Pharmacists rely on pharmacy technicians to assist with accurately dispensing prescriptions and providing information to clients. Texas does not have regulations for the education or training of pharmacy technicians, which may result in mistakes when dispensing prescriptions, causing significant harm to customers. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was assessing formally and informally trained pharmacy technicians' job performance as perceived by licensed pharmacists/managers. Data were collected via face to face interviews with 9 pharmacy managers in Texas to gain insight into their lived experiences of supervising not formally and formally trained technicians. Audio recorded interview data were transcribed and organized using the NVivo software. The job performance theory was used to help understand and interpret the data. Pharmacists/managers indicated that pharmacy technicians who receive formal training, when compared to those who have been informally trained on-the-job, have more knowledge, better job performance, less need for training and supervision, and greater salary and other job related opportunities. All 9 of the respondents indicated that the State of Texas should develop a formal set of professional standards for pharmacy technicians and require a formal certification training program. The potential positive social change of this study is a better understanding of the job training and performance of pharmacy technicians that can improve services to communities.

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This study centered on competencies needed by entry-level automotive technicians. Many students in automotive technician programs immediately seek employment upon program completion. This study is one step toward identifying areas in the automotive technician curriculum that need the most training emphasis.

Medication safety is a key contribution to patient safety in health care settings. Health care researchers and scholars frequently report and discuss nurses medication administration practices or medication errors associated with patients safety in hospitals. Yet there are gaps in published reports about how practitioners view the larger phenomenon of medication safety as it unfolds on a hospital unit. Research is needed to advance our understanding of medication safety as it comes together amidst the interrelated elements in a complex hospital environment, and what practitioners identify and associate with medication safety in this context. In this study, medication safety was explored with participants from nursing and pharmacy departments on one Canadian hospital unit. Using a restorative theoretical approach and citizen science methodology, the researcher engaged in critical conversations with practitioner and decision-maker participants (n=68) to explore elements that support and those that present barriers to medication safety through focus groups, photo walkabouts, on-unit observations, and photo elicitation. Themes from the data revealed that (1) unit structures shape medication safety, (2) medication system design affects medication safety, (3) practitioners embed accountability for medication safety into their practice and processes, (4) unit culture influences medication safety, (5) practitioners devise and employ workarounds to circumvent ongoing barriers to medication safety, and (6) participants envisioned, and in some cases implemented, restorations to improve medication safety on their unit. Findings highlight a range of contextual, interrelated supports for and barriers to medication safety that participants discovered and shared knowledge about on their unit. Participants envisioned medication safety improvements that could be implemented at present and in the future. Workarounds, power, and possibilities for medication safety improvements related to current medication system design in health care systems are discussed.

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Thesis (Ph.D.)--Tufts University, 2001. / Adviser: David M. Gute. Submitted to the Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 106-123). Access restricted to members of the Tufts University community. Also available via the World Wide Web;

Thesis, PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references.

The United States healthcare system faces immense challenges related to cost, quality, and access. As the pharmacy profession addresses these challenges by shifting toward a practice model centered around direct patient care clinical services, a competent and capable technician workforce is needed to support the roles of pharmacists. Until recently, little focus has been paid to pharmacy technicians or their role as they relate to practice model change. With ongoing pharmacist practice transformation, an approach that ensures uniform technician education, training, registration, and certification is vital to support a practice model designed to transform medication management across the continuum of care. The purpose of this commentary is three-fold: to review the history of pharmacy technician training and practice, discuss current and future technician practice models, and examine workforce development implications.

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