PHARMACY TECHNICIAN TRAINING REQUIREMENTS. Frequently Asked Questions

Transcription

1 PHARMACY TECHNICIAN TRAINING REQUIREMENTS Frequently Asked Questions Question: If I first registered as a pharmacy technician before January 1, 2013, do I need to meet the training requirement? Answer: If you were first registered as a pharmacy technician before January 1, 2013 and if you had an active registration for calendar year 2012, you do not need to complete the training requirement. If you did not have an active registration for calendar year 2012, you may have to meet the new training requirement. Here are some examples: You first registered as a pharmacy technician in 2006 and have maintained an active registration continuously since then, never letting your registration lapse. You do not need to meet the new training requirement. You first registered as a pharmacy technician in You let your registration lapse from 2008 through 2010, but renewed it for 2011 and You have had an active registration since You do not need to meet the new training requirement. You first registered as a pharmacy technician in 2006 and had an active registration until December 31, You did not renew your registration for calendar year 2012, so your registration lapsed for longer than 12 months. You now want to reinstate your registration. You have never completed a technician training program that meets the new training requirement standards. You will need to meet the new training requirement and complete board-approved training.

2 You first registered as a pharmacy technician in 2006 and had an active registration until December 31, You did not renew your registration for calendar year 2012, so your registration lapsed for longer than 12 months. You now want to reinstate your registration. Unlike the previous example, you have completed a technician training program that meets the new training requirement standards. (For example, you completed an ASHP accredited training program sometime in the past). You do not need to complete any additional training after you reinstate your registration. Question: I first registered before January 1, 2013 and I have been registered continuously for several years. If I let my license go inactive, will I need to complete the training requirement if I decide to reinstate my license at some time in the future? Answer: Maybe, it depends on whether or not you have ever completed acceptable training and how long your registration was inactive. If you let your registration go inactive for longer than 12 months and if you have never completed training that would be considered Board approved, you would need to meet the new training requirement and complete Board approved training. If your registration was inactive for less than 12 months or if you have completed training that would be considered Board approved at some time in the past, you would not need to meet the requirement and would not need to take additional training.

3 Question: I have never been registered as a pharmacy technician by the Minnesota Board of Pharmacy. However, I was registered and worked as a pharmacy technician in another state. Do I have to meet the training requirement? Answer: Maybe. If you have never completed a training program that would be considered Board approved, you will have to meet the training requirement. If you have completed a program that would be considered Board approved, you will not need to complete additional training. Question: I have never been registered as a pharmacy technician by the Minnesota Board of Pharmacy. However, I am currently certified as a pharmacy technician by PTCB or ExCPT/NHA. Do I have to meet the training requirement? Answer: Yes, because certified technicians are not exempt from the training requirement. Question: I have found an online pharmacy technician training program but it does not require any "hands on" training, such as an internship. Does that program meet the requirements for an approved pharmacy technician training program? Answer: No. To be approved, pharmacy technician training programs offered by technical/vocational institutions and colleges must have an experiential or "hands on" training component, such as an internship.

4 Question: I have already completed a pharmacy technician training program offered by a vocational/technical institution, college or online provider. (Or I am currently enrolled in such a program). However, it appears that the program I completed (or am enrolled in) does not meet the Board's standards for approval. Is there any way that I can use that program to meet the training requirement? Answer: You can submit a variance request to the Board by downloading, filling out and submitting a variance request form, which can be found at: Question: Does the Board maintain a list of approved vocational/technical institutions and colleges? Answer: No, the Board does not maintain a list of approved vocational/technical institutions and colleges. You may want to contact an institution or college that you are interested in to determine whether or not it meets the criteria adopted by the Board for vocational/technical institutions and colleges. Those criteria are: A vocational/technical institution or college will be considered board-approved for the purpose of providing pharmacy technician training if: 1. The pharmacy technician training program is accredited by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists; or 2. The following conditions are met: a. The institution or college, or the pharmacy technician training program, is accredited by an accrediting agency that is recognized by the United States Department of Education;

5 b. Students attending the institution or college are eligible to receive federal financial aid; and c. The pharmacy technician training program includes an experiential component, with technicians being trained under the supervision of a pharmacist. Accrediting agencies recognized by the U.S. Department of Education can be found at the following Web site: Question: Can an employer-based training program make use of materials produced by other organizations? Answer: Yes. So far, the Board has approved two programs that can be used as part of an employer-based training program. These programs can only be used for the written or didactic portion of the training. A pharmacy that relies on one of these programs must also develop a formal experiential or hands-on training component. These three programs are: o Pharmacy Technicians University. This is an online program that has been developed by the publisher of Pharmacists Letter. The link to the program Web site is: cs=&s=ptu&mobile=0. o The National Pharmacy Technician Training Program (7 th Edition). The

6 Web site for this program is: o Mosby s Pharmacy Technician Principles and Practice, by Teresa Hopper. The textbook, workbook and e-book are available. Question: Can an employer refuse to interview or hire me if I have not completed the required training? Don't they have to provide me with training? Answer: The new rules do not require employers to offer employer-based training. Employers are allowed to offer such training, but are not required to do so. Instead, they are allowed to hire only those individuals who have received technician training through one of the other allowed training options. Question: Of the 240 hours of required training; how many must be theoretical (written) and how many must be practical (hands-on)? Answer: The Board has not specified a breakdown in regards to the number of hours that need to be spent on theoretical versus practical training. The length of time spent on theoretical training should be sufficient to cover all of the minimum topics that the Board has specified. Question: What does a facility need to do to obtain Board approval for their employerbased training program? Answer: The Board will not approve training programs. A facility would need to develop and regularly update a technician training manual. The minimum standards for employer-based training, adopted by the Board at the June 20, 2012 meeting, can be found on the Boards website:

7 The manual would need to be available for review by the Pharmacy Surveyors and will be reviewed based on meeting the Board adopted standards referenced above.