Building the pharmacy technician pipeline: Collaboration between a secondary education pharmacy technician training program and academic medical center

PURPOSE: Health systems continue to face pharmacy technician workforce shortages, which may negatively impact their ability to provide care for patients efficiently. Pharmacy technicians have a supportive role to pharmacists in medication distribution and preparation processes. Healthcare organizations must seek opportunities to increase the number of qualified applicants to ensure adequate staffing and competency. Recruitment and retention of pharmacy technicians is an ongoing challenge faced by many pharmacy practice settings. SUMMARY: Pharmacy technicians have a critical role on the healthcare team in terms of delivery and coordination of medication therapy and medication safety. The responsibilities of pharmacy technicians have become more specialized and require adequate education and training to ensure competency in job duties. During a workforce shortage, health systems are forced to identify new avenues to address challenges in pharmacy technician staffing. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of the collaboration of a secondary education pharmacy technician training program and an academic medical center on pharmacy technician recruitment and retention efforts. CONCLUSION: This article details the collaboration of West Virginia University Hospitals and a local secondary education pharmacy technician training program, which created opportunities to enhance the employment pipeline and increased competency for the pharmacy technician workforce.