"Pharmacy Technician A/B (Penn Vet)"

Job Description Summary

The University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine is a global leader in veterinary education, research, and clinical care. Founded in 1884, the School is a proud member of the One Health initiative, linking human, animal, and environmental health. Forbes recognized the University of Pennsylvania as one of America's Best Large Employers of 2023 marking our third consecutive year in a row to achieve this status. http://www.vet.upenn.edu/

Located on the beautiful and vibrant campus of the University of Pennsylvania, Penn Vet's Ryan Veterinary Hospital in Philadelphia provides care for dogs, cats, and other domestic/companion animals, handling more than 30,000 patient visits a year, some 9,000 of which are emergency cases. Ryan Hospital is a Level One Trauma Facility certified by Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Society (VECSS).

As a valued member of Penn Vet's Ryan Hospital, you will work in a supportive environment where you will have professional growth opportunities. If you are a skilled Veterinary Nurse who is passionate about caring for animals, interested in further developing your skills and working with an elite team of clinicians then Penn Vet is the place for you.

Job Description

Ryan Hospital has an ongoing need for Pharmacy Technicians. This posting describes the basic responsibilities and requirements for this role. If you meet the qualifications outlined below and have an interest in being considered as positions become available, please apply to this posting. Your information will be reviewed, and you will be contacted if we would like to learn more about your background.

Pharmacy Technician A is responsible for proficiently performing the duties of all 4 pharmacy workstations: data entry, filling, phones/mail outs, checking. They must be able to independently complete all secondary responsibilities prior to the end of their shift by strategically using downtime. PTA must be able to answer basic questions from hospital staff such as drug strength and dosage forms, and client pricing. Work sometimes involves communicating with veterinary and pharmacy students, clinicians and nurses.

The following are responsibilities of the Pharmacy Technician A:

• Receive and screen prescriptions/medication orders for completeness, accuracy, and authenticity
• Use of certain equipment (Biological Safety Cabinet, Omnicell, etc.)
• Proper handling of hazardous drugs, including chemotherapy.
• Medication cycle counts through Omnicell
• Medication cycle counts through Excel spreadsheets or current pharmacy inventory management system
• Resolution of simple customer service issues such as triaging phone calls, communicating reasons a prescription cannot be filled such as no refills/expired, and communicating pharmacy and hospital policy to clients related to medications.
• Proper prioritization of new and refill requests for clients not registered in the hospital
• Proper stocking technique, including checking expiration dates and rotating stock
• Adequate knowledge of pharmacy supply usage to fill out pharmacy supply reorder sheets
• Ability to fill departmental medication stock orders
• Proper procedure for unit dosing medication, including printing of labels
• Proper packaging of all mail out prescriptions
• Proper storage of all medication, including refrigerated and light sensitive storage, and documenting date opened on all MDV
• Appropriate use of auxiliary labels
• Proper documentation of any medication related changes
• Proper clarification and documentation on all prescriptions with missing or inaccurate information
• Thorough understanding of pharmacy law with the ability to communicate federal and state laws and hospital policy to other members of the healthcare team and clients
• Ability to close out credit card machine and log daily transactions in hospital computer system
• Proper maintenance of the Biological Safety Cabinet, including performing daily and weekly decontamination
• Ability to restock pharmacy Omnicell from CSM as well as restock department Omnicells
• Communicate with clinicians regarding missing/incorrect prescription information
• Ability to compound medication by following the Master Formula and completion of corresponding compounding log
• Critical thinking skills application (i.e. intuition, logic, experience, common sense)
• Self-management skills (time management, stress management, and adapting to change)
• Interpersonal skills (negotiation skills, conflict resolution, and teamwork)
• pharmacy workflow (i.e., duties of each workstation including checking, importance of process and procedure, organization and attention to detail)

*The above list is representative of pharmacy technician responsibilities and is not meant to be inclusive.

In addition to the responsibilities of a Pharmacy Technician A, the Pharmacy Technician B responsibilities include:

In depth knowledge of inventory management including:

• Full understanding of how inventory levels are calculated
• Ability to independently make changes to inventory spreadsheets
• Ability to calculate min/max levels and make changes utilizing dispensing data from the current pharmacy billing program
• Assumes responsibility for double checking cycle counts completed by Pharmacy Technician A and providing feedback on incorrect cycle counts
• Partners with the inventory control specialist to resolve out of stock and backorder issues
• Participates in in-depth training of all new hires, including part-time students
• Ability to stand in as a back - up supervisor if the pharmacist or PTC is unavailable
• Proficient in pharmaceutical calculations with the ability to calculate quantities of ingredients needed for non-standard compounds
• Proficient in compounding injectable allergy vaccines
• Collaborates with other hospital departments to resolve issues such as equipment not functioning properly, billing errors, etc.
• Ability to help troubleshoot Omnicell operational issues
• Facilitate maintaining equipment/electronic functionality by submitting help desk tickets promptly for any malfunctioning equipment
• Promptly submit facilities requests for any needed repairs
• Promptly submit IT help desk tickets when deemed necessary
• Utilizes professional judgement to resolve issues brought forth by clients and hospital staff; resolves mid-complex problems
• Advanced critical thinking skills: using creativity and innovation to solve problems

Qualifications

Pharmacy Technician A role:

Pharmacy Technician A (PTA) is an entry-level position.

Certified Pharmacy Technicians (CPhT) with a high school diploma plus two years of pharmacy related experience or a minimum of a two year college degree in lieu of certification with a minimum of two years of pharmacy related experience or a four year college degree and no pharmacy experience are eligible for hire into the PTA position.

Pharmacy Technician B role:

A Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT) license is required. High School diploma plus five years of pharmacy related experience and CPhT license. Minimum of a two year college degree with a minimum of two years of pharmacy related experience and CPhT license. Four year college degree and CPhT license.

Job Location - City, State

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Department / School

School of Veterinary Medicine

Pay Range

Salary offers are made based on the candidate's qualifications, experience, skills, and education as they directly relate to the requirements of the position, and in alignment with salary ranges based on external market data for the job's level. Internal organization and peer data at Penn are also considered.