Pharmacy technician earns certification in chemotherapy

Submitted by Kate Stephens

The National Pharmacy Technician Association’s (NPTA) Chemo Certification course has been designed to train pharmacy professionals on the proper handling of hazardous drugs. Cabinet Peaks Medical Center’s Pharmacy Technician, Juli Cooper has completed the course and earned her certification in Chemotherapy.

“Getting certified in chemotherapy is completely voluntary and not a requirement of being a pharmacy technician, but is something I wanted to do to further my skills and provide the best patient care,” stated Juli. “The course is designed to train pharmacy staff on the proper handling of hazardous drugs, which minimizes workplace exposures and decreases the infection risk to the patient.”

Participants must complete 10 separate modules of home-based learning comprised of reading assignments and comprehensive exams, for which a score of 70 percent or higher is required. After completing all modules, participants attend and complete a NPTA’s one-day Hazardous Drugs Training Institute for a hands on practical assessment. To take the course, at least 600 hours of prior experience in aseptic technique/prepping sterile products is required.

“Sterile compounding is very detailed and tedious work, requiring extreme accuracy,” added Juli. “This certification is a special one to me because I feel that it is important to have as much knowledge as possible about this topic so that I can provide the highest level of patient care. Some people may think that smaller facilities can’t provide high level care when making a decision to stay home or travel for medication infusions. Getting this certificate is one example of how we continually strive to provide the highest level of care for all of our patients.”

Amie Wells, PharmD, and Pharmacy Department Manager at Cabinet Peaks is proud of Juli’s accomplishment. “Juli went to Houston, Texas, the location of the only pharmacy technician Chemotherapy certification course in the United States, in order to complete this course. This special certification sets her apart from others in her field and helped her to further her technique and knowledge.”

Juli has worked in her profession for over 14 years, and at the local medical center for seven years.