Job Description:                                 PHARMACY TECH I

Department:                                         Pharmacy

Responsible To:                                   Pharmacy Tech Supervisor and/or Director of Pharmacy

Education/Training:                            High School Diploma or equivalent; Registered as a Pharmacy Technician with the Florida State Board of Pharmacy, Certified or in the process of obtaining certification.

Experience:                                           Hospital pharmacy experience desirable.  Minimum typing ability or occupational computer experience required.

Skills & Abilities:                  Ability to perform work accurately with attention to detail within specified time periods, to work cooperatively with health-system and pharmacy staff, to handle frequent interruptions and adapt to changes in workload and work schedule; ability to set priorities and solve problems, to respond quickly to emergency requests, to communicate effectively (orally and in writing).  Ability to assist in meeting the pharmaceutical care needs of neonatal, pediatric, adolescent, adult, and geriatric patients.

Physical Requirements:                      Repetitive use of hands and fingers (e.g., preparing IV admixtures, use of a computer keyboard).  May require lifting and carrying light loads (up to 40 lbs.), including boxes, equipment, unit-dose cassettes, and IV solutions and stooping or kneeling (e.g., to pick up items from the floor, to remove and replace items on lower shelves, and to file documents in lower file drawers).  Walking or standing for long periods of time (4-8 hours) is often necessary; must be able to physically operate the equipment used for the job.

Environmental Conditions:               Primarily works inside 98% of the time; May be required to transport meds to outlying facilities on campus; Potential exposure to hazardous & toxic substances (i.e., chemotherapy, cytotoxic drops and cleaning solutions), potential for sticks or cuts by needles and other sharp items.

Occupational Exposure:                    Category III = Job involves tasks or procedures that have exposure to blood and other potentially infectious materials during the performance of duties.

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES:            

1.  Assists in providing medications and pharmaceutical supplies for patients under the direct supervision of the pharmacist.  Assists with medication cart filling and checking. Assists in the preparation of I.V. admixture solutions, special doses, TPNand chemotherapy medications. Assists in the prepackaging of solid and liquid doses. Prepares unit dose medications as per computer labels and fill-lists. Assists in performing monthly nursing station inspections.
2. Engages in non-pharmacist activities through the use of a computer.  Accurately enters information into the computer; produces profiles, charges, and fill lists at the appropriate time. 
3. Answers the telephone, receiving and relaying messages as needed.
4. Regularly unpacks and stores supplies, verifies items received against invoices, and stores perishables, such as I.V. admixtures in refrigerators.  Checks invoices against purchase orders to make sure that all items are received and charges are correct.
5. Places daily orders for drugs and supplies from the wholesaler before cut off time as needed; and informs all pharmacy personnel of outstanding orders. 
6. Routinely monitors a set section of the Pharmacy.  Organizes outdated or overstocked medication to ship back to the wholesaler or manufacturer for credit, on a regular basis.
7. Performs chart stamping of automatic stop-date medication orders, reviewing the last order to assure proper documentation in the chart; always has a pharmacist review the automatic stop-date computer- generated list.
8. Maintains manual, pink stickered floor stock system. Restocks Automatic Dispensing Machines and solves routine problems and discrepancies in the system.  Participates in the quality assurance program.  Delivers drugs to patient care and other areas of the hospital as needed.
9. Performs other job related duties as assigned by the Director.