Report of the 2013-2014 Professional Affairs Standing Committee: Advancing the Pharmacy Profession Together through Pharmacy Technician and Pharmacy Education Partnerships
BACKGROUND AND CHARGES According to the Bylaws of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP), the Professional Affairs Committee is to study issues associated with the professional practice as they relate to pharmaceutical education, and to establish and improve working relationships with all other organizations in the field of health affairs. The Committee is also encouraged to address related agenda items relevant to its Bylaws charge and to identify issues for consideration by subsequent committees, task forces, commissions, or other groups. President Peggy Piascik established the theme for 2013-2014 as "the relentless pursuit of excellence." (1) President Piascik acknowledges that academic pharmacy is at the crossroads of many areas of change, including the continuing evolution of pharmacy as a profession, how health care is delivered in America and rapid changes in higher education. As the roles of pharmacists continue to change, pharmacy technician roles must also evolve, necessitating changes in pharmacy technician training and education. Specifically, the 2013-2014 Professional Affairs Committee is charged to: (1) Describe the elements that should be present in a quality technician education/ training program; (2) Identify potential role(s) of pharmacy academic institutions and pharmacy faculty in the education, training, and certification of pharmacy technicians; and (3) Recommend strategies to develop collaborations/relationships between schools/colleges of pharmacy and pharmacy technician education/training programs to advance pharmacy practice in the evolving health care system. Members of the Professional Affairs Committee (PAC) include faculty representing multiple disciplines from various schools/colleges of pharmacy, a coordinator from an American Society of Health-Systems Pharmacists (ASHP) accredited pharmacy technician education/ training program as well as professional staff from ASHP, the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) and the Pharmacy Technician Educators Council (PTEC). Prior to an in-person meeting of the committee, pertinent background information and resource materials were distributed, and a conference call was held to develop a strategy for addressing committee charges. The committee members met for a day and a half in Crystal City, Virginia on October 28-29, 2013, to discuss the various facets related to this issue as well as to develop a process and strategies for addressing the charges. Following the process development and delegation of assignments related to the committee charges, the PAC communicated via electronic communications, as well as through personal exchanges via telephone and email. The result is the following report, which discusses the elements and importance of a well educated and trained pharmacy technician workforce and also provides information on current collaborations between schools/ colleges of pharmacy and pharmacy technician education/ training programs. Disseminating the purpose and framework behind these collaborations may assist members of the academy to identify potential strategies and roles for schools/colleges of pharmacy in the education, training and certification of pharmacy technicians. In addition, these examples may help to guide the development of these collaborations at other member institutions. Pharmacy technicians are viable members of the health care sector and are necessary to the pharmacy profession for pharmacists to satisfy the Joint Commissioners of Pharmacy Practice (JCPP)Vision for Pharmacy Practice: (2) Patients achieve optimal health and medication outcomes with pharmacists as essential and accountable providers within patient-centered, team-based health care. Charge 1: Describe the elements that should be present in a quality technician education/training program A pharmacy technician is an individual who, under the supervision of a licensed pharmacist, assists in pharmacy activities that do not require the professional judgment of a pharmacist. …