Written by Nina Hinton, Director of Business and Development at Open Awards, and Amy Laflin, Programme Lead for Pharmacy, Science and Dental at West Suffolk College/ Eastern Education Group
The Importance of In-Person Observations for Pharmacy Technician and Pharmacy Support Staff Training
At Open Awards, we love technology. Recently I was lucky enough to visit West Suffolk College part of Eastern Education Group. Their facilities were impressive. From virtual reality headsets and immersive scenarios to outstanding learning environments and laboratories, I couldn’t help but be impressed as I walked round the campus. As a college, they are clearly embracing the fast pace of technology development and using it to improve both access to education and their learners’ experiences.
Yet, both Open Awards and West Suffolk College strongly advocate for face-to-face observations in a pharmacy context. Whilst some providers offer remote observation as standard, and the Level 2 apprenticeship Standard for Pharmacy Services Assistant has recently been updated to specifically state that remote assessment of the simulated observation is permissible, we are continuing to prioritise live workplace observation throughout our qualifications and apprenticeships.
If the technology is there to facilitate remote observations, why wouldn’t we embrace this fully in this context?
For pharmacy practitioners working in both community and hospital settings, competence isn’t just about knowledge — it’s about applying that knowledge in a fast-paced, patient-facing environment. Observations of practice play a crucial role in ensuring that trainees are developing the necessary skills to work safely and effectively.
While remote assessment methods have become more common, they cannot fully replicate the value of in-person observations in this context. When assessors observe pharmacy technicians and pharmacy support staff in the workplace, they gain a clearer and more authentic picture of the ability to follow procedures, interact with patients and colleagues, and respond to real-world challenges. Subtleties such as body language, communication skills, and confidence levels are best assessed face-to-face, where immediate feedback and guidance can be provided.
For learners, in-person observations enhance the training experience. Having an assessor physically present allows for real-time clarification, support, and encouragement. This not only builds confidence but also ensures that assessments are fair, consistent, and truly reflective of workplace competence.
There are also the practical arrangements:
What if the technology fails just as the learner is demonstrating a specific skill and another situation doesn’t arise for them to repeat this during the assessment?
What if the signal is weak and the assessor is not able to see/ hear specific details required to confirm competency?
What if a patient or customer discloses something confidential and this is recorded outside of the pharmacy setting?
What if there is a risk to patient or customer safety and the assessor isn’t present to step in, and in an extreme situation end the assessment?
Whilst all risks can be reduced, it adds an additional layer of burden to both the learner and the assessor that can detract from the purpose of the assessment: to enable the learner to demonstrate their skills and implementation of knowledge in their workplace.
Ultimately, the goal of assessment is to uphold high standards of patient care and safety. By prioritising in-person observations, we can ensure that pharmacy practitioners are not just meeting competency requirements on paper but are fully prepared to deliver high-quality service in real-world settings.
As the Pharmacy Technician scope of practice landscape continues to change, the need for quality education will remain and heighten, therefore, whilst we need to adapt to settings and sectors of Pharmacy for observations, doing these in person provides depth, clarity and value for the learners journey. Receiving verbal feedback, having an opportunity to demonstrate skills outside of the virtual world with real patients, real experiences and real challenges, ensuring that the learners are day 1 ready and have the skills, knowledge and behaviours to work autonomously whilst understanding when to refer for support with their professional judgement.
This costs us more to deliver, particularly in assessor travel time and expenditure, and can make it more challenging to manage assessor availability but ultimately, we are training and assessing our future Pharmacy Services Assistants and Pharmacy Technicians. They play critical roles in our health and care system and supporting their local communities; are they not worth the additional investment?