Evaluating the success of a pharmacy technician training program at a large health system

Current literature on retention rates is limited. This study aimed to assess the University Hospitals' (UH) Pharmacy Technician Training Program (UHPTTP) at program completion and retention rates at graduation and at 1 year after graduation.

This study aimed to measure the success of UHPTTP using retention rates.

All pharmacy technician trainees enrolled in UHPTTP at UH from November 2020 to September 2023 were included in the study. Data collection began in September 2022 and was completed by December 2023. The primary end points evaluated program completion rates, retention rates at graduation, and retention rates at 1 year. For the secondary end point, the rate of retention at 1 year of externally hired pharmacy technician was compared with the total rate of retention at 1 year of program graduates. All retention data were summarized using descriptive statistics. Categorical variables are analyzed using Fisher's exact test.

The total program completion rate of 77.8% (n = 95). The total retention rate at graduation was 93.2%. The 1-year retention rates of pharmacy technicians who were hired as graduates and external hires are 68.3% and 61.3%, respectively. The total retention rate of UHPTTP graduates was approximately 7.0% higher than external hires (P = 0.688159).

This study attempted to measure the success of an American Society of Health-System Pharmacists and Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education-accredited pharmacy technician training program at a large health system. There was no statistically significant difference noted in 1-year retention rates between UHPTTP graduates and external hires. This suggests that UHPTTP was successful in producing qualified pharmacy technician candidates for internal vacant positions.