Pharmacy technicians in clinical academia

Clinical academia combines clinical practice with research, education and innovation. For pharmacy technicians, it’s about using your practical experience to contribute to evidence-based improvements in patient care and pharmacy services.

This includes:

• bridging practice and research and turning real-world challenges into research questions
• driving service improvement through data and evidence to enhance patient safety and outcomes
• sharing knowledge through teaching, mentoring and publishing findings to influence future practice

This is an emerging career pathway for pharmacy technicians, offering the chance to improve patient outcomes, develop leadership skills and shape the future of healthcare. Your insight from frontline practice is essential for making research relevant and impactful.

How this links to the Four Pillars of Advanced Practice

• Clinical – maintain and enhance your patient-facing skills while applying evidence-based improvements.
• Leadership – lead service improvement projects and influence policy through research.
• Education – teach, mentor and share knowledge with colleagues and students.
• Research – contribute to studies, audits and publications that shape future practice. 

What does it involve?

As a pharmacy technician in clinical academia, you may:

• contribute to research projects and audits e.g. support a medicines safety study by collecting and analysing data on dispensing errors
• lead service improvement initiatives e.g. design and evaluate a new workflow to reduce missed doses in hospital wards
• teach and mentor students e.g. deliver practical sessions for pharmacy students on aseptic techniques or medicines management
• publish and present findings at conferences e.g. write up a quality improvement project for publication in a peer-reviewed journal, or an article for open-access, or presenting a poster or workshop at a pharmacy conference, like APTUK

How to get started

• Explore the nine NIHR e-learning modules aimed at pharmacists and pharmacy technicians.
• Sign up to the Pharmacy Research UK newsletter.
• Join the Incubator for Pharmacy Professionals network.
• Request access to the Research Toolkit for the pharmacy workforce currently held on the Joined Up Care Derbyshire FutureNHS pages.
• If you are a member of APTUK, connect with branch meetings. If you’re not a member, consider joining to access networking, support and professional development opportunities. 
• Explore pharmacy-related post-registration options that can strengthen your research and academic skills.

Training & development

Build your research skills with these resources:

• Getting started in research: A Webinar for Pharmacy hosted by Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care System 
• APTUK: Getting Started in Research: A Webinar for Pharmacy technicians
• NIHR e-Learning Modules – Free e-learning modules aiming to improve clinical research awareness for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians new to research. Sign-up requires an NHS email address or other approved domains.
• e-learning for Healthcare: Research, Audit and Quality Improvement
• e-Learning for Healthcare: How to Search the Literature Effectively