Pharmacy technician development: Insight into training, preparedness, and career-path perceptions.

BACKGROUND: Although opportunities for pharmacy technicians may be expanding, an increasing number of technicians have transitioned out of their roles. It is important to consider what could be done within education and training to promote the retention of pharmacy technicians. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to survey pharmacy technicians in the state of Ohio to identify key components of professional development. METHODS: A survey was distributed through REDCap to 24,444 pharmacy technicians with active pharmacy technician licenses in the state of Ohio. Inclusion criteria required survey respondents to be at least 18 years old and currently working as a pharmacy technician. RESULTS: A total of 1386 surveys were fully completed (approximately 6% response rate). Professional development opportunities provided by employers varied across most practice sites, but continuing education was the most reported opportunity. Attending conferences, taking specialized training courses, and tuition reimbursement were less common. The top 3 barriers to professional development participation included additional cost, time, and perceived value. Guidance and mentorship from peers, achieving national certification, and formal on-the-job training were the most helpful in job preparation and training. The main reasons to achieve certification included increased pay, development opportunity, or employer requirement. When considering preparation for new roles, 57% of pharmacy technicians felt prepared or very prepared for the job after 90 days. As technicians continued throughout their careers, the training transitioned from formal hands-on training to self-guided training. CONCLUSION: Pharmacy technicians have a desire to remain in their roles, but participation in professional development opportunities was lacking owing to availability of options and barriers. Pharmacy practice sites interested in retaining technicians should invest in offering and encouraging pharmacy technicians to participate in development opportunities. To continue to develop pharmacy technicians, ongoing education and training tied to increased compensation may improve retention and foster an improved learning environment.

Implementation of a technician success and onboarding coordinator to reduce technician turnover.

PURPOSE: This article provides an overview of changes implemented at an academic medical center to reduce pharmacy technician turnover. SUMMARY: Pharmacy technician turnover has been a problem for years. Technicians come and go; they move on to other positions, and continuous turnover is an avoidable expense. With greater focus on creating a successful onboarding experience for newly hired technicians, turnover should decrease and satisfaction and engagement should increase. When a newly hired technician leaves a department within the first year, it can have a negative impact on the engagement of the remaining technicians who spent time training new hires in how to complete tasks, mentoring them, and incorporating them into the team. Creating a positive onboarding experience will decrease expenses accrued and minimize wasted resources and staff time dedicated to a technician who will not be around in 6 months to 1 year. At M Health Fairview, a Minneapolis, MN-based health system, technician retention has been improved through a standardized approach to onboarding and orientation, including creation of the new staff role of technician success and onboarding coordinator (TSOC). CONCLUSION: A standard approach to onboarding pharmacy technicians and integrating them into the pharmacy department has proven to be essential to technician retention at M Health Fairview. To get started, it is important to find the right person for the TSOC role to coordinate successful onboarding of newly hired pharmacy technicians. That person should be an individual with passion to engage and inspire newly hired technicians, with several years of experience, and with the ability to cascade knowledge.

[Preparation of injectable anticancer drugs within chemotherapy preparation unit: What levers are available to optimize and secure production?] / Préparation des traitements anticancéreux injectables au sein d'une unité de pharmacotechnie : quels leviers disponibles pour optimiser et sécuriser la production ?

Preparation of injectable anticancer drugs is centralized within chemotherapy preparation unit of hospital pharmacies under pharmaceutical responsibility. Improving the chemotherapy preparation unit's efficiency in the face of increasing demand, resource constraints and the need to ensure high quality is a challenge. Hospital pharmacists in search of efficiency in order to combine productivity and quality, have several tools to respond to this problem. These are in particular the quality management, whether they go through certification or not, a source of rationalization of activities and which will strengthen the cohesion of the staff through common objectives. The management of production flows, early preparation or dose-banding will allow a smoothing of activity reducing the risk of medication error and patient waiting times. The continuous training of hospital pharmacy technicians is an important lever so that they acquire and then maintain these specific skills. Finally, the use of the most recent technologies constitutes an important part of the possibilities offered to hospital pharmacists : computerization, automated production and quality controls.

Using normalisation process theory to understand implementation of integrated multi-sector pre-registration trainee pharmacy technician training.

