Chief Pharmacy Technician

Job summary

Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) and the University of Nottingham (UoN) are excited to offer the opportunity to work as the Chief Pharmacy Technician for Stroke services at NUH and as a Teacher Practitioner with the University of Nottingham participating in the education and training of undergraduate pharmacy students. The successful post holder would be expected to work at NUH three days per week providing a Lead Medicines Management Technician service to the stroke wards and two days per week at the University of Nottingham as a Teacher Practitioner on the MPharm undergraduate course. The post holder will be well supported by the Specialist Pharmacists at NUH and the Pharmacy School teaching staff at UoN.

This job provides a great development opportunity allowing the post holding to work in a patient facing role in the interesting and rewarding area of Stroke, while also developing both themselves and future pharmacy professionals of the future at the University of Nottingham School of Pharmacy.

Main duties of the job

Please see the attached Job Description for a full list of the main duties of the job.

This is a split post between Nottingham University Hospitals and the University of Nottingham. The post holder will be required to deliver the duties required by both NUH and the University of Nottingham.

In undertaking this role the employee is expected to behave in line with the Trust's values and behaviours at all time.

The post holder is expected to take full part in the 7-day shifted rota and bank holiday duties.

For the University of Nottingham:

To support the development of hospital pharmacy practice within the undergraduate curriculum. To support the Division of Pharmacy Practice and Policy in all aspects of clinical pharmacy teaching. To teach pharmacy undergraduate students. To support the coordination of undergraduate teaching between hospital practice at NUH and academia at the Nottingham School of Pharmacy. To act as a professional role model.

About us

With over 19,000 staff, we are one of the biggest employers in the city with a central role in supporting the health and wellbeing of our local population. We play a leading role in research, education and innovation.

Come and join our wonderful team at NUH. We are big believers in diversity and welcome new ideas to help develop our team in order to deliver world class healthcare to the vast patient populations we serve. With endless personal development opportunities available, at NUH we will endeavour to turn your job into a career

We particularly welcome applications from people who identify as Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic, or Disabled, as we are striving to be better represented at NUH

Job description

Job responsibilities

Please see the attached job description for a full list of responsibilities. Key responsibilities are listed below.

Key Responsibilities at Nottingham University Hospitals:

Pharmacy Clinical/Operational services:

To support clinical pharmacists by participating in the provision of a high qualify, professional and effective medicines management service on the Stroke areas across both campuses.

Leading the technical pharmacy service to the stroke speciality Providing specialist level medicines management support to the service Leading of the training of the MMTs working in Stroke services Developing, reviewing and implementing Standard Operating Procedures relating to pharmacy processes within the stroke services to ensure a high quality service is provided. Where appropriate use these developments for audit and published practice research.

Taking Medication Histories from patients on admission to hospital

Ensuring medication history is documented clearly and correctly Informing the clinical pharmacist of any identified problems in a timely fashion

Communicating effectively, clearly and concisely including potentially complex and sensitive information to a wide range of staff, healthcare professionals and patients. Recognising potential barriers to effective communication and taking steps to achieve good communication despite the presence of a barrier.

Checking patients own medication for suitability of use during admission and at discharge

Proactively identifying potential discharges and organising a supply of medication/reuse of patients own medication to achieve smooth, timely discharge.

Maintaining up to date clinical handovers on nervecentre.

Being responsible for the supply of items for one-stop dispensing and pre-packs to ensure a good supply of patient medication. Checking the patient locker to ensure current supplies before ordering further supplies. Enabling self-administration by patients where appropriate.

Highlight the need for any additional adherence aids, supplying these if necessary to assist with medication compliance.

Liaising with GPs, community pharmacies and other primary care professionals to ensure safe use of medicines and continuity of care.

Participating in the full programme of validating checking and training schemes in accordance with agreed protocols.

Liaising with ward and pharmacy staff to resolve any technical queries or problems. Refers clinical queries to the pharmacist for resolution.

To actively report incidents/near misses, to mitigate future risks and where appropriate support in the investigation of incidents, identify root cause and establish plans to prevent further errors in a timely manner.

Assist the Medicines Information department in the coordination of drug hazard/recall procedure in the event of a drug recall where appropriate.

Participate in ward based audit and other forms of research and development.

Assisting the stroke pharmacy team in the management and monitoring of controlled drugs within the Stroke clinical areas. Participating in the retrieval of patient's own controlled drugs from ward areas and the return of expired or unused ward stock. Checking CD register balances and balance transfers to new CD registers. Helping support the ward based CD audits and pharmacy wide CD audits.

