dental techniciantopharmacy assistant
A dental technician already meets 32% of what the pharmacy assistant role asks for. The move turns on 27 required skills not yet in the profile.
32%
75.5/ 100
1 Share of the pharmacy assistant role’s weighted skill requirement already met by the dental technician profile. Required skills count in full, supplementary skills at 0.35. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs. 2 Combines what is missing with how specialised it is, so a gap of general skills scores easier than the same number of narrow ones.
Why this move works
A pharmacy assistant role treats 14 of its required skills as things a dental technician already does. These are the ones it depends on most.
- accept own accountability
- apply organisational techniques
- communicate in healthcare
- comply with legislation related to health care
- contribute to continuity of health care
- ensure safety of healthcare users
What stands in the way is 27 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 15 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A pharmacy assistant role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a dental technician background worth leading with.
- already held communicate in foreign languages with health service providers communication, collaboration and creativity
- 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 respond to changing situations in health care management skills
- already held contribute to continuity of health care assisting and caring
- already held follow clinical guidelines assisting and caring
All 15 carried skills, including the 14 the pharmacy assistant role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you would need to learn
The 36 missing skills fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered below in the order worth working in: the areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the supplementary ones.
- required, not held check for medication expiry terms required
- required, not held check information on prescriptions required
- required, not held maintain pharmaceutical records required
- required, not held obtain healthcare user's medical status information required
- required, not held take pharmaceutical inventory required
- required, not held ensure quality assurance for pharmaceutical products required
- required, not held manage healthcare users' data required
- required, not held process medical insurance claims required
- required, not held advise on healthcare users' informed consent required
- required, not held communicate by telephone required
- required, not held communicate with customers required
- required, not held interact with healthcare users required
- required, not held provide health education required
- optional, not held apply context specific clinical competences optional
- optional, not held provide pharmaceutical advice optional
- optional, not held develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship optional
- optional, not held educate on the prevention of illness optional
- required, not held follow procedures to control substances hazardous to health required
- required, not held handle the logistics of medicinal products required
- required, not held maintain adequate medication storage conditions required
- required, not held prepare prescription labels required
- required, not held transfer medication required
- required, not held comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice required
- required, not held adhere to organisational guidelines required
- required, not held deal with emergency care situations required
- required, not held empathise with the healthcare user required
- required, not held medicines for self-medication required
- required, not held medicines required
- optional, not held phytotherapy optional
- optional, not held homeopathy optional
- optional, not held pharmacokinetics optional
- required, not held ensure the appropriate supply in pharmacy required
- required, not held handle petty cash required
- optional, not held operate cash register optional
2 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a pharmacy assistant role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 advise on healthcare users' informed consent skill · sector specific
- 02 check for medication expiry terms skill · sector specific
- 03 check information on prescriptions skill · sector specific
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 15 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 ensure safety of healthcare users skill
- already held follow clinical guidelines skill
- already held inform policy makers on health-related challenges skill
- already held listen actively skill
- already held promote inclusion 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 communicate in foreign languages with health service providers skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- required, not held hygiene in a health care setting required
- optional, not held pharmaceutical chemistry optional
9 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held apply context specific clinical competences optional
- optional, not held operate cash register optional
- optional, not held phytotherapy optional
- optional, not held provide pharmaceutical advice optional
- optional, not held develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship optional
- optional, not held educate on the prevention of illness optional
- optional, not held homeopathy optional
- optional, not held pharmaceutical chemistry optional
- optional, not held pharmacokinetics optional
13 held skills the pharmacy assistant role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role examine dental models and impressions skill
- not needed by the target role follow dentists' instructions skill
- not needed by the target role handle payments in dentistry skill
- not needed by the target role maintain laboratory dental tools skill
- not needed by the target role manage infection control in the facility skill
- not needed by the target role manipulate dental material skill
- not needed by the target role manufacture dental prostheses skill
- not needed by the target role polish dental prostheses skill
- not needed by the target role repair denture prostheses skill
- not needed by the target role select materials for orthodontic appliances skill
- not needed by the target role supervise dental technician staff skill
- not needed by the target role test dental appliances for compliance skill
- not needed by the target role train dental technician staff skill
7 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- required, not held medicines for self-medication required
- required, not held hygiene in a health care setting required
- required, not held medicines required
- optional, not held phytotherapy optional
- optional, not held homeopathy optional
- optional, not held pharmaceutical chemistry optional
- optional, not held pharmacokinetics optional
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.