New pharmacy technician Structured Practical Training (SPT) logbook
ACP is introducing a newly revised pharmacy technician Structured Practical Training (SPT) logbook. The logbook outlines the activities that provisional pharmacy technicians are expected to complete in order to demonstrate required competencies to their preceptors.
This is the first update to the logbook since the National Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities’ (NAPRA) Professional Competencies for Canadian Pharmacy Technicians at Entry to Practice were approved in 2007. Much has changed both within the pharmacy technician profession and the overall pharmacy landscape within the past 15 years.
The previous logbook focused primarily on drug preparation, verification, and distribution, which, while integral to the pharmacy technician role, did not adequately represent the full spectrum of knowledge, skills, and attributes expected of new-to-practice individuals.
The revised logbook now ensures provisional pharmacy technicians understand and apply modern policies and guidance and allows them the opportunity to learn and practice competencies that reflect the myriad of roles that pharmacy technicians currently perform within our healthcare system. These competencies include leadership skills, workflow management, critical thinking, cultural awareness, and drug safety and error management, among many others.
All provisional pharmacy technicians who begin SPT after November 2, 2022, will be required to use the updated logbook and assessment forms. Provisional pharmacy technicians who have already started SPT are encouraged to transition to the updated logbook and assessment forms. However, you may continue to complete SPT using the previous version of the logbook and assessment forms until March 1, 2023. After this date, forms from the previous version of the SPT program will no longer be accepted.
The updated logbook was reviewed and informed by the expertise of practising pharmacy technicians, who have also served as preceptors themselves. For more information on the valuable mentorship that preceptors provide to their provisional pharmacy technicians, refer to the most recent edition of Full Scale.
ACP will continue to review and revise the SPT program as part of the work towards achieving our strategic goal that all applicants are qualified and ready to practise when they become pharmacists or pharmacy technicians in Alberta.