• Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

medsafetyonline

A forum for caregivers and pharmacy professionals concerned with patient and provider safety.

  • About
  • Post Index
  • Resources
  • RxTOOLKIT®
  • Current Events
  • Contact

More Than Just a Pharmacy Technician

July 16, 2019 by admin Leave a Comment

The following guest post was written by Joanne Adam, a certified pharmacy technician. We are grateful to Joanne for sharing her story and helping others to understand how important the role of pharmacy technician has become, especially in our nation’s hospitals.

 

When I first started out as a pharmacy technician, people would ask me, “What do you do for a living?” and I would often answer, “I am just a pharmacy technician.” When I think of the many changes that have happened over the 30+ years I have been working in as a tech, I certainly need to re-think my original answer!

Over time, I have seen the role of a pharmacy technician, in the hospital setting, evolve from clerk and typist into critical and important member of the pharmacy team. As my role changed, my attitude about my work also changed. I realized that what I did was important and had a direct impact on the safety and welfare on the patients I was helping to care for.

There are many opportunities for technicians to expand their skill sets, especially in a hospital environment: from stocking automated dispensing machines to repackaging and relabeling medications, from learning to make intravenous infusions to mixing chemotherapy drugs, from shooting IVs by hand to the latest in robotic technology – the possibilities are vast!

While many states don’t require it, getting your certification as a pharmacy technician is a great first step to begin a career in health care. Once you are placed in a job, continuing education builds on that training along with the experience you gain working with other technicians and pharmacists. I’ve taken away many new techniques and procedures from the people that I have worked with along the way.

If I could give some words of advice to someone thinking about becoming a pharmacy technician, I would say, “Learn as much as you can!” There is never a job too small to learn. Also, “Ask questions!” To ask is to better understand how and why something works. Lastly, “Can you show me how it’s done?” If you are shown how a task is done, you have an opportunity to learn a new skill and then you can take that skill with you.

It can be a stressful job and it’s essential to stay focused and get it correct. With a dedication to learn and the guidance of a good pharmacy team, the hard work can be very rewarding.

I take great pride in my job because I want to do the right thing for the patient and for myself.  There is great satisfaction in knowing that by delivering a stat medication to a nurse or preparing an IV needed for a critical NICU baby, that I was truly able to help someone in need.

As I think back about my career in pharmacy, I realize I am so much more than “just a pharmacy technician”! I am a certified pharmacy technician and a truly valuable member of the healthcare team.

 


Are you looking for an affordable and accessible career opportunity in healthcare?

Become a Certified Pharmacy Technician!

On Sale this Summer! Pharmacy Technicians University is the best-in-class online training program for pharmacy techs. Don’t miss out on the your chance to save, use coupon code: SUMMER25 to claim your discount in our online shop before it expires.

For more information about pharmacy technician certification please visit: https://rxtoolkitelearning.com/ptu/

To enroll in Pharmacy Technicians University and prepare to take the national certification exam from the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board, please visit: https://rxtoolkitelearning.com/shop/

 

 

Related Posts on medsafetyonline.org

Filed Under: Personal Stories Tagged With: awareness, medication safety, NICU, patient and provider safety, pharmacy technician

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Connect With Us Online

Thanks For Dropping By!

Join the dis­cus­sion by leav­ing com­ments, sub­mit a discussion topic, or share your story for us to print.

PLEASE NOTE:

Posting or commenting on medsafetyonline.org is not a substitute for reporting medication errors through ISMP-MERP.

Let’s Stay In Touch

We promise never to share your address! You will only receive an email when a new post is added.

Recent Posts

  • Are You Ready to Prepare and Administer COVID-19 Vaccines and Therapies?
  • Introducing RxWORKFLOW for Vaccine Safety™
  • Tools to Support Success
  • More Than Just a Pharmacy Technician
  • Reflections on the Future of Infusion Safety

Categories

  • Competency
  • Labeling
  • Medication Safety
  • Personal Stories
  • Pharmacy Law
  • Pharmacy Technology

Footer

The Latest Posts

  • Are You Ready to Prepare and Administer COVID-19 Vaccines and Therapies?
  • Introducing RxWORKFLOW for Vaccine Safety™
  • Tools to Support Success
  • More Than Just a Pharmacy Technician

Connect With Us Online

Looking For Something?

Follow Us On Twitter

My Tweets

Copyright © 2021 medsafetyonline.org All rights reserved. Site design and production DNC.media