Specialist nurse to pharmacy assistant
A specialist nurse already meets 47% of what the pharmacy assistant role asks for. The move turns on 21 required skills not yet in the profile.
63.5/ 100
1 How much of what a pharmacy assistant is expected to do is already part of a specialist nurse’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 20 of its required skills as things a specialist nurse already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- accept own accountability
- adhere to organisational guidelines
- advise on healthcare users' informed consent
- communicate in healthcare
- comply with legislation related to health care
- comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice
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 23 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 specialist nurse background worth leading with.
- 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
- already held respond to changing situations in health care management skills
All 23 carried skills, including the 20 the pharmacy assistant role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 28 missing skills fall into 7 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 apply organisational techniques required
- still to learn ensure the appropriate supply in pharmacy required
- still to learn handle petty cash required
- optional, not held operate cash register optional
- 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 hygiene in a health care setting required
1 further area 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 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 23 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 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 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
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held pharmaceutical chemistry optional
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
69 held skills the pharmacy assistant role does not ask for
- 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 address side effects of menopause skill
- not needed by the target role administer immunotherapy skill
- 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 assess physical conditions of clients skill
- not needed by the target role assist in epilepsy surgery skill
- not needed by the target role assist in kidney transplant skill
- not needed by the target role carry out invasive cardiovascular procedures skill
- not needed by the target role carry out nurse-led discharge skill
- not needed by the target role coach individuals in specialised nursing care skill
- not needed by the target role communicate in specialised nursing care skill
- not needed by the target role conduct patch testing skill
- not needed by the target role conduct polysomnography skill
- not needed by the target role conduct preoperative investigations skill
- not needed by the target role contribute to the advancements in specialised nursing care skill
- 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 empower individuals, families and groups skill
- not needed by the target role evaluate nursing care skill
- not needed by the target role evaluation in specialised nursing care skill
- not needed by the target role follow-up patients with heart attack skill
- not needed by the target role have computer literacy skill
- 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 initiate life preserving measures skill
- not needed by the target role manage adverse reactions to drugs skill
- not needed by the target role manage communicable disease skill
- not needed by the target role manage hospital-acquired infections skill
- 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
29 further entries not listed here
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
Other moves recorded from specialist nurse
- advanced nurse practitioner 71% covered · moderate
- healthcare assistant 62% covered · moderate
- nurse responsible for general care 60% covered · substantial
- nurse assistant 56% covered · substantial
- dental hygienist 56% covered · substantial
- physiotherapy assistant 54% covered · substantial
- specialist pharmacist 52% covered · substantial
- dental chairside assistant 51% covered · substantial
Common questions about this move
Can a specialist nurse become a pharmacy assistant?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A specialist nurse already covers 47% of what a pharmacy assistant is expected to do: 23 skills carry over, 20 of which the pharmacy assistant role treats as required.
What skills does a specialist nurse need to become a pharmacy assistant?
21 required skills are missing, plus 7 optional ones. They fall into 7 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 specialist nurse to pharmacy assistant?
Its learning distance is 63.5 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.