A new Florida law will regulate the competency of personnel dispensing medications at Floridas pharmacies whether at a hospital, commercial chain store or other outlet.
With the stroke of his pen in early July, Gov. Charlie Crist made Florida the latest state to approve more stringent training certification for the growing number of pharmacy technicians. As outlined in Florida Senate Bill 1360, which passed the Senate unopposed and the House of Representatives by 96 percent, pharmacy technicians will need to register with the Florida Board of Pharmacy by 2010 in order to obtain a job. Additionally, by 2011, pharmacy technicians will need to complete state-mandated training. Options for satisfying this requirement include completing a board-approved training program; performing 1,500 hours of work as a technician under a Florida licensed pharmacist; or achieving national certification According to the experts at Corinthian Colleges Inc., which offers pharmacy technician training at five South Florida Everest campuses, these new provisions will have a ripple effect. Pharmacy technician jobs like many in the allied health care field are recession-resilient. In fact, the National Pharmacy Technician Association estimates more than 39,000 pharmacy technician jobs open nationally each year. That estimate, coupled with current job growth rate of more than 28 percent, means demand for pharmacy technician education will skyrocket. “These new stipulations will further cement the direction that we are seeing in the field,” says Alyssa Landis pharmacy technician program director with Everest Institute in Miami. “Pharmacy technicians are no longer simply assistants to pharmacists, they are now full-fledged pharmaceutical professionals and, as-such, they need proper training.” Typically, pharmacy technicians are responsible for measuring, recording and labeling medications. They are also assuming more administrative duties that were usually handled by pharmacists, including updating patient profiles, preparing insurance claims and taking inventory of pharmacy stock. This shift in responsibilities means pharmacists can focus more on patient care, while pharmacy technicians refer questions regarding prescriptions, drug information or health matters to them. “At Everest, we really stress the potential of pharmacy technician as a career option and the importance of an accredited training program,” adds Sonja Peoples externship coordinator/instructor for the pharmacy technician program with Everest University in Pompano Beach. Everest students are given hands-on opportunities in classroom and laboratory settings to study many facets associated with these jobs. Training focuses on pertinent areas of study including pharmaceutical calculations; pharmacy administration; pharmacology; nutrition; anatomy/physiology, and health care systems. South Florida campuses offering pharmacy technician training are: Everest University in Pompano Beach and Everest Institutes in Fort Lauderdale, Hialeah, Kendall and Miami.
