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Employer |
Headquarters |
Practice Setting | Locations |
Thrifty White Pharmacy | Maple Grove, MN | Independent Employee-Owned | 90+ |
Good for Business: Employers Investing in Pharmacy Technicians
Forward-thinking employers across the country recognize the win-win-win of investing in career development for pharmacy technicians– good for patients, good for technicians, and good for business.
The role of pharmacy technicians has expanded significantly in recent years in response to ongoing shifts in the healthcare landscape, like patient-centered care, changes in state regulations, technological advances, shortages of healthcare professionals, and the rise of telehealth. Public health emergencies have rapidly accelerated this expansion, with 83% of pharmacy technicians in the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB)’s 2022 Workplace Survey saying that their duties have expanded since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Today, pharmacy technicians increasingly perform sophisticated operational duties like supply chain and inventory management in community pharmacies and health system settings. In many states, the scope of practice for pharmacy technicians has broadened to include more advanced tasks traditionally performed by pharmacists, such as point of care testing, immunizations, sterile compounding, medication reconciliation, telehealth services, and automated dispensing systems. As pharmacy technicians perform a wider range of tasks on their pharmacy teams, they also take advantage of unprecedented leadership opportunities within their organizations and in state pharmacy associations and boards.
Smart employers know that knowledgeable, well-trained pharmacy technicians are critical in optimizing pharmacy workflow and building a strong reputation for quality care. They also know that expanding technician roles requires increasing their opportunities for career growth.
Industry leaders like Thrifty White Pharmacy are implementing career ladders to provide their technicians with the training, specialized skill development, and job advancement opportunities that pay dividends to the company when it comes to recruitment, retention, job satisfaction, productivity, efficiency, and patient safety.
Thrifty White also encourages their technicians to pursue credentials to open opportunities for career advancement in the pharmacy community. Credentials give technicians a competitive edge in the job market and access to higher-paying positions. PTCB’s Workforce Survey found that 59% of pharmacy technicians view their job as a career, with 61% saying they earned credentials to advance their career. “Based on state regulations, we either require or strongly encourage national certification and know PTCB Certifications are the gold standard. PTCB has a great reputation and a trusted team,” says Tanya Schmidt, Thrifty White Vice President of Central Operations.
“Based on state regulations, we either require or strongly encourage national certification and know PTCB Certifications are the gold standard. PTCB has a great reputation and a trusted team,”
- Tanya Schmidt, Thrifty White Vice President of Central Operations.
Photo courtesy of Thrifty White Pharmacy |
Independent, employee-owned Thrifty White Pharmacy believes its greatest asset is the hard-working people who work as a team to help the company prosper. Since its founding by the first female pharmacist in the Dakota Territory more than 135 years ago, Thrifty White has grown from a single family-owned pharmacy to nearly 100 stores across Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa. The company’s prescription filling, long-term care consulting, community outreach, specialty services, and commitment to fostering strong pharmacy/patient relationships have garnered national awards like Drug Store News’ Pharmacy Innovator of the Year.
One of Thrifty White’s key innovations is investing in technicians’ career development to better provide healthcare to largely rural communities in small towns and cities ranging from 5,000 to 50,000 in population.
Thrifty White currently employs around 450 pharmacy technicians, about 350 of whom are certified through PTCB. When hiring, the company looks for candidates who are good communicators, effective collaborators, empathetic, dependable, and self-motivated. New hires complete a robust orientation through Thrifty White’s internal training and development platform to learn about company procedures and policies and special topics like patient care, communication, and diversity, inclusion, and belonging. Thrifty White uses a mix of learning pathways to provide pharmacy technician-specific training, such as online videos and hands-on experience. Local store teams and regional pharmacy support managers provide ongoing coaching and mentoring.
There are rewarding opportunities for career progression at Thrifty White. Whether just starting as a pharmacy clerk, embarking on the journey to registration and certification, or an experienced Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT) managing other technicians, Thrifty White prioritizes paid on-the-job training and education at every level. Pharmacy technicians in training receive access to PTCB’s Pharmacy Technician Certification Exam® (PTCE®) study materials at no cost, and their first attempt at the exam is covered. As technicians progress and pursue advanced credentials, Thrifty White supports their career paths with incremental pay increases and the opportunity to move into supervisory and corporate director roles.
While expanded roles of technicians vary on a state-by-state basis, the passage of the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act at the federal level has acted as a catalyst at the state level for pharmacy regulation expansion. During the COVID-19 pandemic, pharmacies like Thrifty White met unprecedented demands by expanding the role of their technicians as the U.S. population turned to pharmacies as a point-of-care resource. Technicians demonstrated commitment and competency and were essential in the COVID-19 vaccination effort. As a result, the regulations allowing technicians to immunize have become permanent in most states. Iowa and North Dakota have long been leaders in advanced roles for technicians. PTCB’s Immunization Administration Certificate is among the most popular with Thrifty White, supporting their technicians in the immunization program. In states with expanded regulations, Thrifty White utilizes technicians who have achieved PTCB advanced credentials like Technician Product Verification (TPV), Sterile and Non-Sterile Compounding, and Medication Therapy Management (MTM). “We utilize technicians as much as we can. They are the glue of pharmacy operations,” says Schmidt.
