THE PHARMACY TECHNICIAN EDUCATION AND TRAINING
TABLET
PTAC Biannual Meeting
October 24-25, 2023 Bethesda, Maryland
Program Accreditation/Reaccreditation
The ASHP and ACPE Boards of Directors approved the following
survey site visit reports reviewed by the commission for
accreditation: 12 new programs and 12 previously accredited
programs seeking reaccreditation. Midterm reports (5) and special
case reports (18) were also reviewed along with 22 applications
for new program directors. As of the date of the meeting,
247 programs are in the accreditation process which includes
accredited programs and programs in candidate status.
Congratulations to the following programs that were granted
initial accreditation or reaccreditation!
IN THIS ISSUE
PTAC Biannual Meeting
October 24-25, 2023
- Program Accreditation and
Reaccreditation Approvals
- Promotion of the Pharmacy
Technician Profession to High
School Students
- Review of Credit for Prior
Learning (CPL) and Non-
traditional Pharmacy
Technician Education and
Training Programs
- PTCB Update
- Annual Survey Update
- Standard Revision 2024-2025
- Toolkit for Advancement of
Pharmacy Technicians
- Pharmacy Technician
Program Director and
Preceptor Education
- NEW: The Pharmacy
Technician Society (TPTS)
Reminder: ASHP/ACPE Online
Directory Revisions
Resources, Products, and
Services
Upcoming Meetings:
- PTAC Biannual Meeting—
April 30-May 1, 2024 in
Bethesda, Maryland
Spring 2024
Vol. 23, Issue 1
Published by the Accreditation Services Oce | American Society of Health-System Pharmacists
®
4500 East-West Highway, Suite 900, Bethesda, MD 20814 | 301.657.3000 | www.ashp.org
2 American Society of Health-System Pharmacists
Initial Accreditation
• Western Colorado Community College Grand Junction, Colorado
• University of Iowa Health Care Iowa City, Iowa
• Harris Teeter Matthews, North Carolina
• University Hospitals Cleveland, Ohio
• University of the Incarnate Word, San Antonio, Texas
Feik School of Pharmacy
• Chesapeake Career Center Chesapeake, Virginia
• New Horizons Regional Education Centers Newport News, Virginia
• Tidewater Community College Portsmouth, Virginia
• Richmond Technical Center Richmond, Virginia
• Inova Health System Fairfax, Virginia
• Academies of Loudoun Leesburg, Virginia
• Wenatchee Valley College Wenatchee, Washington
Reaccreditation
• Arizona College of Allied Health Glendale, Arizona
• Arizona College Mesa, Arizona
• Cerritos College Norwalk, California
• Charles A. Jones Career and Education Center Sacramento, California
Sacramento City Unified School District
• Cosumnes River College Sacramento, California
• Central Louisiana Technical Community College Ferriday, Louisiana
• Charter Health Care Training Center Flint, Michigan
• Thrifty White Pharmacy Plymouth, Minnesota
• North Dakota State College of Science Wahpeton, North Dakota
• Northwest Career College Las Vegas, Nevada
• Midlands Technical College West Columbia, South Carolina
• Mountainland Applied Technology College Lehi, Utah
Promotion of the Pharmacy Technician Profession to High School Students
The PTAC subcommittee comprised of Matthew Kelm, Matthew Rewald, Nichole
Foster, Janet Kozakiewicz, Amisha Arya, Sheri Fulfer, and Lisa Lifshin met to investigate
how to promote the pharmacy profession to high school students. Matthew Kelm
connected with MAPP (Motivational Appraisal Personal Potential) organization that
develops career assessment tests. MAPP oered to include additional “product keys”
to enable better customization and information about pharmacy technician roles that
may increase identification of pharmacy technician as a career path on test takers’
profiles. Other activities to promote the career path of pharmacy technicians include
development of an info-gram by Amisha Arya and Sheri Fulfer that can be shared
with high school guidance counselors, state pharmacy aliates, and other interested
The Pharmacy Technician Education and Training Tablet 3
parties to promote the pharmacy technician
profession and the benefits of this role
as a potential employment and career
opportunity.
