Prepare Your Team for Future Job Roles

Sixty-one percent of adult Americans take at least one prescription medication, with 27% taking four or more.¹ Pharmacy technician training can prepare pharmacy technicians for the critical role of providing these medicines. Read more below to find out how.

The Growing Scope of Pharmacy Technicians

Pharm techs are known primarily for helping pharmacists prepare and dispense prescription medications; however, they often do so much more. As their responsibilities evolve, the right training programs can provide them the training and insight to better support the customers

Expanding functions

The National Healthcareer Association (NHA) advised that pharm techs today are also acting as patient advocates.³ They help streamline the prescription drug process, protect patients and customers from potential drug interactions, promote medication adherence, and serve as a health ally.

Taking leadership roles

Pharm techs aren’t just performing more management functions. The Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) reports that they’re also pursuing more opportunities to “shape the profession’s future.”⁴ The PTCB indicates that twenty states (plus Washington, D.C.) have added pharmacy technician seats to their boards, enabling these professionals to review and recommend policies that directly affect their roles.

Supporting personalized medicine

An emerging pharmaceutical trend involves the use of personalized medicine. Sometimes referred to as precision medicine, this patient-centered approach enables physicians to prescribe drugs in specific doses or suggest unique therapeutic regimens based on a patient’s genetic profile.⁵

Specialty pharmacies play a role in this process by creating the precise formulations of drugs prescribed.⁶ Pharmacy technicians studying in this niche can further this effort by coordinating medication shipments and providing patients with support, education, and prior authorization assistance.⁷

Keeping up with technological advancements

Pharmacy technicians must also stay up to date on pharmaceutical technology like automated dispensing systems (ADS). ADS enable pharmacy technicians to dispense medications accurately and efficiently, according to the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP), reducing the risk of errors while freeing technicians to handle other tasks.⁸

As the use of artificial intelligence or AI in healthcare grows, its potential applications in pharmacies also expand. This emerging field is known as pharmacointelligence and can help streamline distribution processes.⁹ When utilized, it’s important that pharm techs understand this technology, including both its advantages and limitations.

Pharmacy Technician Training Should Prepare Your Employees for These Changes, and More

An effective training program prepares your employees for their current roles, and also increases their confidence and skills to work in a field that is constantly evolving. Learners should complete their training feeling assured in their ability to perform required duties and prepared for a position that will grow and change.

When pharmacy tech training includes certification prep, learners can gain confidence about navigating the certification process — since 85% of allied health employers require pharmacy technicians to be certified.³ Your employees are given the opportunity to become familiar with and learn about the steps involved, knowledge areas assessed, exam format, and more.

Why Provide Pharmacy Technician Training as a Healthcare Employer?

More than 70% of allied healthcare employers invest in training programs for their teams.¹⁰ This approach provides several organizational advantages:

• Promotes training consistency. Utilizing the same pharmacy tech training program for all your team members ensures they each receive the same type, level, and quality of instruction.
• Improves patient outcomes. Pharmacy technicians can positively impact patient outcomes by assisting with medication management, building trust, and contributing to an efficient prescription drug process.¹¹
• Closes skill gaps. Select a customizable training program, like Nasium Training’s healthcare workforce solutions, and you can personalize the course to address your specific pharmacy technician skills gaps.
• Improves efficiency. Training helps boost employees’ knowledge, skills, and confidence, leading to improvements in employee efficiency and performance.¹²
• Enhances retention. Research suggests that offering career development opportunities can reduce healthcare worker burnout, which helps lower turnover rates while increasing job satisfaction and loyalty.¹³
• Aids in recruitment. More than one in four job seekers consider professional development a top-three priority when evaluating a job offer, according to a 2024 survey by ResumeGenius.¹⁴

3 Ways Healthcare Organizations Can Utilize Pharmacy Technician Training

Pharmacy technician demand is projected to grow 7% between 2023 and 2033, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), creating roughly 47,400 openings each year, on average.¹⁵ Contributing factors include an aging population and increased chronic disease prevalence, both resulting in a greater need for prescription medications.

Elevated demand coupled with recruitment and retention issues can send you in search of pharmacy workforce shortage solutions. Three ways a training program can help with this are:

1. Providing training for new hires. Offering training as part of your pharmacy technician hiring or onboarding process can expand your hiring pool. You’re able to consider a wider range of applicants who may have the work ethic or drive you desire but lack the training needed for this healthcare role.
   
2. Reskilling current employees into pharmacy technician roles. Do you have team members interested in working as pharmacy techs? Offering them access to training can help you address worker shortages while encouraging top performers to stay with your organization longer.
3. Upskilling current employees already in this role. Maybe you have individuals working as pharm techs, but they lack the skills or confidence to perform their jobs efficiently. Pharmacy technician upskilling can better prepare them for their roles. Other benefits of upskilling your healthcare team can include attracting top talent, boosting employee engagement, and increasing productivity.¹⁷

Let’s Talk About Your Pharmacy Technician Training Needs

Whether your goal is to train, reskill, upskill, or even cross-train your healthcare staff, Nasium Training offers a variety of workforce solutions — one of which is our online Pharmacy Technician Training course.

This course can be completed by your employees in 24 weeks and covers relevant topics such as federal pharmaceutical requirements, medication compounding procedures, error prevention strategies, infection control, and more. Our Pharmacy Technician Training course also prepares your employees to sit for the ExCPT and PTCB certification exams. (Learners must meet eligibility requirements for applicable certification exams.)

Why choose Nasium Training?

Our high-value training approach sets your team up for success, providing an enhanced learner experience with a variety of tools designed to improve employee competency and confidence.

When you choose Nasium Training, you get more than a healthcare workforce solution provider. You receive a partner who is committed to the success of your team and organization, working with you to address your top workforce needs.

Contact us to learn more or to discuss how our pharmacy technician training can help you meet your desired goals.