Evaluation of a safe handling and cytotoxic drug preparation training program for oncology pharmacy practitioners.

BACKGROUND: Onkofar Health Devices Inc. offers solutions and service for safe and accurate preparation of anticancer agents. Due to the necessity of specific instructions for the drug preparation systems and the widespread use of services including personnel, the company has to train the personnel employed as oncology pharmacy practitioner technicians. PURPOSE: This study aimed to investigate the contribution of the training program to the theoretical knowledge and the opinions of the participants about the training by retrospectively analyzing the related data. METHODS: The training program consisted of a comprehensive theoretical part and an applied practical part. Participants took pre-tests and post-tests and filled out a standard training evaluation form. Between November 2014 and September 2018, 100 people participated in the training. This study included 71 participants' pre-test and post-test results and 72 participants' evaluation forms. RESULTS: The test results showed that the post-test score was higher in all participants. There was a 34% increase between the average of scores. The improvement percentage was at least 9%, whereas the most considerable improvement was 61%. Overall, almost all of the participants conveyed their positive thoughts about the training. The participants' interest seemed to be mostly related to their applied practice. CONCLUSIONS: Increased post-test scores showed an increase in theoretical knowledge level. The training was found to meet the expectations and needs to a great extent. Participants' opinions contributed to the shaping of the educational content for future training programs. This study showed that the training program provided improvement and value for participants.