By Joseph Erunke, Abuja

The Pharmacy Council of Nigeria,PCN,has directed authorities of colleges of health technology in the country to begin to train pharmacy technicians in line with current realities.

The council particularly tasked provosts of the cFG urged to incorporate tech in primary educationolleges to ensure that pharmacy technician graduates are equipped with the requisite knowledge, skills and ethical foundation to effectively carry out their roles within the boundaries of their practice.

The Registrar, Pharmacy Council of Nigeria,Pharm. Babashehu Ahmed, said this in Abuja on Wednesday, in his address at a two-day interactive forum with provosts,principals and heads of pharmacy technician training programme in colleges and schools of health technology.

Ahmed explained that the call became imperative “as pharmacists roles continue to evolve and certain activities shift to the pharmacy technicians.”

“The trainers are expected to ensure pharmacy technician graduates are equipped with the requisiteknowledge, skills and ethical foundation to effectively carry out their roles within the boundaries of their practice,”he emphasised.

The event with the theme: “Advancing the training and Practice of Pharmacy Technicians: Regulatory Perspective”, is expected to offer participants the opportunity to improve the training and practice of pharmacy
technician in Nigeria.

It is to extensively address the challenges currently faced in the training programme and proffer solutions to guarantee a more qualitative training.

Heads of pharmacy technician training colleges,pharmacists as well as other tutors involved in the training of pharmacy technicians in accredited colleges and schools of health technology across the country participated in the forum.

Also speaking,the Chairman of PCN,Pharm. Wosilat Giwa,thanked the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfarer, Prof. Mohammad Pate, for giving the opportunity for the forum,noting that pharmacy technicians are middle level health care providers that
work under the supervision of registered pharmacists to provide
pharmaceutical services at all levels of health care.

“As support staff in the pharmacy profession, their training and practice is of utmost importance to the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria as we cannot afford to compromise on quality of training and practice,”she added.

“The Pharmacy Council of Nigeria, over the years, has promoted
quality of training through innovative review of the curriculum
and constant improvement in the monitoring and evaluation of
the training programme.

“Part of the steps taken to ensure the quality of training is the regular accreditation visits and the National Pre-Certification Examination.

“As a regulatory body, we cannot afford to compromise on the quality of the graduates of this programme.

“The Council is aware of the constant pressure for new schools as well as increase in admission quarters.

“While steps are being taken to address this requests, it should be noted that the Council has standards and established guidelines that must be followed.

“Consequently, provosts and principals as well as Heads of Department,HODs must
comply with the Council guidelines for seamless operation,”she said.

She explained that the theme of the event was “derived from the renewed interest of PCN in aligning with the federal government’s agenda of providing quality health services at all levels of health care.”

“This is also in line with global best practices of constant improvement in health care education and practice,”she added.

The event’s keynote speaker and professor of Pharmaceutical and Medical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences,Ahmadu Bello University, Prof. Umaru Pateh,noted that the healthcare landscape is constantly evolving, with new diseases, technologies, and treatment modalities emerging regularly.

This,he said,calls for regular training programme to prepare pharmacy technicians to adapt to new challenges.

Noting that the challenges Nigeria faces in its healthcare sector are significant, he, however ,said they are not insurmountable.

“With collective effort and a shared vision, we can transform the landscape of pharmacy and health technology in Nigeria,”he said.

The actionable steps he suggested for the PCN is to conduct a needs assessment, develop a strategic plan,foster partnerships, promote research and Innovation as well as engage in advocacy as a way forward.