BACKGROUND: The pre-registration trainee pharmacy technician (PTPT) integrated training programme is a workforce intervention designed to train PTPTs in multiple sectors. The programme recruited 35 PTPTs to 2-year training posts which involved employment in one sector, and a minimum of 12 weeks' work-based training in ≥2 further settings each year. AIM: To identify facilitating and inhibiting factors to implementation of the PTPT integrated training programme and make recommendations on ways to embed and maintain PTPT integrated training in routine practice. METHODS: Normalisation Process Theory (NPT) constructs were used as a framework for analysis. Semi-structured interviews (14 PTPTs, 15 supervisors) explored PTPTs' learning and practice experiences over their 2-year training. A survey explored training outcomes (confidence and preparedness to practise) of integrated (n = 31) and single sector PTPTs (n = 39). RESULTS: Whilst some understood the intervention well, others had differing understandings of its purpose and potential benefits (coherence). Educational and practice supervisors acknowledged the importance of regular communication but reported difficulties implementing this due to time constraints (cognitive participation). PTPTs benefitted from having an educational supervisor oversee learning and progress over 2-years, and a practice supervisor for their day-to-day learning. PTPTs' experiences of supervision were inconsistent due to variation in supervisors' availability, knowledge, experience, and level of support (collective action). Participants perceived the PTPT integrated training as supporting development of a flexible pharmacy technician workforce able to work across sectors. The survey found that integrated PTPTs felt significantly more prepared than single-sector PTPTs to work in different settings (reflective monitoring). CONCLUSIONS: PTPTs on the programme had better ability to work in different sectors. Improving implementation requires clear understanding of the intervention's purpose by all stakeholders; clarity on supervisors' roles/contributions; and effective communication between supervisors to create effective learning opportunities. Findings can inform implementation of future multi-sector education and training globally.

Autoridad profesional / Professional authority

¿Quién otorga la autoridad a los profesionales sanitarios en nuestro país?En primer término, las instituciones académicas que acreditan los conocimientos y habilidades necesarios para prestar servicios sanitarios a la población residente en España.En segundo término, las instituciones profesionales y corporativas señalan el tiempo y lugar donde aquellos profesionales debidamente acreditados por los centros educativos pueden poner en práctica lo estudiado y aprendido, además de avanzar en especializaciones.Por último, la legislación central o autonómica da validez legal al ejercicio profesional de cada titulado para poder ser contratado en centros públicos, concertados o privados.¿Es esta la situación de todos los farmacéuticos de España? Es así para todos aquéllos contratados en el Sistema Público de Salud que otorga capacidad legal para desempeñar las funciones señaladas a cada servicio farmacéutico de cada institución. (AU)

Evaluation of research capacity and culture of hospital pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in a state-wide Australian public health service: A cross-sectional survey.

BACKGROUND: Integrating research with clinical practice is essential for evidence-based practice and continuous improvement in health care. Little is known about the research capacity and culture of the Australian hospital pharmacy workforce, particularly in rural areas and for pharmacy assistants/technicians. OBJECTIVE: This paper aims to characterise the research capacity and culture of a state-wide public-hospital pharmacy service at organisation, team and individual levels, and to explore variables which influence research confidence and success. METHOD: An online, anonymous, cross-sectional survey using the validated Research Capacity in Context tool was emailed to all pharmacists, pharmacy assistants/technicians and non-clinical staff employed by a statewide pharmacy service in South Australia. Respondent characteristics and organisation, team and individual scores of research skill/success were summarised using descriptive statistics. T-tests compared results for pharmacists and pharmacy assistants/technicians and metropolitan-based and non-metropolitan-based staff. Regression analyses explored predictors of pharmacists individual research skill/success scores. RESULTS: A response rate of 43.4% (n = 278/641, 19 sites) was obtained. Respondents were primarily pharmacists (68%) and pharmacy assistants/technicians (28%); 91% were practicing in a metropolitan setting. 47% reported no research experience. Highest scores for research skill/success were observed at the organisational level (mean score 6.0/10) vs. team (mean score 5.6/10) and individual levels (mean score 5.1/10). Within each level specific items that scored poorly were identified. Individual research skills/success scores were higher in pharmacists vs. pharmacy assistants/technicians (mean score 5.2/10 vs. 4.2/10, p < 0.01), and were not different between staff in metropolitan vs. non-metropolitan settings (mean scores 5.2 vs. 5.0, p = 0.77). For pharmacists, undertaking undergraduate or internship research projects or postgraduate research training were associated with higher individual scores of research skills and success. DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION: This research extends understanding of hospital pharmacy research capacity and culture, describes research skills and success in hospital pharmacy technicians/assistants for the first time and highlights low-scoring areas; these could be targeted to improve research capacity and culture at an individual, team and organisational levels.

Creation of a pharmacy leadership certificate program for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians using an innovative, low-cost framework.

