Pharmacy Technicians

After many years of planning, the goal of pharmacy technicians as a separate, licensed and regulated health profession is becoming a reality. Here’s how the transition is progressing across Canada.

Capsules for an ailing whale. Anaesthetics for dental patients. Transdermals for cats. These are just a few examples of the compounds that head pharmacy technician Anne Marie Taddeo has prepared in tandem with pharmacist Jennifer Schoenhals at Falls Pharmacy in Niagara Falls, Ont. A veteran employee of the 55-year-old, family-owned pharmacy—she started out as a cashier in 1974—Taddeo got involved in specialty compounding when Schoenhals took over the business from her parents. Taddeo and Schoenhals started by taking primary training at the Professional Compounding Centers of America (PCCA) in Houston.