November/December 2009 - Ontario College of Pharmacists

editor’s message
Della Croteau, R.Ph., B.S.P., M.C.Ed.
Deputy Registrar/Director of Professional Development
As this issue of Pharmacy
Connection goes to press,
we have completed a series
of district meetings around the
province. It was great to see so many
of you—pharmacists and technicians—turn
out for these meetings.
Your interest and attendance signifies
the pace of change in our profession
and the need to clarify what those
changes mean to you. At these
meetings, you expressed interest in
the enhanced scope of practice, the
No one could argue that
pharmacy technicians have
become an integral part
of pharmacy practice.
principles of remote dispensing, as
well as with the regulation of pharmacy
technicians. In fact, at many of
the meetings, pharmacy technicians
turned out in as great a number as
pharmacists.
Pharmacy technicians and their
pharmacist partners are at different
stages of readiness to take on their
new roles. Everyone must figure out
what works for them and their practice
site in this new context.
The much awaited regulation of
pharmacy technicians is really just
around the corner. The group of
pharmacy technicians who wrote
the pilot for the PEBC exam have
now written the College’s jurisprudence
exam. Those already in the
profession are finishing off the last of
their bridging requirements. Others
who are new to the profession are
completing their structured practical
training. Once the registration
regulations are passed by government,
all the requirements for entry
to practice are met and applications
are made to the College, we
can begin to license the first
Registered Pharmacy Technicians
in Ontario and in
Canada.
I want to take this opportunity
to acknowledge all the
pharmacy technicians who have
stepped forward and entered into the
process of regulation. It is not easy,
once established in one’s career, to
go back to school and be assessed to
a new standard. We now have over
2000 pharmacy technicians in Ontario
who have begun to take classes,
and many more are ready to do so
once on-line courses and prior learning
assessments become available.
Their enthusiasm and courage to
take this on has been tremendous.
I also want to acknowledge their
pharmacist colleagues who have encouraged
them along the way, and
are providing opportunities for continuing
education and growth of
pharmacy technicians. At a recent
gathering, the past presidents of the
College recalled discussions of regulating
pharmacy technicians as far
back as 1988.
No one could argue that pharmacy
technicians have become an integral
part of pharmacy practice. As our
regulated partners, they will soon be
able to take more responsibility for
the technical aspects of dispensing,
allowing the pharmacists to optimize
their time for patient care.
By embracing technology, creating
a regulated pharmacy technician
partner to accept more responsibility
for drug distribution, and by
optimizing and enhancing the role
of the pharmacist, the profession of
pharmacy is ready to move forward.
By collaborating with the pharmacy
team, and with other health care
professionals, the goal is to better
support the public in their health
care. In the end, all of this change is
about achieving positive health outcomes
for the citizens of Ontario.
pharmacyconnection • November/December 2009
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