PURPOSE: To describe the creation of a statewide leadership training program for practicing pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. The 2 overarching goals were to (1) enable learners to develop foundational leadership skills that could be used at their place of work or would enable them to take on a new or advanced role and (2) help foster sustainability within our state pharmacy society through incorporation of the learners on committees and projects, bringing awareness to board member roles and functions. Overall, the program's mission was to empower practicing pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to take on leadership roles within their organization and the state pharmacy society. SUMMARY: Leadership training for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians can be variable, elusive, and costly. We provide our experiences in establishing a 1-year leadership certificate program affiliated with the state pharmacy society. In the first 4 years, a total of 15 program fellows have graduated, with 8 more set to finish in September 2022. Since completion of the program, a majority of the graduates have taken on new leadership positions (65% have accepted new leadership positions and 35% have been elected to state pharmacy society board positions). CONCLUSION: Implementation of a statewide pharmacy leadership program provided a low-cost, high-value option to develop local leaders, in affiliation with a state pharmacy society.

The Academy Is Well Positioned to Offer Pharmacy Technician Training Programs.

Schools and colleges of pharmacy are optimally positioned to train the entire pharmacy team, including pharmacists and pharmacy support personnel, because they can provide comprehensive workforce development, utilize established faculty expertise, harness existing infrastructure, afford opportunities for intraprofessional education, and support institutional growth and reputability. As the emphasis of training shifts towards team-based approaches and expanded responsibilities, ensuring the existing and future pharmacy workforce is equipped to serve their communities becomes increasingly important. Thus, schools and colleges of pharmacy should consider offering a pharmacy technician training program to meet the needs of their community and the profession.

Advancing a global pharmacy support workforce through a global strategic platform.

The pharmacy support workforce (PSW) is the mid-level cadre of the global pharmacy profession, referring to pharmacy technicians, assistants and other cadres that assist in the delivery of pharmaceutical services in a variety of practice contexts. The PSW undertake technical tasks delegated under the supervision of a pharmacist or performed collaboratively. The PSW are not intended to replace pharmacists, but rather work side-by-side with the pharmacist to achieve a shared goal. However, extensive variation in the PSW exists globally, ranging from an educated, regulated, and highly effective workforce in some countries to unrecognized or non-existent in others. Vast differences in education requirements, specific roles, regulatory oversight, and need for pharmacist supervision, inhibit the development and advancement of a global PSW. As clinical care providers, pharmacists worldwide need for a competent support workforce. Without the confidence to delegate technical responsibilities to a well-trained and capable PSW, pharmacists will be unable to fully deliver advanced clinical roles. A clear vision for the role of the PSW in the expanding scope of pharmacy practice is needed. One organization working to unite global efforts in this area is the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP). The FIP Workforce Development Hub Pharmacy Technicians & Support Workforce Strategic Platform was established to address the pharmacy workforce shortage in low and middle-income countries. Further developments were made in 2019, with the creation of a representative global PSW advisory panel, to provide guidance towards the development of the global PSW. Provision of frameworks and strategic input to support quality in education, development of legislative frameworks, guidelines for registration and licensure, and advice on appropriate role advancement are critical to move the PSW forward. In order to produce substantial advancement of roles and recognition of the PSW and advancement of pharmacists as patient care providers, global collaborative work is needed.

[A check-list in order to optimise the deployment of computerized medicine cabinets in a hospital: An essential support]. / Une check-list pour optimiser le déploiement d'armoires informatisées au sein d'un hôpital : un support indispensable.

In the medication management process, storage methods constitute a step at risk of errors that needs to be secured. As part of an institutional project, computerized medicine cabinets (CMC) have been deployed in our hospital's emergency and intensive care units. In order to meet the requirements of the certification, the deployment of CMC in all care units has been decided. Each deployment includes many steps and involves several trades that must be coordinated. We decided to formalize these steps in the form of a checklist. Two pharmacists listed all the tasks required to install a CMC. They were ordered chronologically, and a person responsible for each step is proposed. All those involved in the installation of CMC in the care units validated the checklist. The checklist is broken down into 13 major steps, from the assessment of the need to the installation of CMC in the care units. Before installation, several months are required, particularly in terms of the delivery time of the CMC. Support and training for the pharmacy technicians and caregivers are essential to ensure the teams enrolment. By better implying and empowering all intervenants, directed by the pharmacist, the checklist provides to dynamise and to frame the CMC deployment. Moreover, it contributes to save time and to improve the management of every ongoing deployments.

Health-system implementation of a collaborative core curriculum for advanced pharmacy experiential education during the COVID-19 pandemic.

