BackgroundThe Logan Hospital Pharmacy Department implemented a training framework (TF) for pharmacy technicians.AimThis study determined whether implementation of a TF for pharmacy technicians improved knowledge and consistency in pharmacy technician ward‐based services in a large secondary teaching hospital.MethodsThe study was conducted in two phases. The first phase involved defining competencies and developing a supporting TF. The Competency Handbook for Assistants and Technicians (CHAT) TF consists of observations, case discussions, feedback sessions and education modules. Questionnaires were developed based on the defined competencies to assess the knowledge component of the TF. The second phase of the study saw the implementation of the TF within the department. Practice was observed for each pharmacy technician prior to and following 6–12 months of training against the framework.ResultsImplementation of the TF demonstrated an improvement in both knowledge and consistency of practice. Of the 109 competencies developed, 90 were included for statistical analysis. All participants demonstrated a significant (p < 0.05) improvement in the ward‐based clinical support domain, the core component of advanced‐scope practice. Participants also demonstrated improved performance in their everyday duties. Although all participants trended towards overall improvement in the knowledge domain, this did not reach statistical significance.ConclusionImplementation of the CHAT TF delivered improved pharmacy technician knowledge and fostered greater consistency of practice. The results of this pilot study have created a platform for further research into structured development programs and career advancement pathways for pharmacy technicians within Australia.

Background Internationally, pharmacy assistants and technicians have expanded their roles to allow pharmacists to concentrate on more clinical duties. The Australian model of care is currently exploring avenues for strategic role expansion for these support staff. Aim To qualitatively explore pharmacist and support staff views on the training needs of Australian pharmacy support staff. Methods Ethics approval was obtained from both Metro South Human Research Ethics Committee and UnitingCare HREC prior to the commencement of the study. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with personnel from the private and public settings to explore key issues identified in the literature. Interviews were conducted either face‐to‐face or via telephone between October 2017 and August 2018, with a mean duration of 39.85 min. NVivo® 11 qualitative software was used to consolidate the data. The general inductive approach was used for thematic data analysis, which allowed for the emergence of new themes and sub‐themes within the research topic. Results A total of 25 participants consisting of 10 pharmacists and 15 pharmacy support staff were recruited from a private (n = 13) and a public (n = 12) hospital in South‐East Queensland. Participants across both pharmacist and pharmacy support staff expressed inadequacy in current certification level, resulting in a need for further on‐the‐job training. The main reported facilitators to pursue further training were organisational support, career progression and remuneration. The main reported barriers were training cost and lack of time. Conclusions This exploratory study provides critical insights into the evolving needs of support staff that can inform innovative strategic role expansion for efficient and sustainable training.