Annual Report 2026: Building on a Strong Foundation

This year has been one of growth, collaboration, and opportunity for the Pharmacy Technician Society of Alberta. As we reflect on our accomplishments, we do so with a deep appreciation for the pharmacy technicians who serve Albertans every day with professionalism, expertise, and compassion. Pharmacy technicians’ commitment to excellence reflects the vision that guides our Society and inspires our work: Pharmacy technicians will be highly regarded for leadership and professionalism, contributing to the well-being of patients within pharmacy practice.

This report provides a snapshot of our work over the past year. While we celebrate our successes, we also look ahead with enthusiasm as we continue to Advocate for, Educate and Connect the pharmacy technician profession.

Advocacy First

With advancing the practice of pharmacy technicians being PTSA’s central goal, the Board identified advocacy as the core driver to achieve the mission. Advocacy will be present in many areas of work:

• Professional recognition advocacy – Recognition programs and building awareness about pharmacy technician roles and initiatives.
• Regulatory and policy advocacy – Shaping legislation, standards, and best practice models that enable pharmacy technicians to practice to the full extent of their expertise.
• Education and professionalism advocacy – Providing support for continuing competence and ensuring pharmacy technicians have opportunities to develop professionally.
• Leadership development advocacy – Positioning pharmacy technicians as leaders within the healthcare system.
• Advocacy through partner engagement – Building credibility across the healthcare system through collaboration and strategic partnerships.

Advancing the Profession – One Consultation at a Time

Monitoring and responding to consultation opportunities is one way PTSA will ensure that policy, regulatory and practice decisions increasingly reflect the value and contributions of pharmacy technicians.  This past year, the National Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities (NAPRA) facilitated two important consultations related to compounding standards. A working group was formed consisting of representatives from PTSA, the Pharmacy Technician Society of British Columbia (PTSBC) and the Canadian Association of Pharmacy Technicians (CAPT) to provide feedback on the proposed plan for the provincial regulatory authorities to implement new direction regarding compounding competencies. Feedback reflected concerns members have expressed as outlined in the PTSA Position on Compounding Competencies. Identification of additional advocacy efforts at the provincial level is an ongoing priority.

Securing System Sustainability through Alberta Pharmacy Technician Scope Expansion

Approximately five years ago, the PTSA was invited to explore and develop a proposal regarding pharmacy technicians administering injections as a means of addressing evolving patient and health system needs. While that work did not advance at the time for a variety of reasons, the healthcare landscape has since changed significantly, and the development of a white paper advocating for injection authorization for Alberta pharmacy technicians became a key PTSA priority over the past year.

A critical difference today is that the concept is no longer theoretical. Experience from other jurisdictions and a growing body of evidence provide a much stronger foundation for evaluating the potential impact of this practice. To inform the white paper, PTSA convened a panel of subject matter experts to examine how pharmacy technicians administering injections could increase system capacity, enable pharmacists to focus on higher-level clinical services, and ultimately improve patient access to care within Alberta’s pharmacy practice environment.

As a cornerstone advocacy resource, the white paper will support discussions with government, regulators, and other stakeholders regarding the role of pharmacy technician scope expansion in advancing a more efficient, sustainable, and patient-centered healthcare system. It will also highlight opportunities for professional growth and workforce optimization within the profession. The white paper is anticipated to be published in the first quarter of 2026-27.

Membership and Awareness

Growing an engaged membership that strengthens sustainability and impact, and greater awareness of pharmacy technicians’ contributions to healthcare, are the outcomes driving the Membership & Awareness strategic pillar. PTSA currently has 825 members, which is an increase of about 3% over the membership base this time last year. This increase reflects steady progress; however, long-term sustainability will depend on our ability to engage a greater proportion of Alberta’s pharmacy technicians. Continued membership growth is vital to ensuring the Society remains a strong and influential voice for the profession and can advance its strategic priorities with confidence.

Membership is primarily Alberta-based, with associate members from British Columbia, Northwest Territories, Saskatchewan, and Ontario.