PURPOSE: A collaborative advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) education model established within a healthcare institution during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is described. SUMMARY: The COVID-19 pandemic caused a nationwide disruption of APPE pharmacy education. Healthcare institutions faced the challenge of educating APPE students while attempting to simultaneously de-densify work areas and reduce transmission risk for employees and patients. A pharmacist coordinator and pharmacist academic partners at a large teaching hospital created a collaborative common core curriculum model for resourceful implementation of APPE education. Healthcare network pharmacists, clinical pharmacist academic partners, and pharmacy residents delivered the curriculum to 35 pharmacy students over a 9-week time period. Main components of the curriculum included patient case discussions, topic discussions, journal club presentations, live continuing education (CE) webinars, and development of pharmacy technician CE programs. A majority of students reported positive experiences working with a variety of preceptors from different specialties (81%) and collaborating with students from other universities (62%). CONCLUSION: A health system can leverage institutional, network-wide, and academic partner resources to implement a collaborative APPE curriculum during challenging times such as those experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Multi-center investigation on personnel training and scientific research status of pharmacy intravenous admixture services (PIVAS) in mainland China based on the perspectives of PIVAS leaders.

ABSTRACT: We sought to analyze the current situation of personnel training and scientific research regarding pharmacy intravenous admixture services (PIVAS), to provide evidence-based medical knowledge to inform personnel training for PIVAS in mainland China.A cross-sectional survey was used to examine the current status of PIVAS personnel training, research capabilities, needs, and research output of PIVAS personnel based from the perspective of leaders in PIVAS in China. The survey period was from March to April 2019.A total of 137 hospitals in China participated in this survey. The main training content areas of PIVAS staff in each hospital were professional theoretical knowledge (100.00%, 137/137) and practical operation ability (98.54%, 135/137). The frequency of training was typically 1 to 2 times/month (56.9%, 78/137). The average duration of a single training session was typically 1 h or less (68.6%, 94/137). The most common forms of PIVAS training were lectures (94.89%, 130/137) and practical operations (79.56%, 109/137). A total of 51.8% (71/137) of PIVAS leaders believed that PIVAS personnel had a high degree of scientific research needs, but 61.3% (84/137) believed that few personnel had mastered scientific research methodology, and 41.6% (57/137) believed that the scientific research ability of personnel was relatively poor. Among PIVAS personnel, only 38.7% (53/137) had specialized scientific training. The annual total SCI output was 0 to 18 articles (median 0 articles) and the total number of national-level funding grants was 0 to 2 (median 0). There were no significant differences in the training of PIVAS personnel and scientific research between different provinces and hospital levels.The training content of PIVAS personnel in China was found to be relatively rich, but management tools, career development, and training in scientific research were found to be relatively weak, and the scientific research output was very low. It is necessary to build a comprehensive training system for career development among PIVAS personnel.

Partners in pharmacy: An intraprofessional educational event with pharmacy and pharmacy technician students.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Upon graduation and licensing, pharmacists work very closely with pharmacy technicians. Despite this, opportunities for learning together as students are limited. We developed and implemented a pilot intraprofessional event for pharmacy and pharmacy technician students. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the perceived value and learner confidence through analysis of participant feedback. EDUCATION ACTIVITY AND SETTING: Pharmacy students from the University of Waterloo School of Pharmacy and pharmacy technician students from Lambton College participated in an intraprofessional event that included a three-station practice objective structured clinical exam (OSCE) and a case discussion regarding a methadone dispensing error, followed by a facilitated debrief. Upon completion of the event, students were invited to complete an online feedback questionnaire. FINDINGS: Twenty-one pharmacy students and 22 pharmacy technician students participated in the event. Twenty-one students completed the questionnaire, for a response rate of 49%. The majority of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that the event enhanced learning and confidence in working together to provide interprofessional care. Students seemed to find the OSCE to be particularly valuable. Feedback suggestions for improvement indicated a desire for more activities and time allocated to the event. SUMMARY: We designed and implemented a pilot intraprofessional event that was well-received by pharmacy students and pharmacy technician students. This supports the development of future similar events.

Digital content delivery in a pharmacy technician training program in a health system.

