Exploring the feasibility of a co-developed micro-credential for pharmacy technician checking

Abstract

Internationally, hospital pharmacy support staff, assistants, and technicians can become credentialled for extended roles, yet opportunities are limited in Australia. Increasing need for training more responsive to the hospital pharmacy setting could be addressed via flexible, portable courses and micro-credentials to promote rapid skill development without compromising productivity. This study aimed to explore the feasibility of collaborative co-production of a micro-credential for an extended support staff role. Hospital clinicians and university researchers collaborated to identify training priorities and then co-developed and piloted a micro-credential with key stakeholders, including support staff as end-users. A working group and semi-structured stakeholder interviews identified prescription accuracy checking, history taking, and counselling of selected medicines as training priorities. Prescription accuracy checking was nominated for initial development as a micro-credential. The Nominal Group Technique (NGT) was employed with three groups (working group, pharmacists, and support staff) to generate and prioritise ideas for content and assessment. A total of 108 individual ideas were generated from the NGT (working group [n = 44], pharmacists [n = 39], and support staff [n = 25]). Technical knowledge, workflow processes, competency assessment, risk management, and mentorship were prioritised. A micro-credential comprising five topics, assessment, and supervised staff checking was piloted from January–February 2024. Participating support staff engaged well with checking inpatient, outpatient, and discharge prescriptions, reporting translation of greater vigilance in their checking process to routine dispensing, and expressed optimism about a structured career pathway. Pharmacists were confident in staff checking accuracy and receptive to extended roles for support staff. Collaborative micro-credential co-production was considered feasible, providing a template for future credentialling to meet emerging workforce needs. Ethical approval was granted by the Metro South Health Human Research Ethics Committee (Reference no: HREC2021/QMS/73248) and the Griffith University Human Research Ethics Committee (Reference no: 2021/574) and the study conforms with the Australian National statement on ethical conduct in human research. Informed consent was obtained from all participants via distribution of a project information sheet and completion of a written consent form (paper or electronic). Participation was voluntary with an option for participants to withdraw at any stage without any explanation or penalty. Participants were given an option to participant in one or all the intervention arms (i.e. working group, NGT, interviews). Prior to the interviews or NGT, participants were briefed to ensure that they understood the project information sheet and consent form and asked if they wished to proceed. Participants were provided with incentives (AUD $30 grocery vouchers) for participating in interviews and focus groups outside of their usual work hours or if they were external to the health service.