Supporting Students, Strengthening the Profession

In November, we announced a new initiative designed to strengthen the connection between students and the profession. Under the new program, participating colleges offering Pharmacy Technician programs will embed the annual PTSA student membership fee directly into fees paid as part of their programs. This means that every student enrolled in programs at participating colleges will automatically become a PTSA Student Member, with no additional out-of-pocket costs. Membership in PTSA opens doors to professional development, networking, and advocacy resources that are essential for success in the pharmacy industry. PTSA student membership also better prepares graduates with professional connections and knowledge beyond what they will learn from school alone. By integrating membership into school fees, we remove barriers like cost or lack of awareness. We are very pleased to have NorQuest College and Robertson College partnering with us on this important initiative. This past year 32 students from these two schools joined PTSA through the program.

Expansion of the program to all Alberta colleges offering pharmacy technician programs remains a key objective. PTSA welcomes broader engagement with Alberta’s pharmacy support workforce, including students pursuing pharmacy assistant education. As the pharmacy profession continues to evolve, these learners represent an important audience for professional development, networking opportunities, and future membership growth that will contribute to the Society’s long-term sustainability.

Celebrating Professional Excellence

Recognizing excellence within the profession is another important way PTSA advances awareness of pharmacy technicians’ contributions to healthcare. This year, PTSA was pleased to present the 2025 Professionalism Award to Jamie Burkett, in recognition of her outstanding commitment to professional practice, leadership, and service to the profession. Jamie’s dedication exemplifies the values that pharmacy technicians bring to patients, employers, colleagues, and the broader healthcare system every day. Celebrating professionals such as Jamie not only recognizes individual achievement but also helps elevate public awareness of the vital role pharmacy technicians play in delivering safe, effective, and person-centered care. PTSA extends its sincere congratulations and gratitude to Jamie for her contributions and for serving as an inspiring role model for the profession.

Growing Engagement Through Ambassadors

Jamie Burkett’s contributions exemplify the leadership, professionalism, and commitment that strengthen both the profession and the communities pharmacy technicians serve. Creating more opportunities for members to share their experiences, advocate for the profession, and support their peers is an important part of fostering that same spirit of engagement. Building a strong, engaged membership remains essential to advancing awareness, advocacy, and professional leadership across Alberta. To support these goals, PTSA is introducing the Ambassador Program. This initiative is designed to grow PTSA’s membership base and amplify the collective voice of pharmacy technicians across Alberta, while delivering additional value to members. The program will officially launch in October 2026.

Your Voice, Our Direction

While the Ambassador Program helps us grow and strengthen our membership, understanding the needs and perspectives of our members remains equally important. The 2026 Membership Survey provided an opportunity for members to tell us what we are doing well, where we can improve, and how we can better support pharmacy technicians across Alberta.

When asked to rank the importance of membership benefits, several themes stood out:

• Education and professional development opportunities
• Advocacy and practice advancement efforts
• Networking and connection with peers

Members continue to see value in PTSA as a professional voice for pharmacy technicians. The majority of respondents to the survey agreed that membership supports professionalism and strengthens a unified voice for the profession.

While this sentiment is strong, the survey identified an important gap: A notable portion of members indicated they do not fully understand what membership fees support. Additionally, several comments called for more transparency around how resources are used and better communication of advocacy efforts and outcomes. In response to this feedback, several changes will be made to how PTSA shares information with the membership.

Professional Development

From the membership survey results, one message came across clearly: members want more accessible and high-quality continuing education. Two strategies guide the refocus of PTSA’s professional development offerings to meet pharmacy technicians’ evolving practice needs.

A New Era for the Annual Conference

The first professional development strategy is to establish the annual conference as the Society’s flagship educational program. In support of this goal, the conference underwent a comprehensive rebranding in 2026, emerging as the RxTech Summit.

