The Technician Evolution
On Tuesday (10/15) we celebrate Pharmacy Technician Day and their contributions to patient care. Technicians have always played a role in pharmacy practice, but it wasn’t until the 1970s that they began to shine!
Here’s a brief timeline:
1975: The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) created training guidelines for hospital pharmacy support personnel.
1979: Massachusetts College of Pharmacy launched a hospital pharmacy technician training program.
1982: ASHP created standards for the accreditation of pharmacy technician training programs.
1995: ASHP, APhA, Michigan Pharmacists Association, and the Illinois Council of Hospital Pharmacists created the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB).
Today: PTCB has certified more than 800,000 pharmacy technicians (other certification programs also exist; putting the total estimation greater than one million).
As pharmacist roles evolve, so do technicians.
And the pharmacy profession couldn’t thrive without them.
From administrative and dispensing responsibilities to compounding, product verification, immunization administration, point of care test services, community health worker, inventory management, and so much more. Technicians play a critical role in patient care and the health of our communities.
Cheers to pharmacy technicians this week!
I’d love to hear about the cool things you’re doing at your pharmacy to celebrate.
Here’s what you can expect from us:
- A special offer – this month only (see #1 below!)
- Exciting news about a new product to help you plan your best pharmacy life. We’re announcing it on October 26th, so stay tuned!
As always, have a great week and keep learning!
Jen
P.S. Yesterday (10/11) was National Student Pharmacist Day. Thanks to an avid reader for calling this special day out and bringing treats to celebrate her students! Students of today are the future of this profession!
P.S.S. Here’s a fun idea for this month’s celebrations submitted by a pharmacist reader:
This month we’re challenging staff to a matching puzzle of funny drug names and indications. Yes, employees could just Google the answers. But for anyone who tries, we will do a random drawing for a prize.
–Thanks for the fun idea, Naomi!
