Celebrating pharmacy technicians

Since 1991, on the third Tuesday of every October, countries from across the world come together to celebrate the incredible work of pharmacy technicians in all kinds of roles in the aid of World Pharmacy Technician Day. 

Falling on 17 October this year, the campaign is an opportunity for employers, educators, organisations and the public to celebrate and appreciate the ways in which pharmacy technicians support the wider sector.

How to get involved? 

According to the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB), there are many ways to get involved in recognising pharmacy technicians on 17 October. These include:

• Downloading graphics to use on social media as well as badges and stickers for pharmacy teams to wear
• Marking yourself as “going” to the pharmacy technician day event on Facebook and share it with your friends
• Tagging any social media posts with #RxTechDay 
• Engaging with other pharmacy technicians to see how they’re celebrating around the world
• Following the PTCB on social media (@PTCBgram on Instagram and @PTCB on twitter) and looking out for upcoming giveaways
• Ordering a pharmacy technician day t-shirt from the PTCB store via: stores.kotisdesign.com/ptcb/products.

The PTCB also advises pharmacy technicians to join associations that support their work. In the UK, the only union for pharmacy technicians is Association for Pharmacy Technicians UK (APTUK). 

“APTUK are looking forward to once again celebrating the pharmacy technician profession,” said membership director, Claire-Louise Sutton. “The profession is constantly evolving and continues to do so with the current consultation out for PGDs and another on supervision coming soon. 

"Pharmacy technicians are being recognised for the knowledge and skills they have to offer. APTUK are in the process of developing a celebration event for the day and more information will be released soon.”