Celebrating Australia’s essential pharmacy technicians
Employed in 95% of Australian hospital pharmacies, hospital pharmacy technicians are being celebrated this week by the Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia (SHPA) as integral members of care teams around the country.
Marking National Pharmacy Technician Day on Tuesday 15 October, SHPA has released a special video showcasing the insights and experiences of some technician members, exactly one month until Medicines Management 2019 (MM2019), the 45th SHPA National Conference will again feature a dedicated Technician Stream.
SHPA Chief Executive Kristin Michaels says while pharmacy technician roles and responsibilities vary from hospital to hospital and state to state, the focus is the same.
‘Regardless of work setting, pharmacy technicians deliver precise technical services as an essential part of hospital pharmacy departments focused on patient care.
‘National Pharmacy Technician Day is a great reminder to pause and take stock of the enormous value our technicians bring to the hospital pharmacy workforce, from day-to-day support to contributing to improving policy, procedures and prescribing practices within hospital settings.’
Ms Michaels says this year will see a national award granted to a pharmacy technician as part of the inaugural SHPA Members’ Awards.
‘We are looking forward to announcing the 2019 SHPA Technician of the Year, determined via member vote, at MM2019, which will be held 14–16 November on the Gold Coast.
‘Once again, the SHPA National Conference will feature a stream devoted to technicians and pharmacy assistants, as well as a number of lightning talks focused on innovations in the profession.
In 2017, SHPA welcomed technicians as voting members and we remain committed to advocating for the growth of technician and pharmacy assistant roles, as part of efforts to advance Australia’s pharmacy workforce.’
To support National Pharmacy Technician Day, SHPA’s A4 poster is available to print and display, while the SHPA social media tile can be used to spread the work via @the_shpa and #PharmacyTechnicianDay.