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North Carolina News: Item 2139 - Registration of Pharmacy Students Who are Employed as Pharmacy Technicians
Reprinted from the April 2007 North Carolina Board of Pharmacy Newsletter.
In the April 2006 Newsletter (Item 2107), the Board stated its policy about when and under what circumstances a student enrolled in a school of pharmacy approved by the Board must register as a technician. Under that policy, a pharmacy student “employed at a pharmacy as a technician . . . must register with the Board . . . .” A pharmacy student “working at a pharmacy as part of a school-sponsored experiential program – ie, the student is not employed, but is receiving instruction pursuant to a preceptor-student relationship . . . does not have to register with the Board as a technician.”
Upon further reflection, the Board has decided to alter its policy concerning pharmacy students and technician registration. Effective immediately, a pharmacy student “enrolled in a school of pharmacy approved by the Board under G.S. 90-85.13” is not required to register as a technician. The Board believes that this policy is more consistent with the language of the pharmacy technician statute and will minimize confusion among pharmacy students, pharmacist-managers, and preceptors.
Even with this change in policy, however, the Board emphasizes the following:
♦ The student must be enrolled in a school of pharmacy to avoid the registration requirement. “Pre-pharmacy” students who are not actually enrolled in a school of pharmacy must register if employed by the pharmacy to perform technician duties. Students who are enrolled in a school of pharmacy and plan to work in a pharmacy during holiday or semester breaks do not have to register as technicians if they plan to return to school for the next session.
♦ The pharmacist-manager retains responsibility for ensuring that all activity in the pharmacy is compliant with the laws and rules governing the practice of pharmacy, including registration of all personnel who perform technician duties (excluding students as clarified in this statement).
♦ If a Board investigation determines that a pharmacy student working as a technician has violated the laws or rules governing the practice of pharmacy, then the Board will share that information with the student’s school of pharmacy. Moreover, such a determination could ultimately impact the student’s ability to obtain a license to practice pharmacy, as well as result in other legal consequences.