Review of Credit for Prior Learning
(CPL) and Non-traditional Pharmacy
Education and Training Programs
Matthew Helm provided an update of the
pilot for prior learning credit conducted
through the Duke University Health System
Pharmacy Technology Training Program.
Future initiatives for CPL include a pilot at
the Mayo Clinics led by Matthew Rewald,
investigation of opportunities for a pilot
within the grocery store pharmacy environment, a pilot at NYU Langone and a pilot at
Yale New Haven.
The determination of the role CPL with play in the upcoming standards revision is to be
determined once more data is available.
PTCB Update
Ryan Burke, Director of Professional Aairs at PTCB, provided an update on PTCB’s
job analysis report for 2024. PTCE pass rates among graduates from ASHP/ACPE-
accredited programs, non- accredited programs, and exam takers who listed work
experience as their primary source of training. More analysis is needed to determine the
impact of COVID and other factors on pass rates.
Annual Survey Update
The Annual Survey was distributed in July 2023 with 91% of programs responding. Key
takeaways include:
• The majority of graduates gained employment
• Growth in accredited health-system technician education and training programs
doubled between 2022 and 2023 (from 15 to 30)
• 25 of 30 health system programs surveyed indicated they had diculty recruiting
pharmacy technicians prior to implementing a technician and training program at
their institution
Primary outcomes for the education and training programs were identified:
• Create a predictable source of well-educated and trained pharmacy technicians
• Workforce development enabling institutions to train current employees for
pharmacy technician roles
4 American Society of Health-System Pharmacists
• Increase safety through sucient pharmacy technician support of the enterprise
The annual survey also revealed that program director turnover is a continuing issue
leading to a less than 100% response rate to the Annual Survey which is a required
component of the accreditation process.
Planning for the 2024 Annual Survey is underway with Amy Hyduk-Cardillo, Director
of Operations for Accreditation Services at ASHP; Eric Grace, Director, Standards
Development & Training for ASHP, Amisha Arya, Director of Pharmacy for Regulatory
and Compliance at the NYU Langone Health System, New York City, and Lisa Lifshin.
Key changes include removal of COVID-related questions; addition of questions for
health system programs to help better understand capacity, workforce shortages, and
job retention.
Standard Revision 2024-2025
Tate Trujillo moderated a SWOT analysis to prepare for the upcoming Standards
revision. Areas of discussion included simplifying the standard, removing duplicative
standards, and assessment of oering entry-level and advanced programs. Anticipated
completion of the revised standard is July 2025.
Health System Pharmacy Leaders Toolkit for Advancement of
Pharmacy Technicians
The committee formed to develop a toolkit for the advancement of pharmacy
technicians is continuing its work in multiple areas. The committee members (Janet
Kozakiewicz, Matthew Rewald, Amisha
Arya, Melissa Heigham, Tate Trujillo,
and Lisa Lifshin) presented some initial
components of the toolkit to the PTAC
members for review including information
that will assist pharmacy administrators in
justifying the implementation of an ASHP/
ACPE accredited pharmacy technician
education and training program; examples
of pharmacy technician career ladders/
lattice; compensation structures for
pharmacy technicians; and job descriptions
for program directors. Work to refine the
toolkit is ongoing as PTAC determines the
best method for sharing the information
with health system pharmacy leaders.
The Pharmacy Technician Education and Training Tablet 5
Pharmacy Technician Program Director and Preceptor Education
Members of PTAC discussed the need for educational resources for program directors
and preceptors with key areas identified as understanding how to prepare for surveys,
understanding and implementing the standards, completing required documents, and
other essential areas in maintaining compliance with the accreditation standards. Multiple
methods were discussed and planning for development and implementation is ongoing.
