Nurse responsible for general care to pharmacy assistant
A nurse responsible for general care already meets 52% of what the pharmacy assistant role asks for. The move turns on 19 required skills not yet in the profile.
59.8/ 100
1 How much of what a pharmacy assistant is expected to do is already part of a nurse responsible for general care’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 22 of its required skills as things a nurse responsible for general care already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- accept own accountability
- adhere to organisational guidelines
- advise on healthcare users' informed consent
- apply organisational techniques
- communicate in healthcare
- comply with legislation related to health care
What stands in the way is 19 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 25 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 nurse responsible for general care background worth leading with.
- already held hygiene in a health care setting services
- already held educate on the prevention of illness communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held advise on healthcare users' informed consent 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 develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship communication, collaboration and creativity
All 25 carried skills, including the 22 the pharmacy assistant role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 26 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 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 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 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 communicate by telephone required
- still to learn communicate with customers required
- optional, not held provide pharmaceutical advice optional
- optional, not held communicate in foreign languages with health service providers 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
- optional, not held pharmaceutical chemistry optional
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 check for medication expiry terms practise this
- 02 check information on prescriptions practise this
- 03 follow procedures to control substances hazardous to health 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 25 skills that carry over
- already held accept own accountability skill
- already held adhere to organisational guidelines skill
- already held advise on healthcare users' informed consent 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 comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice 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 hygiene in a health care setting knowledge
- already held inform policy makers on health-related challenges 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 educate on the prevention of illness skill
7 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held operate cash register optional
- optional, not held phytotherapy optional
- optional, not held provide pharmaceutical advice optional
- optional, not held communicate in foreign languages with health service providers optional
- optional, not held homeopathy optional
- optional, not held pharmaceutical chemistry optional
- optional, not held pharmacokinetics optional
81 held skills the pharmacy assistant role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role acute care knowledge
- not needed by the target role adapt leadership styles in healthcare skill
- not needed by the target role address problems critically skill
- not needed by the target role adolescence medicine knowledge
- not needed by the target role advise on healthy lifestyles skill
- not needed by the target role advise patients on infectious diseases when travelling skill
- not needed by the target role analyse quality of nurse care skill
- not needed by the target role apply nursing care in long-term care skill
- not needed by the target role apply person-centred care skill
- not needed by the target role apply sustainability principles in health care skill
- not needed by the target role assist in kidney transplant skill
- not needed by the target role biological chemistry knowledge
- not needed by the target role carry out nurse-led discharge skill
- not needed by the target role citizen involvement in healthcare knowledge
- not needed by the target role coordinate care skill
- not needed by the target role delegate emergency care skill
- not needed by the target role diagnose nursing care skill
- not needed by the target role dietetics knowledge
- not needed by the target role disability care knowledge
- not needed by the target role empower individuals, families and groups skill
- not needed by the target role evaluate nursing care skill
- not needed by the target role evidence-based nursing care knowledge
- not needed by the target role first aid knowledge
- not needed by the target role general medicine knowledge
- not needed by the target role geriatrics knowledge
- not needed by the target role have computer literacy skill
- not needed by the target role health care legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role human anatomy knowledge
- not needed by the target role human physiology knowledge
- not needed by the target role impact of social contexts on health knowledge
- not needed by the target role implement fundamentals of nursing skill
- not needed by the target role implement nursing care skill
- not needed by the target role implement scientific decision making in healthcare skill
- not needed by the target role infection control knowledge
- not needed by the target role initiate life preserving measures skill
- not needed by the target role innovation in nursing knowledge
- not needed by the target role leadership in nursing knowledge
- not needed by the target role manage information in health care skill
- not needed by the target role manage multiple patients simultaneously skill
- not needed by the target role manage personal professional development skill
41 further entries not listed here
6 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 medicines required
- optional, not held phytotherapy optional
- optional, not held homeopathy optional
- optional, not held pharmaceutical chemistry optional
- optional, not held pharmacokinetics optional
Other moves recorded from nurse responsible for general care
- specialist nurse 76% covered · moderate
- healthcare assistant 66% covered · moderate
- advanced nurse practitioner 65% covered · substantial
- dental hygienist 59% covered · moderate
- physiotherapy assistant 59% covered · substantial
- specialist pharmacist 54% covered · substantial
- homeopath 54% covered · moderate
- dental technician 54% covered · moderate
Common questions about this move
Can a nurse responsible for general care become a pharmacy assistant?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A nurse responsible for general care already covers 52% of what a pharmacy assistant is expected to do: 25 skills carry over, 22 of which the pharmacy assistant role treats as required.
What skills does a nurse responsible for general care need to become a pharmacy assistant?
19 required skills are missing, plus 7 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is check for medication expiry terms.
How hard is the move from nurse responsible for general care to pharmacy assistant?
Its learning distance is 59.8 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.