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Pharmacy Technician Training | Courses for pharmacists 

Pharmacy Technician Training and Courses

SHPA strongly supports the introduction of national compentency standards for pharmacy support staff. It considers that only individuals who have achieved or are undertaking Certificate III or IV in Health Service Assistance with appropriate work-based experience, should be classified and employed as hospital pharmacy technicians. Read the SHPA Position Statement - National competency standards for pharmacy technicians (August 2003). 

Funding for technician training
Under the Skilling Australia for the Future initiative, the Australian Government has funded the Productivity Places Program (PPP) which will deliver 711,000 training places over 5 years. These training places are being delivered in an industry-driven system, ensuring that training is more responsive to the needs of businesses and participants. More ...
The Certificates III and IV in hospital/health services pharmacy support (HLT31407/HLT40507) are listed as priority qualifications.  All states have published information on the program: NSW; Qld; SA; Vic; Tas; WA 

Charles Sturt University (CSU) Health Training Package for Pharmacy Assistants and Technicians 
CSU offers nationally recognised courses - Certificate III and Certificate IV in Hospital/Health Services Pharmacy Support.
Pharmacy staff enrolled in the new courses will receive a nationally accredited qualification. The Training Package competencies and qualifications were developed in conjunction with industry representatives. Material covered will include drug dosage forms, dosage calculations, storage requirements, good manufacturing practice, abbreviations and symbols used in prescribing, dispensing and charting, chemical symbols, basic knowledge of human body systems, ethical standards, documentation and communication.
Go to the CSU Training website for more information on these courses or contact CSU Training ph: (02) 6933 2773 or email: csutraining@csu.edu.au
 

Box Hill Institute 

1. Certificate III in Hospital/Health Services Pharmacy Course, on-campus course for people NOT working in the industry. 
2. Certificate III in Hospital/Health Services Pharmacy Course as a flexible delivery course. Students download materials from a StudentWeb site. This course is for people working as hospital pharmacy technicians. (This is the new training package).
3. Certificate IV in Hospital/Health Services Pharmacy Course as a flexible delivery course. Students download materials from a StudentWeb site. This course is for people working as hospital pharmacy technicians who have previously completed a Certificate III pharmacy technician qualification. (This is the new training package).

If there are a number of students in one location that want to enrol, we can arrange for Kathryn Chan (9286 9127 or k.chan2@boxhill.edu.au) to visit the site and enrol the students on the spot.

ALL materials are available on the StudentWeb for students to download and they can work through the modules at their own pace. Student's answers to activities in the material are sent to the nominated teacher for assessment and feedback.

Go to the Box Hill Institute Health and Community Services courses web page for more information.

Aseptic Cytotoxic Preparation Course
Aseptic cytotoxic drug preparation is a key service offered to oncology patients by many hospitals across Australia. Over the past decade the pharmacy department at The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre has been conducting training programs in the preparation of cytotoxic drugs. The course is offered to pharmacists and technicians who require training in aseptic technique and has an emphasis on safe handling of cytotoxic drugs. It is a Pharmacy Board of Victoria requirement that technicians complete a course of instruction in sterile preparation before commencing work of this nature.

The course consists of didactic lectures, visual demonstrations, hands-on practical experience and an assessment and validation. The course runs for 5 days.  It is approved by the Pharmacy Board of Victoria and accredited by the Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia (SHPA) This is a very popular course and there is often an extensive waiting list for participation. 

Please contact pharmacydepartment@petermac.org for further information.

Courses for pharmacists

For information about becoming accredited via SHPA to undertake medication management reviews, see the Certified Geriatric Pharmacist (CGP) page.

Aseptic Cytotoxic Preparation Course
See above

Curtin University

Medication & Disease State Management, postgraduate certificate
All new, unique, fully online and aligned with the Australian Association of Consultant Pharmacy (AACP).

This new online course has been designed to facilitate accreditation of Australian registered pharmacists to provide services which may be funded by the Australian government or other third party payers.

It provides pharmacists with the knowledge and skills to engage activity in the management of patients with chronic disease. It also contributes, in part, credits towards the Postgraduate Diploma in Pharmacy (Hospital Pharmacy), the Master of Pharmacy (Clinical Pharmacy) or the Master of Philosophy (Pharmacy) courses.  More ...

Macquarie University, NSW

• Master of Radiopharmaceutical Science - If you are not in Sydney, contact the university to discuss distance education options.  If you are interested in this topic but a degree is not something you want to tackle, it is possible to do just the units that interest you.  More ... 

Monash University, Victoria

Clinical Research Training
Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Alfred Hospital

Part time - one unit per semester (4 units in total).
Study in your own time with WebCT - attend 2 or 3 days block teaching per semester at The Alfred Hospital, Melbourne

Acquire skills in -

• design and analysis of small clinical research studies
• clinical trial design and analysis
• statistical analysis of study results
• protocol writing, gaining funding
• publishing & presentation
• special measurements eg quality of life
• cost effectiveness; ethics
• good research practice
• legal aspects of research
• diagnostic test evaluation

APPLY NOW for the Graduate Certificate in Clinical Research Methods
Course enquires to A/Professor Max de Courten on 9903 0511
Application enquiries to 03 9903 0563 or email pgradenq@med.monash.edu.au
www.med.monash.edu.au/epidemiology/pgrad/

Evidence Based Practice  
The Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences offers Evidence Based Practice as a single unit of study. The unit teaches students how to incorporate evidence based medicine into clinical practice. Evidence Based Practice is a one semester unit delivered online and is designed for those health care professionals who are dedicated to delivering excellent patient care. Other single units are available including Geriatric Pharmacy.
For more information and to register your interest, email postgrad@pharm.monash.edu.au or go to the Faculty postgraduate website 

Master of Pharmacy Practice
Go to the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University website for more information and application process.

Master of Clinical Pharmacy
Go to the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Monash University website for more information and application process.

The University of Melbourne

Specialist Certificate in Clinical Research (Biomedical Research Management)
The University of Melbourne Consulting and Customised Programs (formerly School of Enterprise) announces this course which is designed for health professionals who are involved with running biomedical research projects, those seeking more a senior project management role on such projects and research managers who would like to transfer their project management skills to biomedical projects. More information is available at www.mccp.unimelb.edu.au/courses/award-courses/specialist-certificate/BRM.

University of Tasmania

Graduate Diploma and Master of Clinical Pharmacy
The UTAS School of Pharmacy offers Australia’s only completely online Clinical Pharmacy Graduate Diploma and Masters program.  If you are a registered pharmacist and want to update and strengthen your clinical skills this is the course for you.  CRICOS 00586B

Graduate Diploma of Clinical Pharmacy | Master of Clinical Pharmacy

WA Country Health Service

Aboriginal Cultural Orientation
In recognition that many health practitioners working with Aboriginal people receive little or no cultural orientation, CUCRH, in partnership with WA Country Health Service and Disability Services Commission, has developed an online Cultural Orientation Plan. This plan consists of five self-directed learning modules with a focus on allied health, however much of the content is generic to all health professionals. More ...