{"id":45169,"date":"2021-01-11T12:34:40","date_gmt":"2021-01-11T17:34:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/pharmacy\/?p=45169"},"modified":"2021-01-11T12:58:39","modified_gmt":"2021-01-11T17:58:39","slug":"uri-college-of-pharmacy-trains-pharmacists-technicians-to-deliver-covid-19-vaccine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/pharmacy\/2021\/01\/11\/uri-college-of-pharmacy-trains-pharmacists-technicians-to-deliver-covid-19-vaccine\/","title":{"rendered":"URI College of Pharmacy trains pharmacists, technicians to deliver COVID-19 vaccine"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the production of the COVID-19 vaccine, the end of the pandemic is on the horizon. While there\u2019s still a long way to go, University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy faculty and staff members continue their efforts to hasten the end of the deadly pandemic, training pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to administer the vaccine.<\/p>\n

Under new COVID health regulations, pharmacy technicians are allowed to administer the vaccine, necessitating training for those who hadn\u2019t previously vaccinated. They join pharmacists, who were granted the right to vaccinate in Rhode Island about 10 years ago. Mary-Jane Kanaczet<\/a>, director of the College\u2019s Office of Continuing Professional Development for the Health Professions<\/a>, received a license from the American Pharmacists Association to provide the training, and taught 33 pharmacy techs and 29 pharmacists recently, including Paul Larrat<\/a>, dean of the College of Pharmacy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were primarily pharmacy technicians in the training, but we also had a handful of pharmacists trained,\u201d Larrat said. \u201cThis is in addition to the hundreds of students who we\u2019ve trained in recent years to administer vaccines. They get certified early on \u2014 in their first professional year \u2014 and they\u2019re able to begin administering vaccines in pharmacies, under the supervision of a pharmacist.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Those interested in future training progeams, can sign up for program alerts on the CPD office website at https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cehp\/<\/a> or contact MJ Kanaczet at mj@uri.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Originally developed by Washington State University and recently revised through a partnership between WSU and the American Pharmacists Association<\/a>, the Pharmacy-Based Immunization Administration by Pharmacy Technicians<\/em> training program explores the expanding role of the pharmacy technician by providing additional skills training to administer immunizations. The two-part program emphasizes a healthcare team collaboration between pharmacists and technicians, which aims to improve population health by increasing immunization rates in states that allow technicians to immunize.<\/p>\n

Composed of an online self-study component combined with a live seminar that teaches hands-on immunization techniques, the program offers six hours of continuing education for technicians and pharmacists. Director of Experiential Education Brett Feret<\/a> and Coordinator of Accreditation and Assessment Matthew Lacroix<\/a> headed up the class that begins with a CPR certification from the American Heart Association. The four-hour long course covers all aspects of administering a vaccine, from specific patient considerations like how to choose the right size needle, to specific instruction on the proper technique of injecting the vaccine. The pharmacy techs then practice injecting sterile saline in each other, an important lesson for new vaccinators.<\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cIt is a new regulation that pharmacy techs are allowed to inject,\u201d Feret said, noting the techs are immunizing health care workers and nursing home residents, and will likely do the same in pharmacies once the vaccine is available to the public at large. \u201cObviously, that\u2019s mostly due to the pandemic that this program was created to increase the number of vaccinators to help meet the critical demand.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trainees specifically learn to:<\/p>\n