Often when people visit their local pharmacy, they assume that all the person behind the counter does is dispense medications. While that’s certainly a vital part of the job, the pharmacy technician’s responsibilities extend far beyond filling prescriptions, especially in recent years.

The pharmacy technician shortage is a significant challenge facing the healthcare industry. It is putting a strain on pharmacists, pharmacy operations and patient care delivery.

National Pharm Tech Day is October 18  and it’s a perfect day to recognize a nd honor the hard work each pharmacy technician provides . But we know technicians work hard every day, so why not celebrate their dedication year - round? With so many new responsibilities and higher demand across the profession, it’s more important than ever to recognize   your technicians. Sincere appreciation goes a long way in increasing job satisfaction in a field where burnout has been high.

Here are a few ideas to recognize your pharmacy technicians.

1. Host an awards ceremony

Take some time over the lunch hour or host a special evening social hour to honor your technicians. Consider opportunities to award your technicians in fun and meaningful ways. Certificates like ‘Most Positive,’ ‘Hardest Worker,’ and ‘Most Detail Oriented’ can show your technicians you’re paying attention to their work. Looking for something super simple? Check out our certificate template here.

Editor's Note: Pharmacy Technician Day is Oct. 19! The following editorial was written by Jessica Langley-Loep, executive director of education and advocacy at NHA, on her recent attendance of the NCPA Annual Convention and in celebration of Pharmacy Technician Day.

Tapping pharmacy technicians as immunizers opens up greater visibility and new source of health care labor.

The National Healthcareer Association (NHA) has achieved programmatic accreditation for continuing education from the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education for their soft skills training program, PersonAbility™. Accredited to provide nine hours of continuing education (0.9 CEUs) for both certified pharmacy technicians and pharmacists, PersonAbility™ provides essential soft skills training to improve communication techniques, critical thinking skills, and professionalism.   

Change is constant within health care, but the pharmacy profession has been driving change for decades, with even more happening in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Because of this change, our two recent podcast guests have been dedicated to leading the charge as it relates to research that highlights the pharmacy technician profession.  

In this episode, Jeremy and Jessica talk with Paul Sabatini, M.Ed, CPhT, FCSHP.  Paul has worked in the pharmacy profession for 30 years.  Most recently, he was recognized by the California Pharmacists Association (CPhA) and NHA as the recipient of the 2020 Pharmacy Technician of the Year Award.

In this episode of OnScript, Jeremy and Jessica have Jim Palatine, RPH, MBA, President of Pharmacy Times Continuing Education™ (PTce), as a guest to discuss continuing education and advanced training offerings for pharmacy technicians and what they have on the horizon for 2021. 

Good communication is perhaps more important in healthcare than in any other field. Quality care only happens when providers, clinicians and pharmacies all communicate clearly and effectively with the patient, with other healthcare providers and, most importantly, within their own teams.

2020 has been a challenging year for everyone but especially for healthcare workers on the front lines. Due to this, it’s important, now more than ever, that pharmacy technicians practice at the very top of their license. While boards of pharmacy have traditionally limited pharmacy technician practice from performing such tasks like final product verification, administering immunizations to patients, or performing CLIA-waived point of care testing, more and more states are undergoing the process of reviewing, discussing, and in some cases, changing their rules to permit properly trained technicians to perform these and other tasks.

To further seize on this trend, NHA has spearheaded an initiative to bring together representatives from some of the biggest pharmacy organizations in the industry.  The initiative, The Coalition for the Advancement of Pharmacy Technician Practice, aims to work together to stay up to date with current state boards of pharmacy that are discussing this very important topic and to engage other state boards of pharmacy to consider broadening pharmacy technician scope of practice.

By bringing together retail pharmacy  giants like Albertsons Companies, Walmart, Kroger and Walgreens, along with state pharmacy associations, pharmacy academicians, and organizations such as the Pharmacy Technician Educators Council, the coalition’s collective voice and singular mission is to further expedite the spread of states allowing pharmacy technicians to do more.  This support from the industry will be key to continuing to elevate the pharmacy profession across the nation.