Exploring the career aspirations of pre-registration trainee and qualified pharmacy technicians in NHS Birmingham and Solihull using a self-administered questionnaire
Authors: Coane S , Aston J , Carne D , Hallows C , Moore D , Patterson C 
Published: November 2024

Abstract

Introduction
The NHS Long-Term Workforce Plan (LTWP) recommends expanding the number of pharmacy technicians to support transformation across the pharmacy workforce.1 Birmingham and Solihull Pharmacy Faculty (BSPF) undertook workforce planning, identifying challenges around recruitment and retention.

Aim
To identify the career aspirations of pre-registration trainee pharmacy technicians (PTPTs) and pharmacy technicians (PTs) to improve recruitment and retention and inform the BSol pharmacy workforce strategy.

Method
A self-administered online questionnaire (Microsoft Forms) was developed and piloted before emailing to PTPTs and PTs via the BSPF members to all sectors during November to December 2023. Themes included career aspirations (and support required to achieve these), views on career progression and pathways (and skill utilisation), training received, opinions on cross-sector working, retention and concerns post qualification. An excel spreadsheet of downloaded responses were analysed using descriptive statistics. Ethical approval was not required.

Results
PTPTs:
Responses received were 29 (45%) out of 64 ICS PTPTs from all sectors. The majority, 20 (69%) were from secondary care, two (7%) worked cross-sector. Twenty (69%) were women, with seventeen (27%) aged 25 years and above on entering training.
Post qualification, 21 (72%) preferred secondary care; role expectations included medication histories, accuracy checking and patient facing work. Post qualification concerns were autonomy, responsibility, utilising skills and changing sector.
PTs: Responses received were 62 (13%) out of 477 ICS PTs from all sectors. The majority, 21 (34%) were from secondary care, six (10%) worked cross-sector. Fifty (81%) were women, length of experience varied with 16 (26%) working for 25 years or more.

Common themes
PTs identified limited career progression (clinical and leadership), feeling undervalued, work-related stress and salary as factors for leaving the profession. PTPTs and PTs identified location, continuity, familiarity, and progression as reasons for retention.
Seventeen (27%) PTs said their skills were underutilised, 25 (40%) stated lack of opportunities affected progression. Only 17 (27%) said their organisation had a career pathway. Twenty (69%) PTPTs expected post-qualification training, but 17 (27%) PTs had received no training in the last three years (or gave no reply).
Educational, clinical and leadership roles were common career aspirations for both PTPTs and PTs, facilitators being training opportunities, encouragement from seniors, cross-sector experience and creation of career pathways. Nineteen (66%) PTPTs and 46 (74%) PTs desired cross-sector working. All PTPTs were unfamiliar with other pharmacy sectors, 12 (41%) wanted shadowing opportunities.

Discussion / Conclusion
The study informs the BSol pharmacy workforce strategy to include: cross/multi-sector working, increase novel ‘top-of-license’ roles and develop career pathways for PTs, to support the NHS LTWP. PTPTs results suggest systems should recruit from an audience wider than schools and colleges, to explore this, the BSPF have funded a BSol PT fellowship. The BSPF are providing shadowing opportunities and the promotion of different pharmacy sectors in colleges. This study provides an insight into career aspirations to improve recruitment and retention of BSol pharmacy technicians.
Study limitations include; participants are from BSol and/or the Midlands only, self-selected and small numbers (few from community pharmacy), with PTPTs at colleges only, thus results are not generalisable and risk bias.

Reference
1. NHS England (2019). The NHS Long Term Plan. Available at: www.longtermplan.nhs.uk/publications/nhs-long-term-plan (accessed 31st May 2024). NHS Improvement (2019).