Pharmacy technicians are an important part of the pharmacy team.
While the pharmacist performs the clinical aspects such as verifying that the medication and dose are appropriate for you, considering any allergies, medical conditions or other medications, the pharmacy technician performs many of the technical duties, such as:
- receiving and transcribing verbal prescriptions from prescribers;
- transferring prescriptions to, and receiving prescriptions from, other pharmacies;
- ensuring the accuracy of a prepared prescription;
- performing a final check on the packaging or pre-packaging of drugs, container selection, and labeling;
- providing instruction to a person on how to operate a medical device (e.g. blood glucose monitor, blood pressure monitor), but not provide any explanation involving the interpretation of the results or value of the device;
- providing non-prescription drugs, blood products and parenteral nutrition and health care aids and devices;
- conducting or administering drug and other health-related programs provided no cognitive assessment is required;
- managing pharmacy inventory;
- gathering client demographic and health information;
- assisting with the implementation of client care plans;
- assisting with the monitoring of a client’s progress with care plan; and
- supervising other non-regulated staff.
Source: Regulations of the New Brunswick College of Pharmacists, s.20.6
The New Brunswick College of Pharmacists introduced the role of Regulated Pharmacy Technicians in both community pharmacy and hospital pharmacy settings in 2015, and the program is now offered at:
- New Brunswick Community College (NBCC) (Saint John, Moncton)
- Collège communautaire du Nouveau-Brunswick (CCNB) (Campbellton)
There is also a bridging program that enables pharmacy assistants to work toward the Regulated Pharmacy Technician designation:
If you are interested in becoming a Registered Pharmacy Technician, more information on the registration and training requirements is available from: