How Do Patients Perceive Pharmacy Technicians
While pharmacy technicians have taken on increasingly important responsibilities and their roles are continuously evolving, their roles on the pharmacy team often go unrecognized by the patients they serve.
Many patients are unclear or unaware of a technician’s role. Inpatients may not ever encounter technicians who work in hospitals, while technicians at community or retail pharmacies are frequently mistaken for pharmacists. While some technicians may find it flattering to be confused with the pharmacist, many feel very discouraged when patients perceive them as just a cashier. This can be very disheartening for a certified technician with advanced training and experience.
I don’t think patients really understand who they are engaging with. There is a lot for the typical person to learn about what technicians really do in the pharmacy to contribute to the health of patients.
Technicians are often the first people patients see when they walk into a pharmacy, but unfortunately, many patients don’t think they are as capable as they really are. Most patients simply don’t understand the knowledge that a technician’s job requires or the education that they need to pursue and maintain their certification.
The way the technicians are perceived by the public ultimately goes back to the way they are perceived by the people with whom they work. When pharmacists treat their technicians with respect, that changes patients’ perceptions, and they begin to see technicians as important people within the pharmacy.
When pharmacists empower technicians, they help them grow in the profession. It is particularly important for technicians to be reminded that they are not ‘just technicians’, instead they are an integral part of the pharmacy profession and pharmacists cannot do their job without pharmacy technicians.