The roles of pharmacists and key assistants known as pharmacy technicians have changed as patient care becomes more involved and personalized. What that means is pharmacy technicians are assuming greater responsibilities than ever, from communicating with patients and health-care providers to preparing prescriptions.
To address the changing needs in pharmacy and those employed in the field, the University of Iowa is partnering with community colleges across the state to talk about how best to train pharmacy technicians in Iowa. The first-ever Iowa Pharmacy Technician Summit will be held at the John and Mary Pappajohn Education Center in Des Moines on Thursday, Feb. 5, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Leaders from all 15 community colleges across Iowa are expected to attend. Representatives from the Iowa State Board of Pharmacy and national and state pharmacy associations are expected to come as well.
Among the summit’s goals are:
• Create opportunities for an affordable, uniform pharmacy technician curriculum, available anywhere in the state to ensure pharmacy technicians are receiving the same education and to best prepare them for certification exams
• Explore the development of a greater number of online courses provided by the community colleges for pharmacy technician education and certification
• Explore regional availability of advanced training opportunities for pharmacy technicians
The summit comes as Iowa addresses a potential lack of qualified pharmacy technicians. Between 2010 and 2020, Iowa Workforce Development anticipates that more than 1,000 pharmacy technician jobs will be added. Nationally, the field is expected to grow by a faster-than-average 20 percent between 2012 and 2022, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
UI College of Pharmacy Dean Donald Letendre will offer his vision for pharmacy technician education and training in the summit’s keynote address.
“I will propose that we develop a cost-effective, unified pharmacy technician curriculum, for use in community colleges across the state,” he says. “Those with existing programs could adopt programs to seek accreditation. Others could develop technician-training programs to increase the regional availability of pharmacy technician training.”
A UI study found community pharmacists wrestle with being able to monitor patients’ medication adherence and can find it difficult to hold such conversations with patients, underlining the need for continued education and training in the field.