Cultures of support and resilience are associated with certified pharmacy technicians embracing new roles

Optimizing work in community pharmacy: What preferences do community pharmacists and pharmacy technicians have for a better allocation of daily activities?

Objective

Pharmacy work encompasses two main streams. These are logistic flow (the supply and distribution of healthcare products) and pharmaceutical flow (the dispensing and provision of pharmacy services). The pharmaceutical flow has increased significantly with the introduction of reimbursed services such as Rapid Diagnostic Tests, chronic disease screening, minor ailment prescriptions, vaccine prescription and administration, and medication reviews. The implementation of new pharmacy services requires efficiency. The main objective of the survey presented here was to determine the preferences of community pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in relation to the assignment of tasks within the community pharmacy team.

Method

The survey, which used the Best-Worst Scaling (BWS) method, presented 13 daily pharmacy activities to community pharmacists (CPs) and pharmacy technicians (PTs). Descriptive statistics and Bayesian logistic regression were used to analyse the data.

Key findings

The results indicate that medication dispensing is a shared activity between CPs and PTs, for which the latter already have partial autonomy. Management of nursing home orders and supplies tends to be assigned to pharmacy technicians, whereas clinical pharmacy services such as prescription renewal, medication reviews, and counselling are considered to be more within the CPs' domain. CPs would readily delegate tasks like screening procedures to PTs. PTs express interest in minor ailment prescribing, a responsibility CPs are not yet ready to entrust to them.

Conclusions

Delegating logistical activities to pharmacy technicians could enable community pharmacists to focus on specialized pharmaceutical care, thereby improving the efficiency and quality of the services offered to patients. However, the reorganization of tasks should not only be implemented from a logistical standpoint since pharmacy technicians also share an interest in pharmaceutical care.

Why are pharmacy technicians leaving? Factors contributing to turnover intention and strategies for retention

BACKGROUND

Pharmacy technicians play a crucial role in the healthcare system to enable pharmacists to focus on clinical services. However, a lack of recognition for their role and contribution leads to high turnover rates.

OBJECTIVE

To identify the reasons behind pharmacy technicians leaving, or intending to leave, pharmacy practice.

METHODS

This study used a mixed methods approach, incorporating an online survey (n = 11,762; response n = 603, 5.2 % response rate) and semi-structured interviews (n = 19) with pharmacy technicians in England. The survey was designed based on instruments used previously to explore pharmacy professionals' career commitment, organisational commitment, job satisfaction, job stress and intention to leave. Open-ended survey texts (n = 24,410 words) were analysed using Leximancer, a text-mining software application. The interviews offered qualitative insights into the views and experiences of pharmacy technicians and the factors that contribute to their intention to leave practice.

RESULTS

Career advancement opportunities for pharmacy technicians are limited, especially when compared to pharmacists in leadership positions. Organisational commitment has an impact on individual career commitment. We found significant associations between the sector pharmacy technicians work in and their intention to remain working with their current employer for two or more years, with those in general practice were most likely to remain working at their current place of employment for at least two years (N = 85,91 %) and those in community pharmacies were least likely (N = 87,71 %). Respondents were most likely to be satisfied with freedom to choose working methods (72 %) and least likely to be satisfied with the opportunity for promotion/career advancement (38 %).

CONCLUSION

The phenomenon of 'occupational regret', where negative emotions prompt employees to leave their chosen career, must be acknowledged and addressed to ensure retention. Ensuring clear role definitions, equitable remuneration, and career progression opportunities for pharmacy technicians is vital for their retention and, ultimately, the quality of patient care.

Psychometric properties of the multifactor leadership questionnaire when used in early-career pharmacists with provisional registration

BACKGROUND

The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) is a validated instrument used to explore participants' perceptions of leadership and the Outcomes of leadership, participants' evaluation of and satisfaction with leadership and willingness to put in extra effort. The factor structure of MLQ varies across studies. The aim was to explore the psychometric properties of the MLQ for early-career pharmacists rating their preceptor's leadership.

METHODS

The MLQ was administered to provisionally registered pharmacists during the final half of their 1 year of supervised practice. Confirmatory and Exploratory Factor Analysis (CFA & EFA) and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) were used to analyse the data.

RESULTS

Responses were obtained from 430 participants (25 % of all Australian pre-registration pharmacists at the time). CFA demonstrated that the original 9-factor model and a range of previously published models were poor fit for the data. EFA revealed that a good fit was a model with 4 factors named: Passive laissez-faire, Strategic visionary, Personalized, and Active management by exception. Passive laissez-faire and Active management by exception were consistent with previously published models. The Strategic visionary and Personalized factors were interpreted as 2 forms of transformational leadership that includes the provision of rewards depending on performance. A SEM of MLQ sub-scales predicting Outcomes of leadership explained 90.3 % of variance. Personalized leadership was highly predictive (β = 0.743, P < 0.001) while the three other factors had negligible effects.

CONCLUSION

The psychometric analyses demonstrated overlap of the original 9-factors. A more parsimonious 4-factor model fit the data well.