The Pharmacy Technician Society (TPTS)
Hannah Vanderpool provided the Commission with an overview of The Pharmacy
Technician Society (TPTS) a new national membership organization exclusively
dedicated to further elevating pharmacy technician roles in patient care and recognizing
their significant contributions to healthcare. TPTS is the collective voice of pharmacy
technicians who practice in hospital systems, community pharmacies, clinics, and all
other settings. TPTS supports the career advancement and professionalization of the
pharmacy technician workforce through education, networking, policy development,
and advocacy. Please see the following link for more information: https://www.
pharmtechsociety.org/
Reminder: ASHP/ACPE Online Directory
Revisions
Please remember to update your online directory!
It’s essential to review your online directory page each time you receive the Tech Tablet!
This is the way that we maintain our database. The directory provides a valuable
recruitment tool for those looking for those programs that are ASHP/ACPE accredited
or in the accreditation process.
Note: All programs currently have the ability to update their own program information
in the directory with the exception of the program director and organization names.
These items must be reported to asd@ashp.org as soon as possible and oce sta will
update the information listed as exceptions.
6 American Society of Health-System Pharmacists
Resources
Resources for Program Development
Accreditation Standards, Regulations, and Other Tools
Guidance Document
Model Curriculum
Curriculum Crosswalk Example
Applying for Accreditation – Guidelines and Application Form
Informational Videos
10 Key Steps to ASHP / ACPE Pharmacy Technician Education and Training Program
Accreditation (December 2018)
2019 ASHP/ACPE Pharmacy Technician Education and Training Accreditation Standards
(video 1 of 2 – December 2018)
2019 ASHP/ACPE Pharmacy Technician Education and Training Accreditation Standards
(video 2 of 2 – December 2018)
From Application to Site Survey: Beginning the Accreditation Process for Technician
Programs (2022)
Governance
Pharmacy Technician Accreditation Commission (PTAC)
Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB)
Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) Pharmacy Technician Education
Accreditation Collaboration
American Society of Health-system Pharmacists (ASHP)
Education and Workforce Development
The Pharmacy Technician Society
Pharmacy Technician Educators Council (PTEC)
Pharmacy Workforce Center (PWC)
Other Resources
Pharmacy Technician Development: ASHP Store
(search for Pharmacy Technicians under the Topics section)
PTCB’s Practice Tools
The Pharmacy Technician Education and Training Tablet 7
Products and Services
Earn an ASHP Professional Certificate in Sterile Product
Preparation Training
This Professional Certificate program develops the knowledge and skills
necessary to prepare sterile products safely and eectively. Participants will
learn the history and evolution of aseptic processing as it relates to today’s
practice standards and will be taught the behaviors and skills required of all personnel
engaged in compounding sterile products. The program reflects all pending changes
associated with USP Chapter <797> and USP Chapter <800> has eight modules,
provides 17.25 CE hours for pharmacists and technicians.
Learning and Mastering Pharmaceutical Calculations by
Nicholas Ferencz
A valuable supplement to any pharmacy math course or textbook for
students, technicians, or practitioners who look to sharpen their critical
calculation skills.
Aseptic Compounding Technique: Learning and Mastering the Ritual
by Zachary Thomas Jordan
An in-depth guide to all aspects of aseptic compounding work, including
proper hand techniques and maintenance of sterile supplies and equipment.
Introduction to Acute and Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Practice,
Second Edition (used to be called Introduction to Hospital and
Health-System Pharmacy Practice) by David Holdford
This book was originally intended for schools of pharmacy but drew lots of
interest from the technician programs. The second edition was updated to
incorporate more information specific to technicians.
Compounding Sterile Preparations, Fifth Edition by E. Clyde
Buchanan, Philip Schneider, and Ryan Forrey
New updated edition includes information on Chapter 800 and regulations
related to the Drug Quality and Security Act. Seven new chapters and
extensive online references.
Comments and suggestions for upcoming Technician TABLET newsletter articles may
be sent to asd@ashp.org
