For pharmacy technicians wishing to work in Ghana, the Pharmacy Council has implemented a new licencing system.
Prospective practitioners would be required to take the Ghana Pharmacy Technician Qualifying Examination (GPTQE) as part of the new system before receiving a licence to practise.
This is one of the steps taken by the council to uphold standards and organise pharmacy technicians' work across the nation.
In order to increase productivity, the pharmacy technician environment must be sanitised and unqualified persons removed from the workforce.
first edition
The first-ever GPTQE will take place on October 22, this year, according to Albert Wiredu Arkoh, the council's deputy registrar for professional development, who spoke to the media in Accra on last Wednesday.
He stated that for the test's first administration, roughly 300 candidates were anticipated, and those who passed would get licences to practise.
practise of pharmacy
In the country's pharmacy practise, Mr. Arkoh stated, there were three separate levels of staff members whose roles were crucial to the efficient provision of medical treatment.
He identified them as pharmacy technicians, counter assistants, and professionals.
"All individuals who wish to practise in that sector, including pharmacy technicians, are licenced, for the professional pharmacy and medicine counter assistant," he added.
Mr. Arkoh clarified that in order to be eligible to work as a pharmacy professional in Ghana, a candidate must pass the Ghana Pharmacy Professionals Qualifying Examination (GPPQE).
Similar to that, he added, the Ghana Medicine Counter Assistant Examination is required of people who work as medicine counter assistants (GMCAE).
Certified professionals
Following their 12-month experiential training, pharmacy technicians applied to the council for licences to allow them to practise as pharmacy technicians, according to Cynthia Yeboah Mintah, head of the council's Education, Training, and Research Department. This practise began in 2014 and involves pharmacy technicians from a variety of accredited training institutions.
She said that as of today, 2,480 pharmacy technicians who worked in all areas of pharmacy practise had received licences from the council since 2014.
She stated that, similar to how it was done for pharmacists and other pharmaceutical support workers like medicine counter assistants, the registration procedure for pharmacy technicians would now include the licensure exam that will be held in October of this year.