ASHP Launches Professional Certificate for Sterile Product Preparation

Online Program Recognized as a Training Program for Technicians Pursuing
PTCB Compounded Sterile Preparation Technician Certification

ASHP today announced that it has launched a Sterile Product Preparation Certificate to teach pharmacy personnel the fundamental concepts required to ensure safe and compliant sterile product preparation. This self-guided, online continuing education program is the tenth offering in ASHP’s Professional Certificate line.

The curriculum consists of 14 educational modules and covers practice standards and regulations, including current and proposed requirements for compliance with USP Chapters <797> and <800>. The course also explores pharmacy calculations, facilities and equipment, cleanroom personnel behaviors and expectations, sterile compounding components and procedures, stability and sterility, nonsterile to sterile compounding, hazardous drugs, and all aspects of handling from material receipt to final check or disposal.

Designed for pharmacy technicians and pharmacists, the Sterile Product Preparation Certificate offers 29 hours of ACPE-accredited continuing education credit. The certificate is also a Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB)-recognized sterile compounding education and training program for those pursuing the PTCB Compounded Sterile Preparation Technician (CSPT ™) certification.

“It is essential that pharmacy technicians and pharmacists are equipped to safely prepare sterile medications using the most current practices and scientific evidence,” said ASHP CEO Paul W. Abramowitz, Pharm.D., Sc.D. (Hon.), FASHP. “The Sterile Product Preparation Certificate will validate practitioners’ ability to contribute to the care of our sickest and most vulnerable patients and, further, will help pharmacy technicians earn a valuable professional credential from PTCB.”

To receive the professional certificate, participants must successfully complete all of the modules and receive a score of 80% or higher on a 90-question comprehensive examination. In addition, the learner must submit video clips demonstrating knowledge and competency in six practice areas for review and approval by a panel of experts.

ASHP Professional Certificate Programs are self-guided, online continuing education programs for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. Each program offers at least 15 hours of continuing education credit that can be earned upon completion of individual modules. Participants must complete all of the modules in a program, a comprehensive exam, and practice-based exercises to be eligible for an ASHP professional certificate.

For more information about the Sterile Product Preparation Certificate Program and other ASHP professional certificate programs, visit www.ashp.org/certificate-programs.

About ASHP
ASHP represents pharmacists who serve as patient care providers in acute and ambulatory settings. The organization’s nearly 50,000 members include pharmacists, student pharmacists, and pharmacy technicians. For more than 75 years, ASHP has been at the forefront of efforts to improve medication use and enhance patient safety. For more information about the wide array of ASHP activities and the many ways in which pharmacists advance healthcare, visit ASHP’s website, www.ashp.org, or its consumer website, www.SafeMedication.com.