Senior Acute Pharmacy Technician

Banner Health

2d•Onsite

About The Position

Join our collaborative pharmacy team! In this role as a Senior Acute Pharmacy Technician, you will support medication preparation, compounding, distribution, and inventory management while helping ensure safe and efficient patient care. You'll work closely with pharmacists and healthcare professionals in a fast-paced, patient-focused environment. To be considered for Senior Acute status, candidates need to have at least two years of pharmacy experience and be IV-trained in sterile and chemotherapy experience. The schedule for this position is Monday through Friday, 8-hour shifts, with rotating holiday coverage. Start times vary and rotate between 6:00 AM and 8:30 AM based on departmental needs. Banner Health’s premier West Valley Level I Trauma for adults and Tertiary Care destination for all ages. Banner Thunderbird Medical Center (BTMC) and Banner Children’s Hospital at Thunderbird provide a preferred destination for surgical, oncological, cardiovascular, neuroscience, orthopedic, pediatric, and women and infant services achieved through best-in-class 5-star CMS rating to provide patients with high quality, safe care for the best possible experience. Our campus is one of the largest campuses in the Banner network with over 3000 employees. BTMC was voted Best of the Best in 2023 by Banner Health out of 30 hospitals. This is the most prestigious award one of our largest hospitals can receive for consistently meeting our annual targets. If you would like to contribute to truly leading edge caring, we invite you to bring your experience and skills to Banner Thunderbird. POSITION SUMMARY This position will work under the supervision of the pharmacist performing routine duties in packaging, distribution, non-sterile compounding, and record-keeping of pharmaceutical supplies. Serves as a liaison between the customer and the pharmacist. Effectively uses pharmacy computer systems to investigate and respond to missing medication requests. Consistently demonstrates an ability to assess a situation, consider alternatives, and choose the appropriate course of action. Demonstrates proficiency in preparing compounded intravenous medications, total parenteral nutrition products, and chemotherapeutic agents within compliance with USP <797>/<800>. Ensures that the sterile compounding environment and all equipment are cleaned and maintained according to policy. May educate and train peer Pharmacy Technicians, Technician Externs, Technician Trainees, and Volunteers. Must demonstrate the knowledge and skills necessary to provide care appropriate to the age of the patients.

Requirements

Requires Pharmacy Technician licensure and active Pharmacy Technician certification OR Pharmacy Intern licensure in the state of practice.
Incumbents in Arizona are also required to provide the AZ Board of Pharmacy Wallet Card at time of hire.
Minimum of two years pharmacy technician experience.
Ability to complete moderate to difficult mathematical calculations using a hand-held calculator is required.
Strong customer service focus, exceptional communication skills, strong attention to detail, prioritization capabilities, superior problem-solving skills, and ability to multi-task.
Must have knowledge of computer software, particularly medication management information system software, Microsoft applications and automated dispensing systems.
Must demonstrate effective oral and written communication skills for interfacing with all levels of staff, physicians, patients, and other contacts.
Employees working at Banner Behavioral Health Hospital must possess an Arizona Fingerprint Clearance Card at the time of hire and maintain the card for the duration of their employment. An Arizona Criminal History Affidavit must be signed upon hire.

Nice To Haves

Completion of a Pharmacy Technician Certification Program.
Additional related education and/or experience preferred.
IV-trained in sterile and chemotherapy experience.

Responsibilities

Identifies medications and other items for reorder as necessary to maintain a continuous inventory of medications and supplies. Receives, checks-in, and restocks medications ordered through the wholesaler and other vendors verifying all quantities against invoices. Assesses practical ways to deal with shorted items and short-dated or unusable items.
Manages users within the automated dispensing technology database as per policy. Investigates discrepancies and troubleshoots malfunctions in automated dispensing technology.
Exhibits excellent interpersonal skills and is customer service oriented in all contacts with patients, visitors and staff. Responds to standard requests from internal customers. Interacts primarily with department personnel, cross-department personnel, internal customers, patients and physicians.
May use automated dispensing technology or requisition to restock medications to nursing and ancillary areas after checking by a pharmacist. When allowed by law and policy, and upon completion of proper training/competency assessment, may restock automated dispensing technology using barcode scanning verification devices. Restocks medications to all areas outside automated dispensing technology which may include but not limited to trays, code carts and emergency boxes.
Compounds non-sterile medication products. Understands and appropriately follows all product worksheets/recipes for documentation and check processes. Understands and adheres to all applicable USP compounding guidelines. Demonstrates knowledge of and consistently performs calibrations of equipment and accurately measures components for compounding. Repackages bulk medications into unit of use packaging. Completes accurate documentation of medications compounded and repackaged per policy.
Maintains a safe and clean working environment by complying with all policies, laws, and regulations. Performs quality control activities such as monthly nursing unit inspections and pharmacy section checks in a timely manner. Completes documentation of refrigerator temperatures, and equipment maintenance activities as required.
Ensures the proper use of garbing and compounding techniques in accordance with policies and has knowledge of basic principles within USP <797> and USP<800>, laws, policies, and procedures that pertain to compounding. Performs compounding and labeling of intravenous compounds and hazardous agents to include chemotherapy using proper sterile and aseptic technique as appropriate to the site of care. Understands the different product lines in sterile compounding (patient specific and non-patient specific batch) and the differences between the various populations (Adult, Pediatric, Neonate). Completes all required environmental cleaning procedures. Documents all required tasks and other information per policy. Understands the safe handling of hazardous drugs and demonstrated the correct receipt, storage, labelling and transport process.
Handles narcotic medications following all federal and legal requirements as set through policy and procedure. Understands all regulatory requirements for receiving, compounding, repackaging, and distribution for controlled substances. Consistently adheres to all storage and inventory movement documentation requirements for controlled substances.