Activity Preview

Originally developed by Washington State University (WSU) and recently revised through a partnership between WSU and the American Pharmacists Association (APhA), the APhA/WSU Pharmacy-Based Immunization Administration by Pharmacy Technicians training program explores the expanding role of the pharmacy technician by providing additional skills training to administer immunizations.  This two-part program emphasizes a health care team collaboration between pharmacists and technicians which seeks to improve population health by increasing immunization rates in states that allow technicians to immunize.

Composed of an online self-study component combined with a live seminar that teaches hands-on immunization techniques, this program will provide a total of six hours of continuing education for technicians and pharmacists.

Target Audience: Technicians in all practice settings and pharmacists
Learning Level: Level 3

Learning Objectives

Self-Study Learning Objectives:

• Describe proper technique when drawing up and administering immunizations
• Recognize commonly used vaccines and their corresponding routes of administration
• Distinguish proper needle length selection based on vaccine and patient age and size
• Identify proper documentation procedures
• Recall vaccine storage requirements
• Describe safety measures to avoid accidental needle stick injuries
• Recognize appropriate actions to take in emergency situations

Live Seminar Learning Objectives:

• Demonstrate a successful technique when administering an intramuscular and subcutaneous injection.
• Demonstrate appropriate distraction techniques during immunization administration.
• Demonstrate the use of universal precautions as they pertain to blood borne pathogens
• Explain the procedures for managing a vaccine reaction emergency

This ACPE activity does not provide a certification in this topic but rather advanced professional training which upon successful completion the learner will be able to download a certificate of achievement.

Accreditation Information 

The American Pharmacists Association is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education as a provider of continuing pharmacy education. The Pharmacy-Based Immunization Administration by Pharmacy Technicians training program is approved for a total of 6.0 contact hours of continuing pharmacy education (CPE) credit (0.6 CEUs). The ACPE Universal Activity Numbers (UAN) for this activity are listed below.

Successful completion of the self-study component involves passing the self-study assessment with a grade of 70% or higher and will result in 2 contact hours of CPE credit (0.2 CEUs). ACPE UAN: 0202-0000-20-124-H06-T/0202-0000-20-124-H06-P

Successful completion of the live seminar component involves attending the full live seminar, successfully completing the injection technique assessment, and completing the online assessment and evaluation. Successful completion of this component will result in 4 contact hours of CPE credit (0.4 CEU). ACPE UAN: 0202-0000-20-125-H06-T/0202-0000-20-125-H06-P

To obtain 6.0 contact hours of CPE credit 0.6 CEUs) for the Pharmacy-Based Immunization Administration by Pharmacy Technicians training program, the learner must complete all components listed above, and CLAIM credit for each component. Participants will need to have a valid APhA (pharmacist.com) username and password, as well as a CPE Monitor account to claim credit. After credit has been claimed, please visit CPE monitor for your transcript. The Certificate of Achievement will be available online upon successful completion of the necessary activity requirements on the participant’s My Training page.

APhA continuing pharmacy education policy provides you with two opportunities to successfully complete the continuing pharmacy education assessment. Please note that you will not be permitted to submit the assessment a third time. The current policy of the APhA Education Department is not to release the correct answers to any of our CPE tests. This policy is intended to maintain the integrity of the CPE activity and the assessment.

Release Date:  January 20, 2020

Expiration Date: January 20, 2023 - PLEASE NOTE: NO Home Study credit granted after this date; Live Credit can only be granted within 60 days from the day of the seminar attended.

Development

APhA/WSU's Pharmacy-Based Immunization Administration by Pharmacy Technicians training program was developed jointly by the American Pharmacists Association and Washington State University.  Copyright © 2020 by the American Pharmacists Association/Washington State University.

System Requirements

Computer and Internet access are required to complete this activity.  Please visit our website to view the Technology System Requirements in order to have a positive learning experience.

Additional Resources

If you are looking for some additional resources, try visiting our Pharmacist Immunization Center.