Pharmacy Technician

PLEASE NOTE - This position may require temporarily relocation to other TONHC Facilities: Sells Hospital, Santa Rosa Health Center, San Simon Health Center, and San Xavier Health Center.

Position Summary:


The incumbent performs various pharmacy-related duties for the Pharmacy Department, such as maintaining medication supplies, ordering drugs from the supply department, and stocking medications.

Scope of Work:

This position is located in the Tohono O'odham Nation Sells Hospital or Health Care Centers within the service area. Incumbent provides pharmacy services as directed or assigned by a Clinical Pharmacist. The incumbent is under the immediate supervision of the Clinical Pharmacist.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities: (Depending on the area of assignment, an incumbent may not be required to perform some of the duties listed below):

• Order drugs from the supply department, except class II narcotics.
• Responsible for keeping the supply of medications needed on hand.
• Keeps narcotic files on nursing units and emergency room up to date
• Prepare off-schedule drug requisitions as necessary and checks the status of backorder drugs.
• Perform some clerical duties in the absence of clerical staff.
• Responsible for collecting such data as may be required and writing such reports as may be assigned.
• Shelves and stores all incoming drugs and supplies, assuring that all items requiring special handling receive the same and maintain proper stock rotation.
• Provides warehousing activities maximize efficiency, so storage space is used with maximum efficiency per the pharmacy storage plan.
• Stocks and maintains the emergency drug carts by utilizing a prepared checklist.
• Maintain an adequate working shelf stock of drugs in the pharmacy's dispensing area.
• Inventories and maintains the night drug cabinet stock in the emergency room.
• Responsible for maintaining the pharmacies and storage areas in a neat, clean, and orderly condition.
• Independently fills inpatient and outpatient drug requisitions from prepackaged stock containers and original stock containers.
• Check all nursing drug storage areas for expired drugs.
• Prepackage drugs from bulk containers to smaller outpatient dispensing units for use in filling prescriptions.
• Strip packaged medications used in the operation of the inpatient unit dose drug distribution system.
• Responsible for printing all labels used in the prepackaging process.
• Counts and pours drugs used in the filling of a prescription.
• Routinely calls patients to the outpatient pharmacy consultation rooms.
• Prepare sterile intravenous admixtures and chemotherapeutic agents; light checks all intravenous solutions arid admixtures issued through the pharmacy.
• Bulks compound pharmaceutical preparations as such as ointment, solutions, etc.
• Operate inpatient and outpatient pharmacies' computers, the hospital computer system, and PC's.
• Contribute to a team effort.
• Performs other job-related duties as assigned.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Knowledge of the Tohono O'odham culture, customs, and traditions.
• Knowledge of the concepts, principles, practices, and techniques of pharmacy to provide direct patient services.
• Knowledge of State and Federal laws and regulations about pharmacy operations.
• Knowledge, or ability to acquire knowledge, pharmaceutical nomenclature metric and apothecary systems of weights and measures, operation of various pharmaceutical apparatus and equipment, compounding techniques, and measurement of ingredients.
• Knowledge of appropriate resource and reference material and their
• Knowledgeable with the trade and generic names of drugs
• Must have the organizational and mathematical ability to prepare intravenous solutions.
• Ability to work independently in accordance with policies and guidelines.
• Ability to communicate with patients regarding the proper administration, use, actions, precautions, and storage of their medications.

Minimum Qualifications:

• High School diploma or General Education Diploma.
• Certificate as a Pharmacy Technician or one-year prior experience as a Pharmacy Technician/Aid.

Licenses, Certifications, Special Requirements:

• Certified Pharmacy Technician preferred.
• Upon recommendation for hire, a criminal background and a National FBI fingerprint check are required to determine suitability for employment, including a 39-month driving record.
• May require possessing and maintaining a valid driver's license (no DUIs or major traffic citations within the last three years).
• If required, must meet the Tohono O'odham Nation tribal employer's insurance requirements to receive a driver's permit to operate program vehicles.
• Based on the department's needs, incumbents may be required to demonstrate fluency in both the Tohono O'odham language and English as a condition of employment.