title: Nontraditional roles for certified pharmacy technicians in a pharmaceutical company.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe nontraditional roles for Certified Pharmacy Technicians (CPhTs) within pharmaceutical industry.
  
  
  METHODS
  Drug information department within a large biotechnology/pharmaceutical organization.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Medical Communications department within Genentech uses a skills-mix staffing model in which employees with varying educational and training backgrounds work as a team on meeting the informational needs of consumers and health professionals who contact the company. One position within the department is that of Medical Communications Associate, responsible primarily for managing product inquiries.
  
  
  METHODS
  Medical Communications Associates have degrees in life sciences or an equivalent combination of education and experience, including a minimum of 2 years of related experience in the health care industry. Currently, four of the seven Medical Communications Associates in the department are CPhTs.
  
  
  METHODS
  Not applicable.
  
  
  METHODS
  Ability to recruit CPhTs for Medical Communications Associate positions, and job satisfaction of those hired into these positions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Critical basic skills needed for the Medical Communications Associate position include strong computer literacy, ability to multitask, and ability to work in an environment with frequent interruptions. Strong oral and written communications skills, customer service skills, ability to deal with stressful situations, product-specific knowledge, ability to work on a daily basis with Medical Communications Pharmacists, and knowledge of medical terminology are also important. The skills set of CPhTs matches these requirements, as evidenced by the experiences of the four staff members who have worked in the department for a total of 17 person-years.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This nontraditional role for CPhTs can be rewarding and beneficial to all, affording an unique opportunity within the pharmaceutical industry. The skill set and experience of CPhTs can be used in the nontraditional pharmacy practice setting of drug information.
authors.affiliation: Medical Communications Department, Genentech, South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA. Fung.Stacey_M@gene.com
authors.forename: Stacey M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Fung
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gilmour
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: McCracken
authors.forename: Korban
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shane
authors.forename: Gary
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Matsuura
mesh_terms: D002568:Certification; D004345:Drug Industry / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004346:Drug Information Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D007587:Job Description; D010561:Personnel Staffing and Scheduling / Q000458:organization & administration; D010596:Pharmacy Technicians