New Zealand Certificate in Pharmacy (Level 5)

Nau mai, haere mai, welcome!

Congratulations on completing the New Zealand Certificate in Pharmacy (Introduction to Pharmacy Practice) (Level 3) and continuing on your journey towards becoming a pharmacy technician. Over the next 44 weeks, you will be supported to develop your skills, knowledge, and confidence in all aspects of the role of a pharmacy technician working in the pharmacy environment.

So far, you have developed a range of knowledge, skills and behaviours to work successfully as a retail pharmacy assistant. You will be confident with the following:

• "I know the laws that apply to working in a retail pharmacy."
• "I work safely in my workplace to avoid harm to myself or others."
• "I follow regulations for working in a retail pharmacy."
• "I respect and ensure the privacy of the pharmacy customers."
• "I am familiar with the products sold in a retail pharmacy."
• "I communicate effectively with all customers and ensure they have the information they need."
• "I follow the retail pharmacy procedures and rules."
• "I know when to seek advice and refer customers to the pharmacist."

Programme delivery

The programme is delivered to you in the following ways:

• Kanohi-ki-te-kanohi (face-to-face) - scheduled time, learning on campus with your classmates and tutor. 
• Online - weekly content delivered to you via this student learning platform. You can choose the location for your online learning. This could be at home, a library, on campus or any other place you choose. This type of learning is individual learning with some peer collaboration and is supported by your tutor.
• Self-directed learning - weekly learning tasks and guides for this type of learning are outlined in the online content. As with your online learning, this type of learning is individual, with some peer collaboration, but it requires you to take more control and responsibility for yourself. Your tutor will also provide some support. You can choose the location for this learning.
• Work placements – scheduled periods of time learning in the pharmacy workplace environment. You will be supported by your tutor, supervising pharmacist and other pharmacy staff.

Engage in online activities

This programme is designed with fully integrated face-to-face and online components. Both components work together to provide you with the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to become an excellent pharmacy technician. Our goal is to help prepare you for your assessments and to have confidence in your position in the workplace. To achieve this, it is important to participate fully in all online learning activities. The tasks and activities have been designed to simulate the real-world experiences and realities of working in the pharmacy environment. 

As a student at Level 4 and Level 5, you are expected to take increasingly more responsibility for your own learning, and this means making the most of all the learning opportunities provided. We invite you to make the most of these value-added learning moments and encourage you to think, reflect, talk to your peers and communicate with your co-workers to dig deeper, learn more and achieve the high standard we know you are capable of. 

This 44-week pharmacy technician programme is divided into the Level 4 section and the Level 5 section. The table below shows you how the programme is organised.