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The New ASHP Pharmacy Technician Forum

By Paul Abramowitz posted 10-18-2017 08:53

  

I am very happy to inform you of the recent unanimous decision by the ASHP Board of Directors to create a new ASHP Pharmacy Technician Forum! ASHP has always had a pharmacy technician membership category, and we currently have many pharmacy technician members. However, our goal for the Pharmacy Technician Forum is to create a much more well-defined membership home for pharmacy technicians, which provides enhanced educational, training, and career opportunities for a very important segment of our pharmacy workforce.


I think we all agree that pharmacy technicians are one of the cornerstones supporting the advancement of pharmacy practice and the safe use of medications. With a pharmacy technician workforce that has accredited training and is certified, pharmacists will be able to spend the majority of their time providing direct patient care. Pharmacy technicians are extremely well-positioned to manage the vast majority of medication preparation and distributive activities in pharmacies, along with other advanced technician functions on patient care units and in clinics. ASHP wants to do everything it can to help pharmacy technicians assume these important roles.


ASHP has been a leader in advancing the roles of pharmacy technicians for decades, and we are eager to take things to the next level with the new ASHP Pharmacy Technician Forum. We want to engage our technician colleagues in meaningful ways, hear their needs, and design services that help them elevate their careers. A consistently educated, certified, and eventually licensed pharmacy technician workforce benefits the public and patients, other providers, healthcare organizations, and the entire pharmacy profession. It also helps create a clear pathway for individuals who wish to make being a pharmacy technician a career.  


We plan to have the new Pharmacy Technician Forum up and running in early 2018. We will be reaching out to pharmacy technicians and encouraging them to become members of ASHP, which will include a wide array of opportunities to grow personally and professionally. All current pharmacy technician members of ASHP will automatically be members of the new forum, and others will be invited to join and become part of something that seeks to further elevate the role of the pharmacy technician to new heights.       


I hope everyone shares our excitement about the new ASHP Pharmacy Technician Forum. It is noteworthy that it is happening now at the conclusion of our 75th anniversary year, the tagline of which is “Creating the Future.”


Thanks for being a member of the fastest-growing and most forward-looking organization in pharmacy, and for everything you do for your patients and our profession.   


Sincerely,


Paul





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02-17-2018 13:58

Very glad to see progress for Pharmacy Technicians and I am looking forward to witnessing the progress.

01-16-2018 13:38

​This a fabulous start to advance the roles of Pharmacy Technicians. I look forward to becoming involved.

01-10-2018 15:07

​Looking forward to seeing this proceed.

12-07-2017 13:57

This is a wonderful start! I look forward to seeing what develops in this forum!