A call for further study and use of transformational leadership in pharmacy education and practice: Hope and reinvigoration

This paper calls for further study of transformational leadership and its further use in educating PharmD students as well as inclusion of continuing education programming and mentoring the behaviours of current pharmacists. It does not present an argument for reduction in use or diminishment of other leadership theories, many of which have at least some overlap with transformational leadership. Rather, emphasis on transformation leadership might be one of many solutions to challenges plaguing the profession currently, with some sense of negativity and challenging workplace conditions among many pharmacists; support personnel and drug shortages; and a need for more collegial citizenship behaviors and stronger organizational culture. Transformative leadership behaviors and communication, versus others particularly more transactional in nature, envisage a future for the entire profession as well as for the individuals who comprise them, articulate the value of the contributions made by the employee, and help imbue a sense of professional identity. These are things sorely needed in the modern workplace and are either explicitly stated or tacitly implied in educational standards and professional competencies. A recent study on transformational leadership as measured by the Multifactorial Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) found more parsimonious structures toward the definition of transformational leadership and the outcomes resulting from its use, which actually makes it easier to discern and thus even more applicable to incorporate into models of pharmacy education and practice. The time to further study and employ transformational leadership is now.

Could pharmacy technicians play a role in supporting the appropriate and safe use of traditional and complementary medicines?

Across the world traditional and complementary medicine (T&CM) product use is prevalent with some countries reporting greater than 50% of the population using these products. T&CM products are primarily self-selected through retail outlets including pharmacies. Pharmacists across the world generally agree they should play a role in ensuring the appropriate and safe use of T&CM products but report being time and resource poor to do so. In this commentary, it is proposed that pharmacy technicians as members of the pharmacy workforce, who with adequate education, and supportive technologies could support pharmacists in providing guidance to consumers and patients about the appropriate and safe use of T&CM products. Pharmacy technicians play a crucial role in the pharmacy workforce, serving as integral members of healthcare teams fulfilling a wide array of tasks essential for the efficient functioning of pharmacies and ensuring the safe dispensation of medications. They have been described by pharmacists as the "the face of the pharmacy" in the community setting and relied on not only for mitigating and triaging problems, but also be primarily responsible for developing rapport, eliciting trust and even loyalty from pharmacy patrons. As such, there is a momentous opportunity for pharmacy technicians to play a role in providing T&CM advice and triaging the need for pharmacists' intervention where harm, or risk of is identified.

Closing the Tobacco Treatment Gap: A Qualitative Study of Tobacco Cessation Service Implementation in Community Pharmacies

Tobacco use remains a leading preventable cause of morbidity and mortality, with pharmacotherapy and counseling recognized as effective cessation aids. Yet, the potential role of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in tobacco cessation services is underutilized. This study explores the integration of such services in community pharmacies, identifying facilitators and barriers to their implementation. A qualitative study was conducted across seven community pharmacies in California that were affiliated with the Community Pharmacy Enhanced Services Network. Participants included 22 pharmacists and 26 pharmacy technicians/clerks who completed tobacco cessation training. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, focusing on experiences with implementing cessation services. The analysis was guided by Rogers' Diffusion of Innovations Theory. MAXQDA software was used for data management and thematic analysis. Sixteen pharmacy personnel participated in the study, highlighting key themes around the integration of cessation services. Compatibility with existing workflows, the importance of staff buy-in, and the crucial role of pharmacy technicians emerged as significant facilitators. Challenges included the complexity of billing for services, software limitations for documenting tobacco use and cessation interventions, and gaps in training for handling complex patient cases. Despite these barriers, pharmacies successfully initiated cessation services, with variations in service delivery and follow-up practices. Community pharmacies represent viable settings for delivering tobacco cessation services, with pharmacists and technicians playing pivotal roles. However, systemic changes are needed to address challenges related to billing, documentation, and training. Enhancing the integration of cessation services in community pharmacies could significantly impact public health by increasing access to effective cessation support.

A qualitative evaluation of pharmacy technician opinions about administering immunizations

Introduction

Pharmacy technicians began administering immunizations in Idaho State as part of a new administrative rule in 2017. Rapid expansion of pharmacy technicians as immunizers occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. Previous studies demonstrate the success of having technicians as immunizers but, the opinions of technicians themselves about immunizing have not been explored.

Methods

Key informant interviews were conducted to evaluate the opinions of certified and immunization-trained pharmacy technicians in the State of Idaho. A key informant interview script was utilized and included questions regarding satisfaction with current position, feelings about responsibility in the pharmacy, confidence administering immunizations to patients, changes patient interactions after becoming immunization-trained, support in the pharmacy, and opinion about expansion of immunization training for technicians to other states. The aim of this research was to gather the opinions of pharmacy technicians regarding the impact of administering immunizations on job satisfaction and career outlook.

Results

Fifteen pharmacy technicians were interviewed. All participants believed their role as immunizers improved job satisfaction and feelings of being a valuable part of the pharmacy team. Technicians also believed being able to immunize aided in pharmacy workflow, decreased wait time for immunizations at their respective pharmacies, and increased the number of immunizations being administered. Respondents also believed technicians should be allowed to administer immunizations nation-wide but also felt strongly that the decision to immunize should be up to each individual pharmacy technician.

Conclusion

Immunizing technicians in this study believe that this advanced role has had a positive impact on their job satisfaction, feeling valued in the workplace, and likelihood of staying in their current position. Immunizing has also led to positive engagement with patients and beliefs that they are providing an impactful service to their communities.