Louisa Wood, Pharmacy Technician

Learn all about...

What I do

My job is to help make special medicines that aren’t available in standard pharmacies. These are often for people with rare conditions or patients who can’t take medicine in the usual way (for instance, they might need it in liquid form, instead of a tablet). We make small batches of medicine by hand and they are sent to hospitals all around the country. Every medicine I create helps someone to feel better or stay healthy.

Louisa wearing an apron, facemask, hair net, safety goggles, and gloves, measuring ingredients on a weighing scales in the lab.

How I became a technician

At school I loved both art and science and didn’t want to choose between them. I took sociology, double art and graphic design at GCSE.

Later, in sixth form, I studied A-levels in fine art, biology and sociology. I then went to university to study biology, but I dropped out after the first year because I realised it wasn’t for me. I wanted to do more practical, hands-on work.

How I became a technician

I started looking for my next step and I spotted a job advert for a pharmacy production operator at Stockport Pharmaceuticals. I applied but didn’t expect to get it.

After the interview, they called and offered me the job as an apprenticeship, which was the first apprenticeship they’d ever offered in this role. They said it was because I’d showed enthusiasm and a real interest in the work. It was exactly what I’d been hoping for!

How I became a technician

I began my Level 2 apprenticeship and after a year they put me forward for the Level 3 pharmacy technician apprenticeship. For two years, I went into college once a week to study and I worked in the pharmacy for the rest of the week.

Eventually I gained the qualifications I needed to become a registered pharmacy technician, and I’ve been working as one ever since.

Louisa wearing an apron, facemask, safety goggles, and gloves, measuring out a liquid in the lab.

A typical day in my working life

I start work at 7:45am. We begin with a team meeting to go over the plan for the day. Then, I head into one of our cleanrooms, wearing a cleanroom suit, to begin production. This is because we need to work in a sterile environment, completely free of germs, to make sure the medicines we make are hygienic and safe.

Sometimes I’ll be making medicines, sometimes repackaging them, and sometimes both.

A typical day in my working life

If I’m making medicines, I’ll be weighing powders, measuring liquids and mixing ingredients together.

When I’m repackaging, I check the medicines are added in the right quantity, and that the bottles are properly sealed and labelled correctly. It’s important to get everything exactly right, because giving someone the wrong medicine, or the wrong dose, can be dangerous.

A typical day in my working life

After lunch, we clean down the production rooms and start preparing for the next day. Every day is different, which keeps things interesting.

Some days we focus on one big job, like making a large batch of codeine repacks for a company. We change the plan depending on what’s needed most.

Louisa wearing a hair net and gloves, checking the labels of medicine bottles in the lab.

What I love about my job

I really like how personal my work feels. Because we produce small batches, we see each medicine through from start to finish. We mix the ingredients, fill the bottles and do all the labelling ourselves, by hand. It’s very different from mass-produced medicines made in big factories.

It feels meaningful as I know the products I make are going to real patients who need them. I even get involved in how our products look, helping to design the labels and how everything is presented. It makes the job creative as well as scientific, and I like having that mix in my day.

The skills I use most

It’s important to have good manual dexterity, which is being able to use your hands for quite fiddly, tricky tasks. I use my hands for lots of tasks like capping the bottles and measuring ingredients, which sounds easy, but the safety caps are tricky when you have to do lots at once. I also need to be good at problem solving because sometimes the machines break or need adjusting, so I have to find solutions quickly.

Attention to detail matters a lot too. Everything from the medicine dosage to the label position needs to be just right. If a label is wonky or missing text, it can make a patient lose confidence in the medicine. I also use creativity when working on packaging or helping develop how products should look, I recently had a customer who wanted a label which stood out from the others, so I designed a red label with distinct markings, which was really fun, doing tasks like this keeps the job feel varied and interesting.

Each batch of medicine feels like something we’ve really crafted.

I feel very supported and I’m learning new things all the time.

It’s ok to explore things, you don’t need to have your whole life planned out. Start with what you enjoy, and everything else will fall into place.

A little more about my everyday role

The best bits about working in a team

We’re a small, close-knit team with lots of experience. Most people have been here for years and really know their stuff. If I ever have a question or problem, there’s always someone to ask. I feel very supported and I’m learning new things all the time.

I especially look up to my manager, who is our production manager. He started in the same role as me and worked his way up over 15 years. His knowledge helps the team feel confident in what we do, and it’s inspiring to see how far you can go in this job.

My favourite piece of equipment

I really enjoy using the mixers. They’re used to blend all the ingredients together to make a medicine. We lower a big arm into a tank and turn a dial to control the speed. It feels satisfying to use because you can see the mixture change and come together.

I also like printing labels, there’s something enjoyable about getting everything neat and ready to go on the finished bottles.

What I like to do in my spare time

My hobbies haven’t changed much since I was younger. I still love art and enjoy drawing and painting. I also like keeping up with new science, especially medicine development and clinical trials. I listen to science podcasts and read pharmaceutical journals.

One of my more unusual hobbies is fishing, especially carp fishing. I go whenever the weather’s good. It’s nice to have something peaceful to do outside of work.

My school days

At school, I always enjoyed both creative and science subjects. I liked art because I could be imaginative, and I liked biology because I was fascinated by how things work. I wasn’t sure which path to follow for work, but I eventually chose science because I thought it would give me more job options, and I could always enjoy art in my free time. I’m glad to still have a mix of both in my life.

The most exciting thing I’ve achieved so far in my job

Becoming a registered pharmacy technician was a big achievement for me. But one of the most exciting things I’ve worked on is a clinical trial for a new breast cancer treatment. It’s still ongoing, but the early results are really promising, and they’re thinking of expanding the trial.

It’s amazing to play a part in developing new medicines that could change lives and knowing that something I’ve helped to make is helping people feel better.

A surprising fact about my job

People are often shocked when they find out that we make our medicines by hand. A lot of people think we send the ingredients off to a big factory, but we do it all here. Because of that, each batch feels like something we’ve really crafted. It also means we can control every tiny detail to make sure patients can trust the medicines we produce.

The next steps in my career journey

At the moment, I’m happy where I am. But in the future, I’d like to keep learning, maybe take on more responsibilities and keep getting involved in new projects like clinical trials.

The advice I’d give to someone younger

Follow what feels right for you, you don’t have to do what everyone else is doing. I wish I’d looked at more options, instead of feeling like university was the only way. It’s ok to explore things, you don’t need to have your whole life planned out. Start with what you enjoy, and everything else will fall into place.