Hours of Operation

Monday - Friday: 9 am to 6 pm
Saturday: 9 am to noon
Closed Sundays and holidays

Please follow & like us!
Follow by Email
Facebook
Twitter
RSS Feed
Subscribe by email
Get new posts by email:
Archives

October 19 is National Pharmacy Technician Day. By Our Student Pharmacist, Joe Raney.

Pharmacy-Technician-Day-2021-Illustration-v2

Beginning in 1991, pharmacies began to recognize the third Tuesday in October as National Pharmacy Technician Day.

The American Association of Pharmacy Technicians first suggested this day and since then other pharmacy organizations have spread the message, as well. The message that is being sent is that pharmacy technicians are an invaluable part of any pharmacy team whether that is in the community retail setting, a hospital, or other non-traditional pharmacy settings.

Pharmacy technicians are often not given the recognition they deserve. As any pharmacist who has lost a great pharmacy technician will tell you, their work can dramatically change the landscape of a pharmacy.

The responsibilities of a pharmacy technician are vast. A pharmacy technician must be willing to work fluidly between different responsibilities to keep the pharmacy running smoothly. In addition to the fluid work environment, a pharmacy technician must also work accurately. Processing and filling prescriptions prior to the pharmacist checking them must be done accurately and efficiently. Pharmacies can fill hundreds of prescriptions per day so any errors will slow down the process of getting patients their medications. Without pharmacy technicians, it would probably take several days to get your medicine instead of several minutes!

Pharmacy technicians work in many different settings outside of a traditional retail pharmacy. The second most common job for a pharmacy technician is in a hospital. The responsibilities of a hospital pharmacy technician are different than community pharmacy technicians, but there is still a requirement for accurate and efficient work.

In hospital pharmacy, the technicians must prepare medications using aseptic technique. This means pharmacy technicians must work carefully and intentionally to make sure there are no contaminants from the air that would enter the IV bags. Additionally, they must work as a team to produce medications in the pharmacy and make sure they are being delivered to the correct location in a timely manner.

Outside of a hospital, pharmacy technicians can work for insurance companies, drug wholesalers, compounding pharmacies, and government agencies. Their unique experiences in pharmacy make them valuable members of any team.

In conclusion, this day was started by pharmacy technicians to bring attention to all the hard work pharmacy technicians do to keep patients safe and satisfied. A pharmacy technician has to be flexible and fill many roles in the pharmacy. A pharmacy without technicians would not be able to function.

Pharmacy technicians fill so many more roles than the traditional retail pharmacy job. With that, be sure to let your pharmacy technicians know you appreciate the work they do on October 19.

National-Pharmacy-Technician-Day (1)

 

Post to Twitter

Leave a Reply