Advanced Pharmacy Technician, Investigational Drug 

Why UT Southwestern? 

With over 75 years of excellence in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, UT Southwestern is committed to excellence, innovation, teamwork, and compassion. At UT Southwestern, we invest in you with opportunities for career growth and development that align with your future goals and help to provide security for you and your family. Our highly competitive benefits package offers healthcare, PTO and paid holidays, on-site childcare, wage, merit increases and so much more that are all available on the day you start work. UT Southwestern is honored to be a Veteran Friendly work environment that is home to approximately 800 veterans.  We value your integrity, dedication, and the commitment you’ve made to our country.  We’re proud to support your next mission.  Ranked by Forbes as one of the Top 10 National Employers, we invite you to be a part of the UT Southwestern team where you’ll discover teamwork, professionalism, and consistent opportunities for growth.   

Job Summary

Advanced Investigative Drug Services Pharmacy technician duties includes: Inpatient & SOC procurement, receipt, reconciliation, documentation, IV drug preparation, patient return documentation, drug delivery, packing, transportation coordination of IP to regional site clinics, billing, creating invoices, support clinical pharmacists in all technical duties, etc.

Investigational Drug Services include: 

• Compounding hazardous IV medications
• Research drug procurement
• Temperature monitoring
• Order receipts
• Bar-coding of investigation drug service
• Supporting drug accountability
• Billing
• Study site initiation visits and monitor visit preparations
• Preparation of research medications

Experience and Education

• High school diploma or equivalent required.
• Minimum of four (4) years of experience as a pharmacy technician, two (2) of the years in area of advanced pharmacy technician concentration.
• Registration with Texas State Board of Pharmacy (TSBP) as a Registered Technician or Pharmacist Intern is required.
• National certification with Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) preferred.
• Sterile compounding (IV) certification accredited by ACPE required in Sterile & Hazardous Compounding and Investigational Drug Services only. 
• Current Basic Life Support (BLS) certification, course accredited by the American Heart Association (AHA) or American Red Cross (ARC) is required.

Job Duties

Advanced Pharmacy Technician (TCPT) basic responsibilities may include:

• Performs job responsibilities in accordance with organizational and departmental policies, procedures, performance improvement objectives and environmental/infection control standards. 
• Coordinates daily workflow in assigned area and provides leadership to other technicians.
• Makes good decisions, accepts responsibilities and maintains competency in multiple areas. Is a knowledge and training resource for specific areas of responsibility and routinely works to improve these areas.
• Provides prompt and courteous service by receiving incoming calls (patients, nurses, physicians, etc.) and prioritizing based on urgency or nature of requests (triage).
• Participate in teaching activities, including but not limited to, precept Pharmacy Technicians, Pharmacy Students, Pharmacists, and other healthcare practitioners.
• Actively enhances personal growth and development by participating in educational programs, in-services and meetings.
• Actively participates in new employee orientation and training.
• Treats co-workers and organizational/departmental property and resources with respect by maintaining a clean, orderly and appropriately stocked work environment.
• Audits and signs out all controlled substances in accordance with state/federal guidelines and organizational policies. 
• Identifies and corrects discrepancies and reports unusual usage patterns/trends.
• Completes medication area inspections in a thorough and timely manner.
• Removes and documents expired medications appropriately.
• Consistently works (multi-tasks) and problem solves independently and effectively with minimal supervision.
• Spend a total of 80% of their staffed hours performing one or a combination of the below advanced pharmacy technician concentration areas.
• Performs other duties as assigned

Controlled Substance, Operating room, Buyer & Procurement Advanced Pharmacy Technician activities may include:

• Assists with ordering, managing and monitoring drug inventory in a fiscally responsible manner and is cognizant of appropriate PAR levels in all medication storage areas.
• Proper management and handling of medications, including investigational and controlled substances (e.g., record maintenance, use of inventory management software, inventory and quality control, proper documentation and discrepancy resolution).
• Efficient operation and ability to troubleshoot specialty machinery, equipment, devices or software necessary in performing job functions (e.g., carousels, automated dispensing cabinets, drug delivery devices, mediciation testing).
• Generate and Aanalyze reports from the automated dispensing cabinets and compare to administration records.
• Temperature monitoring for room, refrigerators and freezers.
• Competence in rebuilding code cart trays and creating drug kits as needed.
• Ordering, shipping, receiving, retrieving and documenting pharmacy inventory activities. Including MD Webportal, ION ordering, Peoplesoft, Jaggaer and other systems.

Sterile & Hazardous Compounding activities may include:

• Accurately prepares all sterile admixtures for adults, pediatrics and neonates using proper aseptic technique.
• Safely handles all hazardous medications, including chemotherapy.
• Delivers medications in a timely and efficient manner.
• Compounding, packaging and labeling of sterile and non-sterile products in accordance to USP regulations;
• Able to perform pharmaceutical calculations in execution of tasks.
• Competent in terminal cleaning and utilizing PAPR unit while cleaning underpan of CACI (when applicable).
• Efficient operation of specialty machinery and equipment (e.g. baxa pump, IV compounding system, PharmTrac)
• Special preparations (e.g. CADD delivery device, AIM, elastomeric pumps).
• Proficient with understanding sterility testing systems, USP compounding standards and state board of pharmacy rules as they relate to sterile and hazardous compounding.

Investigational Drug Services activities may include:

• Proper management and handling of medications, including investigational and controlled substances (e.g., record maintenance, use of inventory management software, inventory and quality control, proper documentation and discrepancy resolution).
• Accurately prepares investigational sterile admixtures for adults, pediatrics and neonates using proper aseptic technique.
• Safely handles all hazardous medications, including chemotherapy.
• Delivers medications in a timely and efficient manner.
• General understanding of research study protocols and unique requirements for each study protocol. Inventory management for study drug when stored inside and outside areas of IDS.
• Competence to work with study monitors and/or auditors for research studies.
• Proficient developing study procedures and troubleshooting issues that arise in IDS. 

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Work requires good organizational skills.
• Basic computer skills, data entry, filing. English (speaking, reading, writing).
• Good general health and stress coping ability.
• Moderate physical effort: prolonged standing/walking, occasional lifting/carrying (up to 25 lbs), reaching, bending, crouching, etc. OSHA Category III.

Working Conditions

• Work is performed primarily in office area. 
• Moderate physical effort: prolonged standing/walking, occasional lifting/carrying (up to 25 lbs), reaching, bending, crouching, etc.

Security

Any qualifications to be considered as equivalents in lieu of stated minimum require prior approval of Vice President for Human Resources Administration or his/her designee.

Compliance with the COVID-19 vaccine mandate enforced by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) is a requirement for this position. 

Federal law requires individuals holding this position to be fully vaccinated or have an approved exemption for certain medical, disability, or religious reasons.  Individuals who do not meet CMS vaccination requirements are not eligible and should not apply for this position but are encouraged to apply for other non-healthcare positions at UT Southwestern for which they qualify. 

For COVID-19 vaccine information, applicants should visit https://www.utsouthwestern.edu/covid-19/work-on-campus/ 

To learn more about the benefits UT Southwestern offers, visit https://www.utsouthwestern.edu/employees/hr-resources/ 

This position is security-sensitive and subject to Texas Education Code §51.215, which authorizes UT Southwestern to obtain criminal history record information.  

UT Southwestern Medical Center is committed to an educational and working environment that provides equal opportunity to all members of the University community.  As an equal opportunity employer, UT Southwestern prohibits unlawful discrimination, including discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, disability, genetic information, citizenship status, or veteran status.