained high standards for patient care, seen as their core responsibility; and engaged in learning, seen as essential for their role and expected by customers.
The initial training and education which this cohort had undertaken did not meet the changing needs of their role, which continued to develop, for example as managers and leaders. There was no formal or consistent access to learning which would enable them to undertake these roles. There was also variation in the support and education provided by other members of their teams, employers and their professional colleague, the pharmacist.
PTs form an active, engaged and competent professional workforce which would benefit from the development of a consistent post-qualification learning programme. Participants made a distinction between ongoing learning needed to do their jobs and the learning needed to assure the regulator they met the fitness for practice standards. New initial education and training standards will start to meet this need.