Pharmacy Technicians on the Front Line of Health Care

Although some jobs are down, traffic for pharmacy technician jobs has increased. The increased need for pharmacy technicians was apparent before coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-related events affected our health care system. And the need for skilled and knowledgeable pharmacy technicians in our workforce remains steady throughout current times. It’s true that many pharmacies are remodeling how staffing looks in a forced need to meet COVID-related financial constraints. But, these adjusted staffing models keep pharmacy technicians in the essential need category.

Pharmacy technicians are essential, because they serve as frontline individuals in the pharmacy. In most cases, it is the pharmacy technician who first meets with the patient to gather information and determine patient needs. Based on acuity, the pharmacy technician triages tasks and workflow within the medication dispensing process. 

The great thing about a career as a pharmacy technician is the variety of job descriptions. A community pharmacy setting offers the pharmacy technician a wide array of responsibilities that focus on face to face patient interaction. Accepting prescriptions, taking blood pressure readings and helping to improve patient mobility by fitting the patient with a walker are a just a few examples of the importance a pharmacy technician in the community pharmacy has on the patient experience. 

UNMC College of Pharmacy holds virtual aseptic technique review sessions via Zoom for pharmacy technician certification credentialing. Certification education sessions continue to run on schedule at UNMC College of Pharmacy due to the online, on-demand nature of the course.

Working in a home infusion pharmacy, the technician compounds or prepares products in an area of the pharmacy called a clean room. These preparations will be administered intravenously to patients who receive therapy while at home. Technicians who work in a long term care pharmacy repackage oral medication for residents living in nursing homes and other assisted living facilities. Job descriptions also include work in veterinary pharmacies supplying medication for animal-use, hospital pharmacies preparing oral and IV medication for inpatients and pharmacy benefits management (PBM) companies where instead of working with the medication product, their work is within the insurance-side of pharmacy by assisting with prior authorization approval and claim processing. From insurance adjudication to IV medication compounding and advanced practices such as COVID testing, pharmacy technicians assist pharmacists in many exciting ways. 

Tony Beraldi, RPh in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and president of the Southwest Iowa Pharmacists Association shares, “Pharmacies simply would not function without technicians. This goes for community pharmacies, hospital pharmacies, long term care pharmacies, and every other pharmacy setting.”

In this time of employment uncertainty, rest assured that the outlook for a pharmacy technician career is favorable. To be a successful technician, it's a good idea to look at qualifications and job expectations that employers value. One hundred sixty local pharmacy technicians responded to a survey question that asked the expectations they feel their employer has of them. Common survey question replies centered around the professional attributes of honesty, accountability, work ethic and competency. 

My employer expects me to:

• Work while I'm at work. Be flexible and ready to work where needed.
• Be honest, kind, and friendly answering phones.
• Be accountable and knowledgeable of my duties. Be competent.
• Be respectful, responsible, attentive to patient/customer needs.
• As for help when I need it. Try new ways of doing a task.
• Work efficiently. Ask questions instead of making assumptions.
• Be punctual. Have regular attendance. Be reliable and dependable.
• Have accuracy in data entry and all dispensing tasks.
• Focus on the job to complete the work assigned to me.
• Put patients' needs and safety first.
• Continue to learn new ideas and strategies to better the pharmacy culture in the pursuit of zero harm.

Regarding qualifications needed to work as a pharmacy technician, individuals must meet credentialing as required by the state of their employment. For example, pharmacy technician credentialing in Nebraska includes both licensure/registration and pharmacy technician certification. Certification involves a component of education to qualify for the credentialing status.