A job is defined as “a regular activity performed in exchange for payment, especially as one’s trade, occupation, or profession.”

A career is defined as “a profession for which one trains and which is undertaken as a permanent calling.”

A profession is defined as “a calling requiring specialized knowledge and preparation.”

In my opinion, for some, being a pharmacy technician is simply a job. For many others, it’s a career and it’s a profession. It all depends upon what an individual puts into it and, likewise, expects to get out of it. The individual  working as a pharmacy technician just while finishing college likely doesn’t view himself as a professional, whereas the mother of two who has been working as a pharmacy technician for 15 years probably does consider this her profession. This does not make one group “right” or “better than” another group.

For me personally, being a pharmacy technician is my profession and I’m proud to declare it as such.  I presume the same is true for the majority of our readers and members. However you choose to answer the question for yourself, remember to always demonstrate professionalism to your patients, your pharmacists and your co-workers.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this subject.

Take our quick poll and voice your opinion as to whether you view pharmacy technician as a job, a career or a profession:

net·work·ing

Sounds boring, I know, but the truth is that networking with colleagues is critical to success…and with the advent of online social media networks, it can be a lot of fun.

Here are three steps to get started.

1. Select a new group or network to join (see suggestions below)

2. Share a little bit about yourself with the group, list your areas of experience/expertise and offer to be of assistance to the members. (Remember, networking is a two-way street)

3. Stay active in the group dialouge – whether that is answering questions, posting questions, sharing news/information. This doesn’t need to be a daily task, but try to stay connected at least once a week.

Suggested Networking Groups for Pharmacy Technicians

1. NPTA Group on Facebook
2. NPTA Group on LinkedIn
3. NPTA on Twitter
4. NPTA Discussion Forums
5. CPhTLink Discussion Forums

If you are skeptical, I challenge you to try this for just 3 months and then reevaluate.

For the past ten years, I, along with most others, have assumed that the answer was (or a variation) that pharmacists viewed the advancement of pharmacy technicians as a direct, or implied, threat to their own job security. I’ve always known that it was a weak response to the question; pharmacists, after all, are very intelligent individuals…how could they accept such an absurd notion as “if pharmacy technicians are required to complete standardized education and take on more responsibilities in the pharmacy, they eventually won’t need me….the chains will realize that they can replace my $100k+ salary with a $30K salary…”? This is as ridiculous as pharmacy technicians opposing pharmacy automation for the same reasoning.

The logic of this explanation completely breaks down when you witness the chain pharmacies offering the fiercest opposition to increasing the standards for pharmacy technicians. If they felt that they would be able to do away with the pharmacist eventually (and the liability of their payroll burden), the chains would be rushing to get such standards in place.

Pharmacists see the action of the chains, so why do they remain in opposition, including the younger/newer pharmacists? One would think that pharmacists would want the most competent, educated and trained staff as possible. Then I came across the results of a 2007 study published in the American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, and suddenly I’m beginning to understand.

In the study, 3rd year pharmacy students underwent personality assessments for a correlation on how to improve patient consultations and communication skills. The results, in my opinion, provide great insight to the million dollar question. According to the study, two out of three pharmacy students (66%) were assessed to be introverts.

…and?….so?….what does that have to do with anything?

Think about it. One of the main reasons provided for advancing the standards and education of pharmacy technicians is to free the pharmacists up from the routine, non-clinical, aspects of dispensing….thus allowing pharmacists to use their clinical expertise and spend the majority of their time consulting with patients and/or prescribers. Subconsciously, if not consciously, pharmacists are scared of this change in practice, because as introverts they would prefer to stay behind the counter, under the hood or in the basement preparing and dispensing medications. 

Introverts are wired in such a way as to avoid social interaction whenever possible. Think about it – how many of the pharmacists you have worked with are introverts by nature. Now, think about nurses, whose job is completely focused on interacting with patients…the vast majority of nurses are extroverts by nature.

The thought of technicians “freeing them up” to spend more time with patients is hitting a deep seeded fear. It’s not about the validity and necessity of increasing standards for technicians, it is about maintaining the status quo and not having to get out of their comfort zone.

I plan to look further into this theory, because if this proves accurate – we will need to do a few things.
1. Reframe the argument for increasing the standards for pharmacy technicians
2. Provide extensive training/resources for pharmacists to become more professionally extroverted
3. Reconsider the ideal traits for admission of  future pharmacy students 

Disclaimer: Yes, I realize that every pharmacist does not oppose such standards. NPTA works with numerous pharmacists who are among our strongest supporters/allies. I also realize that every pharmacist is not an introvert, nor is this theory the reason why every challenger opposes such standards. This post uses mass generalizations, which can illustrate trends, which in turn can provide significant insight.

Study: http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1959225 

I welcome your thoughts!

NPTA Board Member, Wendy Meigs, attended this hearing on Monday and testified in support of the proposed legislation.

A House bill to require two-thirds of the state’s pharmacy technicians to meet new education and training requirements has stalled.