PURPOSE: Development and implementation of a pharmacy technician training program are described. SUMMARY: As key members of the healthcare team, pharmacy technicians are integral to a pharmacy's operation. Training programs allow technicians to assume roles that support pharmacists practicing "at the top of their license," assist in providing optimal patient care, and serve as an important tool for retaining trained pharmacy technicians. Duke University Health System (DUHS) launched its Pharmacy Technology Training Program (DUHS-PTTP) within the department of pharmacy at Duke University Hospital in April 2018 to assist in meeting current and future pharmacy technician demand. Candidates are provided with the tools to become certified pharmacy technicians through the completion of an affordable accredited program incorporating didactic, simulation-based, and experiential education. The program's partnership with a digital content provider enables accelerated start-up, minimizes investment in content creation and maintenance, enables automated record keeping, and provides flexibility for program participants to complete didactic content outside of the traditional classroom setting. Implementation of this program aims to support students both internal and external to the institution. Students are trained to begin a career as a pharmacy technician with the intent of producing graduates well equipped and eligible for certification by the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board. CONCLUSION: Implementation of a pharmacy technician training program is a logical extension of the demonstrated core training competency of health-system pharmacy departments.

Implementation of a pharmacy technician residency program in a tertiary care teaching hospital.

PURPOSE: Leveraging pharmacy technicians to take on advanced roles can enable pharmacists to practice at the highest level of their license. Technicians trained through traditional venues may not have the necessary knowledge and skills to adequately take on these roles. To meet this need, a technician residency program was developed and implemented in a health-system pharmacy. SUMMARY: The technician residency program was designed to develop competency in the medication use process as assessed through achievement of 30 objectives based on successful completion of rotations, projects, and didactic examination. The program duration was 50 weeks with rotations which included compounding, technician-check-technician cart fill and floor stock replenishment, investigational drug services, regulatory compliance, and other functions. The resident also completed several projects to improve data analytics, communication, and leadership skills. By the end of the program, the residency program director and preceptors determined that the resident achieved 83% (25/30) of objectives and had developed competency in the medication use process superior to technicians with several years of experience. The resident was ultimately hired in a specialty technician position and was found to perform effectively in that role. CONCLUSION: The program allowed the technician resident to gain a comprehensive understanding of health-system pharmacy practice and continue to develop skills and abilities that would typically take several years of work experience to be achieved.

CPD preferences and activities of general practitioners, registered pharmacy staff and general practice nurses in NHS Scotland - a questionnaire survey.

In the United Kingdom, taking part in continuing professional development (CPD) is required for revalidation for general practitioners, general practice nurses and registered pharmacy staff - pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. The literature has many research studies which describe one profession's activities, or a specific learning method or topic. Few studies compared the CPD preferences across these four professional groups or compared their CPD activity. A survey was designed by the authors with assistance from colleagues within NHS Education for Scotland (NES). It was sent to the four professions and 2,813 clinicians responded. More than 75% of all respondents spent between 0 and 10 h per month on CPD activities. Participation in formal Protected Learning Time (PLT) varied across different NHS boards in NHS Scotland and ranged from 23.9% of respondents in the board with the lowest participation, to 68.6% in the board with the highest participation. All professions indicated a greatest preference to learn with other members of their profession. The preferred time for learning during the day varied amongst professions. The CPD activity of greatest preference for all professions was discussion with peers. There were some minor differences in learning preferences and activities from professionals working in remote and rural areas and in areas of socio-economic deprivation in Scotland.

[Continuous theoretical training in onco-hematology for pharmacy technician's working in cytotoxic preparation unit]. / Mise en place d'une formation continue théorique en onco-hématologie au sein d'une unité de préparation des anticancéreux.

OBJECTIVES: Within the context of pharmacy technician's (PT) continuing training (CT), a theoretical instruction in onco-hematology has been developed for PT working in our cytotoxic preparation unit (CPU). The aim of this study is to describe the approach taken, tools used and present knowledge assessment (KA). METHODS: A previous KA has been conducted using quiz available on GERPAC website which listing 36 drugs. Forty-five minutes sessions were conducted. KA was assessing before and after each session and 2 years after. PT appreciation was also evaluated. RESULTS: The previous KA served to targeting gaps and insisted on: indications, mechanism of action and cytotoxic drugs costs. Interactive sessions were led by a pharmacist and concerned about 17 diseases and 3 of the most prescribed cytotoxic drugs: 47 drugs summaries have been written by a pharmacist. The before-after knowledge improvement is significant (P>0.0005) (average [a] before=4.7 vs. a after=9.6). Two years after, this was non-significant but assessment results remain higher than before sessions (a=4.7 vs. 6.8). All PT wish sessions sustainability, 92% reported an adequate comprehension level. CONCLUSION: Lack of time and staff constitute a brake for sustaining and this was also highlighted by other units. Share this experience on a web platform could be interesting. Nevertheless, supports used during sessions should be suitable in conformity with the hospital practice and updated with new therapeutic.