A day in the life of a pharmacy technician

Jess tells us why her role as a pharmacy technician in a prison environment is so different.

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My name is Jess, and I’m one of the pharmacy technicians at HM Prison & Young Offender Institution (HMP & YOI), Doncaster, joining the Practice Plus Group team in March 2021.

Prior to joining Practice Plus Group I spent almost 10 years working in community, but I have found that the prison environment is where I feel I can utilise my skills and truly make a difference. I see patients with complex health issues, I help keep them informed about their medication and support out-patients in managing their conditions day to day.

Primary care in prison involves working alongside a multi-disciplinary team. This includes doctors, nurses, healthcare assistants, substance misuse support, dentists, mental health nurses and much more.

Working alongside medical professionals with different specialisms has helped me gain clinical knowledge that I would not normally be exposed to in other environments. There is plenty of opportunity for professional development as no day or patient is the same.

Day to day activities

A key part of being a pharmacy technician is administering patients with their medication, this may be given to the patient in their possession or taken under our supervision. We perform medicines reconciliations on all new patients when they arrive at HMI & YOI Doncaster, to ensure they continue to receive any appropriate medication whilst they are under our care. We perform other duties on a day to day basis such as medicines management, in possession risk assessments, and prescription & stock management. I feel like I have developed on all of these skills since working at Practice Plus Group.

When I joined in March 2021, I was quickly welcomed into the team and felt comfortable straight away. We often bring in treats for everyone and enjoy socialising at team events (COVID-19 permitting of course).

I would thoroughly recommend the prison environment to any pharmacy technician wanting to expand their skills and knowledge.

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