Bill proponents say more training and education are needed to prevent prescription and medicine errors.

“In two weeks time, I went from working, folding linens in a linen store to making IVs at a pharmacy,” said Natasha Nicols, who has since become a pharmacist. She’s now president-elect of the S.C. Society of Health-System Pharmacists, which backed the bill.

It could be next session before a compromise could be brokered and a subcommittee of lawmakers takes the bill back up, said its sponsor, Rep. Kit Spires, a pharmacist and Lexington County Republican.

At issue is that nearly 5,000 of the state’s more than 7,400 technicians are not certified pharmacy technicians even though they work behind pharmacy counters, preparing medicines and filling prescriptions.

Instead, would-be techs pay a $40 registration fee. They are required to work under the supervision of a pharmacist and take 10 hours of continuing education annually.

No state agency tracks the number of prescription errors that occur in the state’s pharmacies. One is too many, said Kathy Darragh, of Greenwood, who told lawmakers Tuesday her granddaughter died after receiving an overdose of intravenous medicine in a hospital in South Carolina in 2002.

A tech and pharmacist failed to catch the error when filling an IV prescription, she said.

“My granddaughter fought many battles in her life and survived,” Darragh said. Complications from a surgery meant the child relied on IV injections to receive drugs and nutrition.

“But human error is not one you can fight against,” said Darragh, who became an IV pharmacy tech after the tragedy.

Opponents of the bill, including the S.C. Association of Chain Drug Stores, said the bill would hinder pharmacies’ abilities to recruit technicians.

“The real danger is an overwhelmed pharmacist with no help,” said Kevin Floyd, a Charleston pharmacist and president of the association. “It’s about a yearlong process to gain state certification.”

Floyd said rural areas and small pharmacies would suffer the most if the bill passed because they would not be able to fill technician positions.

“The cost of education and the time commitment is a barrier to lots of folks,” he said.

Under the bill, starting in 2012, pharmacy techs would be required to complete a certification program at a technical school, log 1,000 hours of work experience under a pharmacist and pass an exam.

Spires said the bill’s educational requirements are too stiff for the economic times and he will work on a compromise.
(Source: The State)

The South Carolina Society of Health-System Pharmacists, which assisted in drafting the legislation, is in full support, whereas the South Carolina Pharmacy Association intends to see the bill overturned.

NPTA has been invited to review the current draft of the legislation and participate in upcoming House Subcomittee Hearings; it appears that South Carolina has become the next battleground for NPTA and pharmacy technicians.

The law requiring pharmacy technicians to be certified, passed in 2006, was backed by the Iowa Board of Pharmacy and requires pharmacy technicians to be certified before working in any Iowa pharmacy. Currently, registered pharmacy technicians must be certified no later than July 1, 2010. The controversy began after the adoption of the rules established after the bill’s passage, said Terry Witkowski, executive officer with the Iowa Board of Pharmacy.

Now a separate piece of legislation, House Study Bill 51 is expected to redefine who must be certified as a pharmacy technician. “There has been a request that the [Iowa pharmacy] board move to recognize individuals who are not involved in the more complex practices relating to pharmacy technicians,” Witkowski said. “People who may be working at a pharmacy and assisting a pharmacist, but not really directly handling the drugs, would be defined as a pharmacy support person.”

The new legislation would still require pharmacy support staff to be certified, but there would be no establishment of competency and no minimum age requirement as there are for pharmacy technicians.
(Drug Topics)

ICPT’s ExCPT certification exam has been added to the list of recognized certification exams for pharmacy technicians in the state of Nevada.

Wanda Lopez, 24, of 157 Maple St., Danvers, was seen by hospital staff bringing several bags out of the hospital, according to police, who were called by hospital security shortly after 7 p.m. Police found more than 61 different types of medications, from aspirin to Zyprexa, a prescription anti-psychotic, in three bags inside a car registered to her father-in-law, who gave permission for police to search the vehicle. Police do not know what Lopez intended to do with the large amount of medication, said Salem police Lt. Conrad Prosniewski.

Read the full story go to http://tinyurl.com/axkz6z

Several days later, a reader, Mike Stegeman, sent me an email bringing this mistake to my attention. I have since corrected the post, but kept my original mistake posted (just crossed through Elton John’s name). There is a greater lesson to be learned by us all from this occurrence.

While this mistake was not life-endangering, as are many medication errors, it is natural to want to fix our mistakes and try to move forward without bringing any extra attention to them. In healthcare, however, I believe that when mistakes are made we must not only correct them, but they should be discussed openly in an effort to prevent similar mistakes from happening in the future. We can not learn from mistakes that are hidden or covered up, so let’s admit to our errors, correct them as soon as possible, and then be open about our mistakes so that others can learn. Providing proper credit to Billy Joel is important, but discussing errors made in healthcare settings (no matter how insignificant they may seem) could help prevent future medication errors from happening.

My apologies to Mr. Joel and thanks to Mr. Stegeman.