Pharmacy Technicians on the Road to Regulation Focus on ...

Christine Donaldson, regional pharmacy director at
Windsor-Essex Hospitals, says that as pharmacists
are assuming greater responsibilities, regulation helps
pharmacy technicians to keep pace.
“It allows both of us to keep moving forward. These
are exciting developments for the entire profession,”
says Donaldson.
<strong>Technicians</strong> pursuing regulation admit that at times,
seeing the long-term benefits to your career (and to
the profession overall) can be difficult when you’re
focused on the short-term demands of balancing
education with a job. But the pharmacy technicians
who’ve already done so encourage their colleagues to
take on the challenge.
“It wasn’t easy, but it was manageable,” says Patricia
Hayton, a pharmacy technician with the Rouge
Valley Health System, Centenary Site, in Scarborough.
“The growth that technicians have achieved,
and are about to embark on, will welcome more
opportunities to showcase our abilities in this new
expanded role. Regulation validates the dedication
and hard work that pharmacy technicians perform
on a daily basis.”
For Linda Sparrow, coordinator of professional
practice at Dell <strong>Pharmacy</strong>, a chain in the Hamilton-
Niagara area, regulation “adds strength and more
responsibility to the role.”
Sparrow reports that 25 per cent of Dell’s pharmacy
technicians are engaged in the bridging program. In
the health care delivery model, she says the pharmacy
as a whole is playing an increasingly central role, and
that, with regulation, pharmacy technicians will only
enhance their standing.
Wills agrees. She says that every course she took
gave her more confidence and a greater understanding
of pharmacy practices and the reasons behind them. As
someone who works in a hospital and a retail setting,
she knows that becoming a regulated pharmacy technician
will help her to fulfill her primary duty in both.
“Patient safety should be our first concern,” she
says. “The only way to do that is by being up-todate
on how things are changing in our profession and
scope of practice.”
Upcoming dates
for <strong>Pharmacy</strong>
<strong>Technicians</strong>:
PEBC Evaluating Exam
Next exam: September 18, 2010
Registration deadline: June 28, 2010
Note: Individuals currently in the profession
who wish to pursue regulation in Ontario and
require this exam must do so by Jan. 1, 2012
That means there are only three
opportunities left!
PEBC Qualifying Exam
Next exam: Aug 28, 2010 (written exam),
Aug 29, 2010 (performance exam)
Registration deadline: June 4, 2010
Note: applicants may choose to write one or both
parts of the Qualifying exam within the same session
Applications and exam details are available on
the PEBC website (www.pebc.ca)
Jurisprudence Exam
Next exam: July 21, 2010
Registration deadline: June 1, 2010
Registration opens: May 17, 2010
Note: applicants must be CCAPP graduates or have
passed the OCP certification exam or PEBC
evaluating exam. Completion of the Bridging
Program is strongly recommended prior to sitting
the exam.
This exam must be completed within three years
of meeting all the requirements for registration as a
pharmacy technician.
See the OCP website for registration details.
pharmacyconnection • May/June 2010
13