Dental hygienist to pharmacy technician
A dental hygienist already meets 42% of what the pharmacy technician role asks for. The move turns on 21 required skills not yet in the profile.
68.2/ 100
1 How much of what a pharmacy technician is expected to do is already part of a dental hygienist’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the pharmacy technician role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A pharmacy technician role treats 17 of its required skills as things a dental hygienist already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- accept own accountability
- apply organisational techniques
- communicate in healthcare
- comply with legislation related to health care
- contribute to continuity of health care
- deal with emergency care situations
What stands in the way is 21 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 20 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A pharmacy technician role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a dental hygienist background worth leading with.
- already held inform policy makers on health-related challenges communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held use e-health and mobile health technologies working with computers
- already held develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held respond to changing situations in health care management skills
- already held deal with emergency care situations assisting and caring
- already held contribute to continuity of health care assisting and caring
All 20 carried skills, including the 17 the pharmacy technician role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 32 missing skills fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn report medication interaction to pharmacist required
- still to learn check information on prescriptions required
- still to learn maintain pharmaceutical records required
- still to learn obtain healthcare user's medical status information required
- still to learn take pharmaceutical inventory required
- still to learn ensure quality assurance for pharmaceutical products required
- still to learn manage healthcare users' data required
- still to learn process medical insurance claims required
- still to learn follow procedures to control substances hazardous to health required
- still to learn handle the logistics of medicinal products required
- still to learn maintain adequate medication storage conditions required
- still to learn prepare prescription labels required
- still to learn transfer medication required
- still to learn comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice required
- still to learn refer healthcare users required
- still to learn adhere to organisational guidelines required
- optional, not held prepare intravenous packs optional
- optional, not held prepare doses of medication according to patient needs optional
- optional, not held prepare medication from prescription optional
- still to learn communicate by telephone required
- still to learn communicate with customers required
- optional, not held advise on healthcare users' informed consent optional
- optional, not held advise on poisoning incidents optional
- optional, not held provide pharmaceutical advice optional
- optional, not held communicate in foreign languages with health service providers optional
- optional, not held educate on the prevention of illness optional
- optional, not held provide medication information optional
- optional, not held use foreign languages for health-related research optional
- still to learn operate cash register required
- still to learn ensure the appropriate supply in pharmacy required
- optional, not held manage schedule of tasks optional
- still to learn medicines for self-medication required
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a pharmacy technician role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 report medication interaction to pharmacist practise this
- 02 check information on prescriptions practise this
- 03 comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 20 skills that carry over
- already held accept own accountability skill
- already held apply organisational techniques skill
- already held communicate in healthcare skill
- already held comply with legislation related to health care skill
- already held contribute to continuity of health care skill
- already held deal with emergency care situations skill
- already held empathise with the healthcare user skill
- already held ensure safety of healthcare users skill
- already held follow clinical guidelines skill
- already held interact with healthcare users skill
- already held listen actively skill
- already held promote inclusion skill
- already held provide health education skill
- already held respond to changing situations in health care skill
- already held use e-health and mobile health technologies skill
- already held work in a multicultural environment in health care skill
- already held work in multidisciplinary health teams skill
- already held apply context specific clinical competences skill
- already held develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship skill
- already held inform policy makers on health-related challenges skill
11 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held prepare intravenous packs optional
- optional, not held advise on healthcare users' informed consent optional
- optional, not held advise on poisoning incidents optional
- optional, not held prepare doses of medication according to patient needs optional
- optional, not held provide pharmaceutical advice optional
- optional, not held communicate in foreign languages with health service providers optional
- optional, not held educate on the prevention of illness optional
- optional, not held manage schedule of tasks optional
- optional, not held prepare medication from prescription optional
- optional, not held provide medication information optional
- optional, not held use foreign languages for health-related research optional
16 held skills the pharmacy technician role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role apply antibacterial substance to teeth skill
- not needed by the target role counsel on nutrition and its impact on oral health skill
- not needed by the target role deal with patients' anxiety skill
- not needed by the target role educate on oral healthcare and disease prevention skill
- not needed by the target role evaluate clinical outcomes of dental hygiene interventions skill
- not needed by the target role follow dentists' instructions skill
- not needed by the target role keep records for dental prostheses skill
- not needed by the target role manage infection control in the facility skill
- not needed by the target role perform dental charting skill
- not needed by the target role perform dental hygiene interventions skill
- not needed by the target role perform dental radiographs skill
- not needed by the target role polish dental restorations skill
- not needed by the target role promote health and safety policies in health services skill
- not needed by the target role remove calculus, plaque and stains skill
- not needed by the target role use foreign languages in patient care skill
- not needed by the target role use technical equipment for sterilisation skill
1 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn medicines for self-medication required
Common questions about this move
Can a dental hygienist become a pharmacy technician?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A dental hygienist already covers 42% of what a pharmacy technician is expected to do: 20 skills carry over, 17 of which the pharmacy technician role treats as required.
What skills does a dental hygienist need to become a pharmacy technician?
21 required skills are missing, plus 11 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is report medication interaction to pharmacist.
How hard is the move from dental hygienist to pharmacy technician?
Its learning distance is 68.2 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.