The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 275 No 7356 p18
2 July 2005

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· Annual General Meeting
· Registration
· Pharmacology
· Controlled drugs
· Technicians
· Birdsgrove House
· Registration examination
· Revalidation
· Supermarket pharmacy
· Dispensing
· New pharmacy contract
· PCTs
· The Society

Letters to the Editor

Technicians

Obtain the relevant qualifications

From Miss E. Shelton, MRPharmS

I read with interest the letter from Dawn Reece (PJ, 4 June, p677). I left school with “O”-levels and trained with Boots The Chemists as a pharmacy technician. This qualification was not recognised in hospital pharmacy. Undeterred, I studied and attained the City and Guild’s pharmacy technician certificate.

I advanced my career in hospital pharmacy to the position of senior pharmacy technician. To proceed further I needed to qualify as a pharmacist.

By taking evening classes I obtained two “A”-levels and started my degree course in pharmacy as a mature student — quite a novelty in 1983 — followed by the mandatory preregistration year.

Experience is no substitute for qualifications. The stimulating challenge of achieving various qualifications promotes a rewarding and fulfilling pharmacy career.

I never expected the Society to bend the rules regarding my qualifications. I would suggest Ms Reece enrols on the relevant course and stops complaining.

Elaine Shelton
Mapperley Plains, Nottingham

Not the same struggle for technicians

From Mrs D. Drury, MRPharmS

I too read the interesting articles on woman pharmacists over the last hundred years, as did Dawn Cox, a pharmacy technician (PJ, 18 June, p760).

The bone of contention for women pharmacists was that they undertook the same length of training and qualifying examination as men pharmacists but received less remuneration. However, today, if pharmacy support staff take their national vocational qualification level 3, female pharmacy technicians are paid the same as male pharmacy technicians. In 10 years’ time we will view with incredulity the fact that we were even discussing equality.

Dorothy Drury
Member of Council, Royal Pharmaceutical Society

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