PHARMACY MANAGERS VIEWS OF JOB RESPONSIBILITIES FOR STUDENT INTERNS AND PHARMACY TECHNICIANS

Recent Montana legislation permits pharmacy technicians to perform selected pharmacy duties previously restricted to pharmacists and pharmacy interns. Hiring pharmacy technicians in lieu of student interns could reduce the number of paid student internship positions in Montana, forcing students to seek paying internship positions in other states or to obtain hours in Montana without pay and placing additional financial or time burdens on students. Montana pharmacy owners and managers were surveyed concerning their attitudes towards job responsibilities which might be delegated to store clerks, pharmacy technicians and student interns, and their plans to employ pharmacy technicians and student interns in the future. Surveys were mailed to all 269 pharmacy managers in Montana. An overall response rate of 80.3 percent was obtained. Survey results suggest that 13 Montana pharmacies were lost in 1994 to students hoping to obtain paid intern hours in Montana.