User profile: pharmtech

I have been a technician for 10 years, certified nationally for 9 years, registered with the Texas State Board of Pharmacy for 4 years, and licensed with the Nevada State Board of Pharmacy for 3.5 years. I KNOW FOR A FACT that I have worked with AT LEAST one PHARMACIST who WAS found to be "diverting" narcotics (the nice way of saying he stole them) BUT WAS ALLOWED TO KEEP HIS JOB on the condition that he would continue to work for that hospital indefinately and was not allowed access to the narcotic vault. What about the NURSES that have been fired, just in the 3 years I've been at my current job, for stealing narcotics? Or the doctors who have their DEA numbers and can have NARCOTICS SENT DIRECTLY TO THEIR HOUSES (at least, in the state of Texas)? Why are technicans targeted?

I don't know who Mr. Allen spoke with, but I have yet to have a job in a pharmacy, reguardless of the state, that did not REQUIRE pre-employement drug screening. When I started working here in Las Vegas, they not only did a urine test, they did a hair test. What does he think they're going to find? If he's right and the "theiving techs" aren't taking the narcotics themselves but instead are supplying them to others at street value a drug screen isn't going to catch anything.

I did not go to any sort of technician school. I was trained on the job, in a state that did not require school to be a technician. HOWEVER, when I applied for my Nevada license, I was told that the state of Nevada DOES require technicians to go to a state approved school, unless they were already registered in another state, in which case, we were grandfathered in. What part of that sounds like there is "only a high school education and minimal training...?"

When do people finally realize that as a technician, I am not ultimately responsible for what is in that prescription bottle? Yes, I may count the pills, sign out what needs to be signed out, and put my initials on it. But, when the trouble starts, it's the pharmacist who is ultimately responsible for the accuracy and accountability of that bottle. And if I was a pharmacist, knowing there was a narcotic in that bottle I'm about to scribble my initials on, you better be ABSOLUTELY sure I'd recount the pills. Even if I trusted the tech implicitly, crap happens. When there are 3 phones ringing, drive through customers, customers at the window, insurance companies and doctor's offices on the phone, I WOULD INSIST that narcotics be recounted.

If you look at the Nevada State Board of Pharmacy's meeting agenda for the July 2nd Board Meeting, you'll find a list of Pharmacists (RPh), Technicians (PT), and Tecnicians in Training (PTT) who are being reviewed for "alleged misconduct, professional competence or physical or mental health." This list can be found at http://bop.nv.gov/Agendas/2008/2008-07-1... If you take a look at the list, you'll find 3 technicians, 1 technician in training and 4 Registered PHARMACISTS.