PTCB Announces Updated Pharmacy Technician Certification Exam Blueprint

WASHINGTON, June 6, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) today announced the update of the Pharmacy Technician Certification Exam (PTCE) Blueprint, which includes the reorganization of current PTCE content into nine knowledge areas. The areas are Pharmacology for Technicians; Pharmacy Law and Regulations; Sterile and Non-sterile Compounding; Medication Safety; Pharmacy Quality Assurance; Medication Order Entry and Fill Process; Pharmacy Inventory Management; Pharmacy Billing and Reimbursement; and Pharmacy Information Systems Usage and Application.

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Changes to the PTCE resulted from a Job Analysis Study completed in February 2012. The profession-wide study, in which over 25,000 pharmacy technicians from every state and practice setting participated, identified  the entry level knowledge and skills needed to perform tasks that are most important to protecting public health. A panel of expert pharmacists and pharmacy technicians used the findings to develop the revised PTCE blueprint.

"Developing and maintaining an exam for pharmacy technicians that is psychometrically sound and meets standards for validity remains PTCB's greatest mission," said PTCB Executive Director and CEO, Everett McAllister, RPh, MPA. "We remain committed to routinely evaluating the evolution of technician responsibilities to create a product that effectively measures knowledge across pharmacy practice settings."

While much of the PTCE's content remains unchanged, extensive work has gone into reorganizing the blueprint and creating more specific knowledge domains. Within the new blueprint, content is organized into nine domains, called "knowledge areas," each with a number of sub-domains. This organization gives the new blueprint a knowledge focus, and conveys more information about the type and amount of content in the exam.

To aid those familiar with the current blueprint, PTCB is providing a crosswalk to identify where knowledge listed under the current blueprint will be organized within the new blueprint.

The PTCE is delivered at over 220 Pearson Professional Centers nationwide and DANTES military test centers. An exact date for implementing the new blueprint has not been established, but it is anticipated that the PTCE will reflect the new blueprint starting in mid-2013. No changes will be made to the length of the exam, or the number or type of exam questions. For additional information on the PTCB certification program, please visit www.ptcb.org.

About PTCB
The Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) was established in 1995 and is governed by five pharmacy organizations—the American Pharmacists Association, the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, the Illinois Council of Health-System Pharmacists, the Michigan Pharmacists Association, and the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy. The goal of PTCB's national certification program, which has certified over 400,000 pharmacy technicians nationwide, is to enable pharmacy technicians to work more effectively with pharmacists to offer safe and effective patient care and service. Pharmacy technicians may apply online to take the Pharmacy Technician Certification Exam at www.ptcb.org.

SOURCE Pharmacy Technician Certification Board