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Official Newsjournal of the Illinois Council of Health-System Pharmacists

Hi-Tech
Technician Hurdles

by Becky Ohrmund, CPhT, Pharmacy Technician Specialist; Northwestern Memorial Hospital; ICHP Technician Representative

What are some of the hurdles that you encounter as technicians? How do you overcome these hurdles? Do you want to be a part of a technician group, but your leadership doesn’t see the value?

For those of you who are able to participate in anything that you want, whether that is conferences, conference calls, or the ASHP Midyear, what advice do you have for those who want to participate but might not be able to because of cost or other barriers?

Throughout my career as a pharmacy technician, I have been lucky to have great leaders who are more than happy to allow me to attend conferences and conference calls while I am working. I am also able to integrate projects that I am working on outside of work into my work life. I know that not everyone is that lucky. With PTCB rolling out the new Advanced Credential I see this as a way for those who might not feel valued to really leverage for what they deserve. Now that the Annual Meeting has concluded, did you attend? If you did, you may have attended my presentation on Advanced Credentials. If you were not able to attend, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me via email and I can answer any questions you may have.

Also please don’t forget about our Technician Network. We are a new group and we need members. I want to hear from you and how we can make ICHP work for you. Currently I have a member reaching out to the chapter affiliates to see how they can include technician topics in affiliate programming as this particular issue was brought to my attention during a recent survey. I am also working on reaching out to pharmacy directors and leaders to encourage them to allow their technicians to get involved with ICHP and the Technician Network.

Are you an active ICHP member? Do you know anyone who you think would like to attend network calls and participate in other ICHP activities? Don’t hesitate to encourage them to join ICHP.

I know this article sounds like a giant commercial for ICHP. It’s ok if you think so as well. I do some of my best shopping based on commercials. How about you?