Every year, countries across the globe come together to celebrate the hard work of pharmacy technicians on World Pharmacy Technician Day, taking place on 20 October 2020

Organised by the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board, World Pharmacy Technician Day is a fantastic opportunity for employers, educators, boards of pharmacy, pharmacy associations, other organisations and the public to say thank you to pharmacy technicians for their invaluable work, as well as for pharmacy technicians to showcase the importance of their role within the pharmacy team on a global scale.

The theme this year is ‘Honouring Pharmacy Technicians on the Front Lines’ and pharmacy technicians are being encouraged to share their photos, videos, stories and experiences of working throughout the Covid-19 pandemic across social media and engage with other pharmacy technicians across the world by using the hashtag #RxTechDay. Pharmacy technicians can also take part in World Pharmacy Technician Day's international Facebook event. 

Reflecting on the role

Today is about celebration, reflection and consideration of how the pharmacy technician professional body can develop. In light of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, there have been increased discussions about the role of pharmacy technicians within the community pharmacy team.

The Association of Pharmacy Technicians UK (APTUK) recently welcomed the secretary of state for health and social care’s announcement that pharmacy technicians are amongst the groups of healthcare professionals being discussed to support future vaccine administration. See more about APTUK president Liz Fidler's views on vaccine administration in her column.

Going forward, APTUK, in collaboration with Primary Care Pharmacy Association, has also outlined the core competencies central to support the safe and effective practice of pharmacy technicians in primary care roles in the recently-published 'National Competency Framework for Primary Care Pharmacy Technicians'.

Getting involved

APTUK is encouraging UK pharmacy technicians to get involved in World Pharmacy Technician Day by:

• Downloading APTUK's Pharmacy Technician Day flyer
• Filling in the details of who they are honouring and why
• Taking a photo of with the completed flyer
• Posting the photo on social media using the hashtag #RxTechDay and tagging @aptuk1 on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

“This year’s international pharmacy technician day provides an opportunity to pause and reflect on the contributions made by the profession at this time,” said Ms Fidler. “There are so many examples of pharmacy technicians who have gone above and beyond in their response to providing pharmaceutical care for patients and communities during a global pandemic. I encourage you all to recognise and celebrate individual pharmacy technicians for the contributions they have made.”

“It’s been exceptionally challenging and this is a day to champion pharmacy technicians,” she added.

APTUK is the only professional leadership body for pharmacy technicians in the UK. Registered pharmacy technicians in Great Britain or qualified pharmacy technicians working in Northern Ireland can become an APTUK members, find out more about becoming a member.