We spoke to Senior Pharmacy Assistant Josephine Cox about her experience of taking on a pharmacy apprenticeship after studying Biochemistry at university.
For many graduates, finding a job after university can present a challenge. Gaining access to the workplace after completing a degree can mean exploring pathways you had not previously considered such as apprenticeships.
After completing her Master’s in Biochemistry, Josephine Cox decided to embark upon the Pharmacy Services Assistant – Level 2 Apprenticeship and explore a new area that would give her hands-on hospital experience in the medical sector.
We spoke to Josephine about her apprenticeship and how it has led her to her current role as a Senior Pharmacy Assistant at St Bartholomew’s Hospital.
In 2023, I graduated from Exeter University with an integrated Master’s in Biochemistry. I spent about a year hunting for jobs and really wanted to gain hands-on experience in science. I saw the Trainee Pharmacy Assistant on NHS jobs and thought it would be great to work at a hospital in central London. I realised that it wasn’t a million miles away from what I’d done at uni so I gave it a go.
Initially, I didn’t realise that the Pharmacy Services Assistant – Level 2 Apprenticeship was attached to the job but, as I didn’t really know anything about pharmacy, it was an added bonus.
Well, after years in uni gaining both an undergraduate degree and a Master’s in Biochemistry, it felt like a bit of a backstep to go into an apprenticeship. It wasn’t something I thought I would have to do, but the job world is very difficult to get into, even with qualifications, and apprenticeships offer really good opportunities. I would encourage other people to look into apprenticeships because you gain another qualification and really useful on-the-job experience.
I did a bit of research into Apprenticeships+ before I started and looked online. They had a lot of resources on their website and provided practice papers for the end-point assessment, which is always a plus because I didn’t really want to go into it blind. I was happy to see that they had workbooks to aid me during the course because I didn’t really know anything about pharmacy before I started.
To be honest, I wasn’t looking at pharmacy when I came out of uni. I studied Biochemistry and that’s really what I thought I’d end up in. I was interested in working within a hospital as that opens up so many doors. I wanted to kind of try something new and my apprenticeship included an aseptics rotation – where we work in the chemo unit to manufacture chemotherapy in isolators for patients who come in for their clinic appointments – and that excited me as well. I believe I’m quite good at picking things up quickly, so I wanted to give it a go and really see where it took me.
Everything that I learnt was completely new. I found that what I was studying went hand in hand with what I was doing at work, particularly in the dispensary and store rotation where I was learning about things like legislation and Standard Operating Procedures (SOP). I didn’t have a patient-facing rotation but the course covered some of the patient-facing aspects such as patient-centred care and counseling patients.
I was at university during the pandemic, so remote learning wasn’t new to me as I was very used to learning everything online. One day a week, I’d have a morning or an afternoon set aside so I could have my study time. We didn’t have lectures or classes so I didn’t have a cohort as such, but I had workbooks and assignments to complete. I was able to bond with the other Level 2 Apprentices in the hospital who were further ahead or further behind me and we would talk about the course and how we were getting on in our rotations.
My tutor, Elena, was really great. I met her as she came to the hospital quite a few times to do some observations. She’s lovely over the phone and very prompt with responding to emails, and she was really helpful. The online platform can be a little bit confusing at first, so Elena was really great at giving me advice.
They were always very accommodating and tried to make sure I had my dedicated study time. Sometimes, if we were a bit short-staffed or really busy, I wouldn’t necessarily get it, but then I’d have it the week after. They also supported me where possible, so if I needed to write a reflective account, one of the seniors would read over it and give me some pointers or sign it off.
I’m really proud of what I achieved because pharmacy was completely new to me. Before I started the apprenticeship, I didn’t know anything about it, but I’ve learned a great deal and I’ve enjoyed it so much that I’ve stayed here. I loved my aseptic rotation, and I’m still in aseptics now. Also, getting a distinction in my end-point assessment was a big highlight.
I completed my end-point assessment for the course in January 2025. It was very smooth and I felt very well prepared for it, which is another thing I can thank the college for. They gave me lots of really good information in advance and I had lots of practice with multiple-choice tests. We also did mock professional discussions via Teams, and that was really useful. They really gave me lots of support and were able to answer any questions I had, so I felt really prepared for the assessment.
I started as a Trainee Pharmacy Assistant as part of my apprenticeship. This role included three rotations each lasting four months working in different departments – in-patient dispensary, clinical trials, and aseptic sciences in the chemotherapy services unit. Around 11 months into the course, I progressed to the role of Senior Pharmacy Assistant in Chemotherapy Services.
I was given lots of information both from the college and through the education, training, and development team at Barts about courses to consider such as the Pharmacy Technician – Level 3 Apprenticeship or an NVQ Level 3 in Aseptic Sciences (Science Manufacturing Technician Course). Since taking on my Senior Pharmacy Assistant role, I have gained Science Manufacturing Technician Registration from both the Science Council and Institute of Biomedical Science thanks to my Level 7 Master’s qualification in Biomedical Sciences.
My next step will be to go for a band four or a band five position in aseptics because I really like being in this area.
I’d say “Go for it!” You’ve got nothing to lose because you’ll learn so much and get a really good qualification out of it. I’ve really enjoyed the experience I’ve had and have met so many people along the way. Doing an apprenticeship has lots of benefits, it really introduces you to so many new jobs and opportunities that you wouldn’t necessarily come across otherwise.
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