Today, ACP is excited to launch a redesigned Structured Practical Training (SPT) Program for pharmacy technicians. The program has been modernized to ensure pharmacy technician candidates are ready to practise and deliver person-centred care in Alberta.
The redesigned program was developed with an advisory group of pharmacy technicians who brought a variety of perspectives from different areas of pharmacy technician practice. This collaborative development process helped to ensure the redesigned program will prepare pharmacy technicians to practise to their full scope in a variety of practice settings.
Why did the program change?
Redesigning the SPT Program was important to ensure it is reflective of contemporary pharmacy technician practice, as well as ensuring demonstration of readiness for independent practice prior to successful completion of the program.
ACP’s former pharmacy technician SPT Program was based on the National Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities’ (NAPRA) 2014 Professional Competencies for Canadian Pharmacy Technicians at Entry to Practice. The redesigned SPT Program was updated to align with NAPRA’s updated 2024 Professional Competencies for Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians at Entry to Practice in Canada and ACP’s standards. The redesign of the program was also informed by best practices and learnings from similar programs across Canada.
Why SPT matters
The primary purpose of the SPT Program is to assess readiness to practise and ensure candidates can demonstrate competence across varied practice environments. SPT focuses on skill development and assessment, rather than simply completing a required number of hours or onboarding.
Completing the redesigned SPT Program will enable pharmacy technician candidates to use their technical and clinical skills confidently in the provision of person-centred care, embody the characteristics of a pharmacy professional, and practise as a trusted pharmacy professional within the healthcare system.
New program highlights
Below are some of the key aspects of the redesigned program.
Program
Online platform: No more paper! The SPT Program is now hosted in Academy, ACP’s online learning management system.
Program structure: The redesigned program includes self-directed online activities and two practical experiences. Both of the practical experiences will occur over a minimum of six weeks when completed full time (a minimum of 240 hours each).
Site requirements: The two practical experiences must be completed at different sites (and with a different preceptor) to broaden experiences and ensure readiness to practise. Candidates will be responsible for finding their own sites. Each site must be able to facilitate the completion of all practical experience activities (e.g., direct patient care).
The requirement for two distinct practice sites and preceptors supports a more comprehensive and objective assessment of readiness to practise. Exposure to different workflows, patient populations, and preceptors helps ensure that candidates can apply their knowledge and skills consistently, rather than within a single environment. Requiring the candidate to be assessed by two different preceptors while practising at different sites also provides greater confidence that the candidate is ready to practise.
Candidate requirements
Entry requirements: Candidates will need to register with ACP and complete the Jurisprudence Learning Module (JLM) and the Ethics and Jurisprudence Exam prior to enrolling in the SPT Program. Before getting started in the practical experience portion of the SPT Program, candidates will also need to complete the SPT overview course and online learning modules.
Preceptor requirements
Eligibility requirements: Preceptors must be on the pharmacy technician or pharmacist register for at least one year and complete the Preceptor training course before they can start precepting. For at least one practical experience, the preceptor must be a pharmacy technician. Candidates remain responsible for finding their own preceptors. Preceptors will be limited to precepting a maximum of two candidates at once.
Preceptor supervision: The majority of a candidate’s practical experience (at least 75 per cent of scheduled hours) must be spent under the supervision of their preceptor to enable an accurate assessment.
Co-precepting: Preceptors can now co-precept, so candidates can be supervised by two co-preceptors (instead of one preceptor).
To learn more about the new SPT Program, visit the SPT webpage.
