Today's pharmacy technicians are seeing their duties evolve in ways many never thought possible. They don't just take medication histories — they oversee financial data, navigate regulations in oncology practice, and coordinate specialty pharmacy operations.
But the opportunities to elevate their jobs aren’t always obvious — even to technicians themselves, said participants at The Pharmacy Technician Society® (TPTS) Town Hall, held Sunday at the 2025 Midyear Clinical Meeting & Exhibition in Las Vegas.
“I think it’s so important that not only others recognize us as healthcare professionals but that we recognize ourselves as that,” said Merissa L. Waldron, the national supervisor for pharmacy technicians at Ascension and a TPTS board member.
Waldron and others at the town hall described ways in which many technicians continue to advance their education and certifications and work with supportive supervisors to expand the type of work they do.
Tanja Monroe, for example, did not advance a typical career ladder to get to her current role as a clinical hematology and oncology pharmacy technician at UC Davis Health. Her manager created the role based on her two decades of experience and her passion.
“I’d really been interested in this and had some wonderful mentors along the way and a wonderful oncology manager who said I think we should create something of this nature,” Monroe explained to the ASHP News Center.
Many of the technicians who spoke had similar stories. They had to work hard to get in positions that challenge their initial perceptions of what technicians do and saw firsthand the need for national standards and organizational career ladders.
TPTS board member Stephanie Rice-Erlenbusch, health and wellness operations specialist who oversees training and development for technicians in 20-plus locations of Fred Meyer Pharmacy, urged participants to also consider why many technicians aren’t already practicing at the top of their licenses. A lack of national standards, plus low representation of technicians on state boards of pharmacy, are factors, she said.
“We’re still going to have some opportunities there,” she said.
TPTS President Daniel N. Nyakundi, a system pharmacy business analyst for Memorial Hermann Health System in Houston, Texas, remarked on how technicians are taking on increasingly unique — and prominent — roles, pointing to board member Kelli Johnson, who recently became the senior manager of pharmacy operations in Omnicell’s specialty pharmacy division.
“We have some very educated people who’ve taken additional training and practice at the very top of the profession,” said Nyakundi. “But I’d like for the other technicians to be raised up. So for the next five years, could it be possible for technicians to come to a similar level or at least have that sense of satisfaction that their jobs are meaningful. … And that’s what TPTS is about.”
TPTS, which this year celebrated its second anniversary, is a national membership organization created by ASHP to support the career advancement and professionalization of the pharmacy technician workforce through education, networking, policy development, and advocacy.
TPTS president-elect Charlotte V. Hook urged participants to share their knowledge with their colleagues and newer technicians, in part by joining one of the organizations’ committees.
“One of the best parts about joining a committee is the support you get. So if you always wanted to do a podcast, put together a webinar, write a toolkit, … this is a really supportive environment in which you can do that,” said Hook.
