Preparing for REGULATION OF PHARMACY TECHNICIANS: What you can do now.
Many pharmacy technicians have been asking what they can be doing now, to prepare for registration with the College now that legislation has been introduced regarding the Registered Pharmacy Technician designation (R.Ph.T.).
Efforts to establish the requirements for individuals planning to seek registration with the College continue and highlights were shared at the district meetings held this past fall.
Although many details are yet to be determined, those attending the meetings found it helpful to hear about the anticipated process. Four major steps were described for those pharmacy technicians currently working (or studying), who wish to pursue the new R.Ph.T designation.
Completion of the current OCP certification exam is the first requirement. This will establish your eligibility to enter the bridging education program; a requirement for anyone choosing to advance toward registration as an R.Ph.T. Individuals who have already achieved and maintained their C.Ph.T. designation have completed this first stage and will be able to move on to the next stage when it becomes available next year. Individuals who have not completed the certification exam, can start the process now by reviewing the application requirements, available on the website at www.ocpinfo.com.
Although details of the bridging programs are not yet available, all pharmacy technicians will be required to complete some additional learning in order to be prepared to fulfill the full scope of the new role. In order to allow pharmacy technicians to continue to work as they move through this part of the process, a variety of teaching models and methods will be explored with the providers of these programs. The College also recognizes that the extent of bridging education that will be required will vary among current technicians who come from various educational and work experience backgrounds. We will attempt to design a program that strikes a balance at meeting these needs while establishing consistency of knowledge and skill across the group.
Once individuals have completed the bridging programs, they will be prepared to take the entry-to-practice exam. This examination, currently in early stages of development, will be administered by the Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada (PEBC) and is expected to include a written and practical or performance-based component. The College is working in partnership with PEBC to develop this national examination which is expected to be available late in 2009. Successful completion of the entry-to-practice exam will then allow individuals to move on to the final stage of the process; registration with the College. We anticipate registration of the first group of R.Ph.T.’s will take place early in 2010.
Results of the OCP Survey on the Regulation of Pharmacy Technicians
Strong Support Shared by Pharmacy Technicians and Pharmacy Owners/Managers
Pharmacy technicians and owners/managers indicated a strong commitment for the regulation initiative in their response to the College survey last summer. Over 3,200 pharmacy technicians and 1000 pharmacy owners/managers participated providing the College with a sound and representative sample from which to draw conclusions. Thank you to everyone who contributed to this successful response!
Over 50% of pharmacy technicians responded they would be very likely to pursue the new role and designation of a registered pharmacy technician, despite the potential barriers to do so (figure 1 and 2). This commitment was supported by pharmacy technicians ranking personal growth/job satisfaction as the principal reason for wanting to earn the designation (figure 3).
Pharmacy technicians also told us they would prefer that bridging programs be offered in a flexible format that includes a mix of full and part-time course options and a variety of delivery methods including online courses and classroom instruction.
These survey results have provided us with a wealth of information that will help us understand who intends to seek the registered pharmacy technician designation. Not surprisingly, certified pharmacy technicians, regardless of educational background are significantly more likely to pursue this new role. Survey respondents also represent a younger population (60% with less than 10 years work experience and 50% under age 35) (figure 4 and 5). The strong support demonstrated by all respondents reinforces the need for the College to develop a transition process that will be suited to all age groups, educational backgrounds and current work environments.
Pharmacy owners/managers also demonstrated strong support for the regulation initiative with a high percentage (71.6%) indicating that they believe regulated pharmacy technicians will add value to the operation of the pharmacy and even more (77.1%) indicating that they will support their staff to pursue the new designation. While it was more difficult for owners/managers to speak to the future impact on compensation and productivity in the pharmacy, even these responses were more likely to be on the positive end of the scale.
One of the more difficult conclusions to draw from the survey is the determination of how many pharmacy technicians are currently working in the profession. Assuming the survey responses came from about one third of the existing pharmacies (1097) and were broadly representative of the whole group, we can presume there are about three times the number we received feedback from. This means there are approximately 20,000 pharmacy technicians working in pharmacies in Ontario at present (11,800 full-time and 8,600 part-time). With more than 50% of survey respondents planning to complete the requirements necessary to become registered pharmacy technicians, the College can quite confidently continue to develop the programs necessary to prepare this group to assume the new role and designation.
