A call to action: Maximizing the pharmacy technician role through certifications.

The continued advancement of pharmacy practice demands highly skilled and knowledgeable pharmacy technicians to enhance the services provided. As technician responsibilities continue to evolve to include more advanced roles, the need for standardized technician training and certification is essential to advance the profession of pharmacy technicians and pharmacy practice. With only 45% of states requiring technician certification, great variation exists in the education and training competencies required for technicians practicing in the health system setting.

Optimizing the Spacing of Retrieval Practice to Improve Pharmacy Students' Learning of Drug Names.

To optimize student pharmacists' long-term retention of brand and generic drug names through spacing and modification of quiz format. In three experiments, student pharmacists learned brand and generic names for the Top 200 medications taught in a self-paced course. The students completed two spaced quizzes on the course content, a final examination, and a measure of long-term retention administered several weeks after the course was completed.

Impact of Spacing of Practice on Learning Brand Name and Generic Drugs.

To test the impact of schedules of retrieval practice on learning brand and generic name drug information in a self-paced course. Students completed weekly quizzes on brand and generic name conversions for 100 commonly prescribed drugs. Each student completed part of the drug list on a schedule of equal, expanding, or contracting spacing, one practice (massed) or study only in a partial block design.