The rebrand honours the strong legacy of PTSA’s annual conference and the value it has delivered to attendees over many years while creating a modern identity that reflects the evolving pharmacy technician profession. The new name and brand preserve the conference’s longstanding commitment to high-quality education, networking, and professional engagement while positioning it for future growth and broader recognition.

More than a change in name, the RxTech Summit represents a renewed vision for the conference as the gathering place for pharmacy technicians to learn, connect, lead, and inspire innovation in practice. The theme, Fueling Passion. Driving Progress. Elevating the Pharmacy Technician Profession., reflects PTSA’s commitment to supporting lifelong learning and advancing the profession through collaboration, leadership, and excellence.

While many members have attended PTSA conferences, access remains a challenge. Hybrid models are key to ensuring equitable access across the province so the RxTech Summit will be offered both in-person and virtually in 2027.

Expanding Access to Year-Round Virtual Education

Offering year-round education programs complementary to the RxTech Summit is PTSA’s second key professional development strategy. Non-conference education planning will focus on the delivery of webinars that are recorded and available for asynchronous learning. These virtual learning opportunities will provide members with convenient access to practical knowledge and insights that support their evolving roles within pharmacy practice.

In addition to delivering PTSA-developed education, the Society will actively promote external educational opportunities offered by trusted partners to maximize access to relevant pharmacy technician education.

Operational Excellence

PTSA has grown to a point where the current governance model no longer effectively supports the organization’s strategic priorities. Work was completed this year to transition PTSA from a highly operational board model to a governance-focused model that provides stronger accountability, clearer authority, better volunteer utilization, and improved organizational sustainability. The resulting new governance structure is built around a fundamental principle: The Board sets direction. Operations execute that direction.

Accountability in Action

The new structure recognizes that good governance requires leaders who are willing to make decisions, establish priorities, and sometimes discontinue activities that no longer serve PTSA’s mission. To ensure PTSA’s resources are focused on initiatives that deliver the greatest value to members and advance the organization’s strategic priorities, several legacy programs and activities have been discontinued or de-prioritized. These include general blog posts and related contests, the poster contest, self-study module development, the free job posting service, and various Pharmacy Appreciation Month and Pharmacy Technician Day engagement activities. While these initiatives provided value at different points in time, participation levels, volunteer capacity, and resource requirements have increasingly limited their impact and sustainability. Redirecting effort toward higher-priority advocacy, member engagement, and educational initiatives will better position PTSA to achieve its mission, respond to evolving member and system needs, and maximize the return on the organization’s limited volunteer and operational resources.

In addition to discontinuing lower-value activities, PTSA has identified opportunities to streamline and modernize several ongoing initiatives through consolidation, standardization, automation, and more deliberate sequencing of work. Areas for refinement include newsletter development, student outreach presentations, pharmacy technician spotlight initiatives, and the new registrant welcome program. Future approaches will focus on reducing administrative burden, leveraging existing content and communication channels, adopting scalable delivery methods, and exploring alternative models for accessing specialized expertise where volunteer capacity is limited. These considerations will inform annual work planning to ensure effort remains focused on the highest-value activities and outcomes for members and the profession.

Looking Ahead

As this past year demonstrates, PTSA is entering a new chapter defined by strategic focus, thoughtful growth, and a renewed commitment to advancing the pharmacy technician profession. From strengthening advocacy efforts and expanding member engagement to reimagining professional development and modernizing organizational operations, significant progress has been made toward building a stronger and more sustainable Society.

The initiatives highlighted throughout this report represent important steps toward achieving the goals outlined in PTSA’s Strategic Plan. With a clear direction, a stronger foundation, and an engaged membership, PTSA looks forward to continuing its work to Advocate for, Educate, and Connect pharmacy technicians across Alberta while advancing a profession that is increasingly recognized for its leadership, expertise, and contribution to healthcare.

The Board extends its sincere appreciation to every member, volunteer, sponsor, partner, and supporter who contributed to PTSA’s work this year. The strength of the Society is built on the commitment and expertise of those who believe in the value of a strong, connected, and inspired pharmacy technician profession.