Dental technician to pharmacy 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.
75.5/ 100
1 How much of what a pharmacy assistant is expected to do is already part of a dental technician’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 assistant role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A pharmacy assistant role treats 14 of its required skills as things a dental technician 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
- 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 may need to learn
The 36 missing skills fall into 8 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 check for medication expiry terms 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 advise on healthcare users' informed consent required
- still to learn communicate by telephone required
- still to learn communicate with customers required
- still to learn interact with healthcare users required
- still to learn 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
- 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 adhere to organisational guidelines required
- still to learn deal with emergency care situations required
- still to learn empathise with the healthcare user required
- still to learn medicines for self-medication required
- still to learn medicines required
- optional, not held phytotherapy optional
- optional, not held homeopathy optional
- optional, not held pharmacokinetics optional
- still to learn ensure the appropriate supply in pharmacy required
- still to learn 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 practise this
- 02 check for medication expiry terms practise this
- 03 check information on prescriptions 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 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
- still to learn 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.
- still to learn medicines for self-medication required
- still to learn hygiene in a health care setting required
- still to learn medicines required
- optional, not held phytotherapy optional
- optional, not held homeopathy optional
- optional, not held pharmaceutical chemistry optional
- optional, not held pharmacokinetics optional
Common questions about this move
Can a dental technician become a pharmacy assistant?
Yes, and it is a career change move. A dental technician already covers 32% of what a pharmacy assistant is expected to do: 15 skills carry over, 14 of which the pharmacy assistant role treats as required.
What skills does a dental technician need to become a pharmacy assistant?
27 required skills are missing, plus 9 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is advise on healthcare users' informed consent.
How hard is the move from dental technician to pharmacy assistant?
Its learning distance is 75.5 out of 100, which is the career change 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.