Trinity launches pharmacy technician training program

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By Karla Walsh/QUAD-CITY TIMES | Saturday, June 28, 2008 |

Trinity Regional Health System is on a crusade to make its hospitals and other medicine dispensaries in the Quad-City region safer for patients.

Beginning this fall, Trinity will offer training programs for pharmacy technicians, those who prepare medications and assist licensed pharmacists. Previously, pharmacy technicians have been required to have only a high school education and a clean criminal record. New state laws in both Iowa and Illinois will require certification, however. The Illinois law takes effect in January 2010, and the Iowa law goes on the books in July 2010.

“This program is all about medication and patient safety when they come into the hospital. More education for staff means increased leadership and quality of standards,” said Amy Descamps, Trinity’s lead pharmacy technician, who will also be the training program’s lead instructor.

Trinity’s program will be the first in the Quad-Cities and the only bistate program in the nation to offer both classroom and clinical instruction.

During the 16-week program, students will meet three days per week at the Trinity College of Nursing and Health Sciences, 2122 25th Ave., Rock Island. One of those days will focus on lab work, such as how to prepare intravenous, or IV, doses of medication. The other two days will involve book work, especially math-related topics, Descamps said.

“There will be at least six weeks of math. That is No. 1, first and foremost. Strong math skills are required to give the right dose, especially for IVs,” she said.

A 2006 case involving Emily Jerry, a 2-year-old cancer patient in Ohio, seems to have triggered a nationwide change in laws regarding pharmacy technicians. The girl’s abdominal tumor, which was the size of a grapefruit, had responded to treatment and shrunk. During her last round of chemotherapy, though, a pharmacy technician formulated her medicine at 26 times the level it should have been. The error went unnoticed and the girl died three days later.

Amy Lee, an Augustana College graduate with two master’s degrees, will be one among the four students in the first pharmacy technician training class at Trinity. Lee has worked in the Trinity finance department for more than three years, but decided she would like to change careers.

“I want to learn how a pharmacy really works. There are many opportunities for growth,” she said. “Pharmacy technicians have a huge responsibility. They can make a difference for people.”

Lee helped Descamps and Cinda Bates, Trinity’s director of pharmacy services, create the training program. After one year, the program can be accredited by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists.

Pharmacy technicians will be required to take a certification exam and continuing education classes on a regular basis, Bates said. Those have been optional. After passing the Trinity course, pharmacy technicians will be licensed in both Iowa and Illinois.

Bates hopes the certification program will be a resource for the health-care and pharmacy communities. After completing the course, students can work at any pharmacy, not just Trinity’s.

Anyone can enroll in the program. Descamps said. Pharmacy technicians have varied backgrounds, from recent high school graduates to longtime workers looking to change professions.

The field is growing “vastly,” she said, adding, “It is a really good profession to be in. It is really rewarding to help save lives.”

Tuition for the certification course will be about $1,250. The Trinity Foundation will help fund some of the start-up costs.

The city desk can be contacted at (563) 383-2450 or newsroom@qctimes.com.