Training and competency considerations for pharmacies providing compounded sterile preparations

Quality is paramount to compounding and dispensing of compounded sterile preparations, and effective staff training is the single most important factor in ensuring quality outcomes. Successful training programs are based on four precursors, namely core knowledge; operational principles of the individual pharmacy; external requirements, such as those of state pharmacy boards and the United States Pharmacopeia; and pharmacy-specific policies and procedures. If properly detailed and customized to the specific pharmacy, policies and procedures can be used as a training tool. To be most effective, training for pharmacy personnel should be based on the principles of adult learning theory, which emphasize acquisition of practical knowldege and skills as the trainee needs to know them. Competency assessment should focus on both basic skills and developmental activities and can be accomplished by traditional checklists or by alternative techniques such as performance monitoring, mock audits, exemplars, and presentations to other staff.