Success of an expedited health system–based pharmacy technician training program to address the workforce needs of an institution
Authors: Vest Tyler A , Kelm Matthew J 
Published: May 2024

Purpose

The formation, implementation, outcomes, and impact on retention of a health system–based pharmacy technician training program are described. The program seeks to produce graduates who are well equipped for employment within the health system and eligible for certification by the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board, thereby developing a consistent source of well-trained technicians to meet the needs of the health system.

The program’s ideal candidate is one who is seeking to begin or transition to a career in health-system pharmacy. The affordable accredited program provides candidates with the skills needed to become a certified pharmacy technician. A distinguishing feature of the program design is the pace of the curriculum, designed to be completed in 11 weeks. The program is accredited by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists and the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education at the entry-level accreditation standard. The program is structured to enroll 3 cohorts annually, beginning in April, August, and January. This provides a consistent and dependable bolus of graduates for hiring managers across the health system’s pharmacy department. The program supports enrollment by internal and external candidates. In addition to didactic content, the simulation component of the program combines remote and onsite simulations. Following completion of the didactic and simulation content, students receive 2 blocks of acute and ambulatory care shadowing for 111 hours over 2.5 weeks of experiential content. The program realized benefits by partnering with an external digital content provider. First, the platform enabled the team to accelerate the time to program launch. A second benefit of the platform is the ability to conduct the program and update content. In April 2018, the institution launched the program to meet pharmacy technician needs within the organization. As of April 2022, 11 cohorts have successfully completed the program, with a total of 41 graduates. At the time of writing, the retention rate in the health system for those beginning the training program in April 2018 was an impressive 90%. In comparison, the overall retention rate for the pharmacy department during this same period was 31%. The program has a graduation rate of 93% and a job placement rate as a pharmacy technician of 90%. The institution believes that this program has helped provide a consistent supply of well-trained technicians to meet the needs of the health system and that the program provides a superior level of clinical training to technician students at an affordable price. The program represents a novel strategy to efficiently and effectively train pharmacy technicians and has been demonstrated to result in improvements to the health system.

Conclusion

Establishing a pharmacy technician training program provides a mechanism to ensure continuity and uniformity as healthcare continues to evolve. By providing a source of well-trained pharmacy technicians, the program allows the profession to continue to achieve its overarching aims.