Being involved in the training of new clinical pharmacy staff and the revalidation of existing MMTs.

Participating in the NVQ Level 3 clinical training and assessment of student technicians at a ward level.

To be responsible for the local implementation of standards relating to medicines storage and security.

To participate and support project work under the direction of the lead directorate pharmacist.

Other duties:

Line management of staff

Undertake any relevant training opportunities that are necessary for the role and complete all mandatory training relevant for the role.

Adherence to relevant legislation Medicines Act, GMP, Health & Safety, COSHH etc. and to NUH Trust policies.

Ensuring safe working practices are adopted and adhered to.

Practicing at all times in accordance with the General Pharmaceutical Council's Standards for Pharmacy Professionals.

Follow Infection Prevention and Control policies

To participate in rostered 7 day service including weekends and bank holidays.

Key responsibilities for the University of Nottingham

To work closely with the academics within the Division of Pharmacy Practice and Policy in supporting liaison between NUH and the Nottingham School of Pharmacy.

To contribute to the preparation and delivery of teaching material in the relevant MPharm teaching blocks. Individual contributions will be dependent upon the number of hours and days worked at the university. Contributions to teaching blocks will be coordinated by the MPharm course director.

To support the co-ordination of and participate in the undergraduate placements at NUH.

Assessment: Setting of assessments, writing of marking schemes and the marking of examination questions/coursework for assessment blocks.

To provide student feedback where appropriate.

To be involved in the design and updating of the undergraduate MPharm course as part of the Division of Pharmacy Practice and Policy.

To provide course documentation as required for Teaching Quality Assurance procedures.

To attend departmental/School of Pharmacy meetings where appropriate.

To undertake staff development, continuing professional development and in-house peer review of teaching and appraisal.

To undertake the University of Nottingham requirements for new lecturers.

To encourage links between hospital practice and academia.

To undertake any administrative duties as agreed with the MPharm course director.

Person Specification

Training and Qualifications

Essential

BTEC/NVQ level 3 in pharmaceutical services GPhC registered pharmacy technician Accuracy Checking qualification Medicines Management Assessments or Validations Proven knowledge and understanding of the MMT role and responsibilities in hospital pharmacy

Desirable

BTEC/NVQ level 4 in pharmaceutical services Member of the Association of Pharmacy Technicians UK Management qualification or equivalent experience

Experience

Essential

Experience in all core aspects of hospital pharmacy Can demonstrate that they can work on their own initiative but know limits of their authority and knowledge Ability to perform and work under pressure to deliver objectives and plans Ability to lead, implement and propose changes to practice/policies Experience of education and training to pharmacy staff, other healthcare professionals and students

Desirable

Evidence of post qualification hospital pharmacy experience. Experience of working in a busy hospital environment. Experience of management and coordination of staff within hospital pharmacy. Project management experience Experience and understanding of Education and Training processes Experience of working with other Educational Institutes Experience of teaching/tutoring

Communication and Relationships

Essential

Ability to effectively communicate information relevant to medicine management back to the patients and staff Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to liaise with a wide range of staff, peers and patients Demonstrates diplomacy in handling difficult situations Identifies compliance issues and actions appropriately Clear communication/presentation style Ability to demonstrate teaching skills Empathy with patients, relatives and pharmacy customers/service users including students. Able to demonstrate engagement in compassionate and inclusive leadership in the provision of high quality care and interactions with others.

Analytical and Judgement Skills

Essential

Proven evidence of judgement and prioritisation skills with regards to targets, deadlines and stock management and service delivery Proven experience in problem solving Demonstrates competency under pressure Accurate with good attention to detail Experience in data collection activities, analysis, service evaluation and improvement

Planning and Organisation Skills

Essential

Experience in organising staff workloads to meet pharmacy service and patients' needs Self-motivated and able to motivate others To work on own initiative and manage time effectively to meet deadlines To demonstrate ability to multitask, including delegation of tasks

Desirable

Adaptable to change

Physical Skills

Essential

Competent ICT skills, word processing, presentations, spreadsheets, databases, retrieval of information from internet Ability to perform light manual handling tasks such dispensing medications Ability to concentrate for long periods of time

Other role requirements

Essential

Flexibility- will be required to participate in rostered 7 day shifted working Must have the ability to wear appropriate PPE required for the role

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