“We utilize technicians as much as we can. They are the glue of pharmacy operations.”
- Tanya Schmidt, Thrifty White Vice President of Central Operations
Thrifty White sees investing in pharmacy technicians as a win-win scenario for technicians and the company. By utilizing technicians to their fullest under state regulations, Thrifty White has positioned them to manage much of the workflow in their pharmacies. This not only relieves the administrative burden from pharmacy managers, but it also frees up pharmacists to do more clinical consultations. “That can only happen because of the technicians that are stepping into those different roles and taking away some of those day-to-day activities that the pharmacists were doing,” says Schmidt. Pharmacy technicians can perform many tasks at a lower cost than pharmacists, making them valuable assets for optimizing resource allocation and reducing operational costs. At Thrifty White, enabling technicians to administer immunizations is a perfect example. Tanya Schmidt, Thrifty White’s vice president of central operations, estimates that technicians are responsible for around 80% of Thrifty White’s revenue from COVID-19 vaccines alone.
More opportunities for professional development mean more technicians are staying at Thrifty White to grow their careers. “Retention has gotten so much better since we've been able to add these expanded roles. Technicians are enjoying their jobs more because they have more of a variety. We hear that over and over where somebody might say, I never thought I'd like to do immunizations, but then they really love it. Hearing those stories is so amazing,” says Schmidt.
Expanding technician roles has also created a lifeline for patients in many of the dispersed communities that Thrifty White serves. “In rural areas, you've got individuals coming into the pharmacy sometimes 3 or 4 times a month. Most people only see their physicians once a year. And so, our technicians are building those relationships with patients,” says Schmidt. Many Thrifty White pharmacy technicians can also provide critical telepharmacy services depending on state regulations. In the smallest, most rural communities in places like North Dakota and Minnesota, where patients were at risk of losing their local pharmacy, certified technicians welcome patients, conduct intake, and fill prescriptions via video and audio technology.
The positive impact of investing in pharmacy technicians goes beyond patients and profits. Pharmacy technicians themselves benefit from the training, financial support for education, and commitment to professional advancement that Thrifty White offers. “I would say if you talk to our technicians, what they think is most impactful about their position is how they're able to truly impact a patient's health and help them live longer,” says Director of Human Resources Nicole Baker.
Lindsay Cizek-Cribb, director of specialty operations at Thrifty White, agrees. A PTCB-Certified CPhT, Cizek-Cribb says, “I am motivated by patient care and making sure that they are taken care of just as I would hope that my family and friends are taken care of.”
After 19 years and counting at Thrifty White, a career ladder and professional development have helped Cizek-Cribb advance her career from clerk to technician to manager and empowered her to become a leader and advocate in the broader pharmacy community. As the past chair of the Northland Association of Pharmacy Technicians, Cizek-Cribb, says, “I was on the committee for five years, and during that time was really the COVID transition. I said, well, how can we still advance technicians? How can I still advance my involvement and dedication to the pharmacy technician career? So I helped initiate and lead the progress for our technicians in the state of North Dakota, being able to administer injections just beyond the COVID allowance. So, now, I look back and get to say I was part of that team that led that initiative, and now, it's permanent”.
Cizek-Cribb has earned her immunization certification and sees the tremendous opportunity advanced credentials can offer technicians. “[Credentials] validate what I’ve done and demonstrate that I know this information. Some individuals want to challenge themselves, while others want to validate themselves in their current role. I think there’s a lot of opportunity in what PTCB has available. I’m excited about how it’s changed the conversations on utilizing technicians and how we, as technicians, can fight for our own growth,” she says.
Photos courtesy of Thrifty White Pharmacy |
As pharmacy technician roles expand in response to the evolving healthcare landscape, increased demand for healthcare services, and the need for more efficient and cost-effective healthcare delivery, they have become indispensable members of pharmacy teams. Highly skilled and motivated pharmacy technicians can handle more complex tasks, reduce errors, and contribute to the overall efficiency of the pharmacy. This can lead to cost savings and increased revenue for the organization. It can also improve patient safety and provide a lifeline to quality care in communities. For technicians, professional development offers an opportunity to grow their careers for the future. By following the lead of innovative community pharmacies like Thrifty White and investing in their technicians’ career development, employers can demonstrate their commitment to supporting employees and providing better quality of care.
“I just can't stress enough how having technicians in a pharmacy has really changed,” says Schmidt. “Reimbursement rates have gone way down for pharmacies, and we have to look at other ways to make money and diversify what we do every single day. The technicians have stepped into those leadership roles to do it. They've been at the forefront of a lot of our growth. We couldn't do this without our technicians.”