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Position Description
Position Title:
Pharmacy Technician – chemotherapy
Reports to:
Senior Pharmacist, Cancer Services/ Director of Pharmacy
Award / Agreement / Contract:
Victorian Public Health Sector (Health Professionals, Health and
Allied Services, Managers & Administrative Officers) Enterprise
Agreement 2016 - 2020
Position Type:
Pharmacy Technician Grade 3
eg. RN Div 1, Occupational Therapist Gr1, etc.
Hours per week:
38
Employment Status:
e.g. permanent, fixed term, maternity leave cover, etc.
Permanent
Reports:
EFT:
Financial Management:
Budget:
Position Purpose
Direct Reports:
(what is the primary objective for this role? 2-3 sentences maximum)
Pharmacy technicians, under the supervision of a pharmacist, assist in the various activities of the pharmacy
department that does not require the professional judgement of a pharmacist. The role works within the legal
confines of the Pharmacy Regulation Act, the Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Act/Regulations and the
Pharmacy Board of Australia guidelines.
The primary role of this position is to prepare chemotherapeutic agents for Austin Health patients. Other
responsibilites include training of staff, maintaining a clean working environment, restocking medications,
consumables and assisting with managing the cytotoxic suite.
Key customers are: Pharmacy staff, hospital patients, nursing staff, hospital staff, other hospital departments
About Austin Health
Austin Health is one of Victoria’s largest health care providers. Comprising the Austin Hospital, Heidelberg Repatriation
Hospital and Royal Talbot Rehabilitation Centre, Austin Health is a major teaching and research centre with numerous
university and research institute affiliations.
Austin Health employs in excess of 8,000 staff across its three sites; including over 1,000 Doctors and 3,000 nurses, and
delivers a full range of leading edge clinical services, including several state-wide services (liver transplant, spinal cord injury
service, respiratory support service, child inpatient mental health service). In total, Austin Health provides over 900 beds,
including mental health, aged care and rehabilitation beds. The current annual operating budget is $800 million.
Austin Health delivers vital state-wide services to Victorians, including diverse multicultural and veteran communities. It
provides community and specialty services to the people of Melbourne’s north-eastern corridor in a safety-focused, teamoriented and stimulating work environment.
Austin Health’s vision is to change healthcare for the better through world class research, education and exceptional patient
care. As part of bringing our vision to life, the organisation has recently undertaken an extensive brand refresh and reviewed
our organisational model to ensure we are best positioned to deliver contemporary, innovative and patient focussed care.
Austin Health is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to attracting and retaining a diverse workforce that reflects
the community we serve. Austin Health is committed to providing an inclusive culture where all employees can contribute to
the best of their ability.
Local Work Environment
(describe the local work environment eg. role of the department)
The Pharmacy Department Mission Statement is:
Position Description Pharmacy Technician 2016
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“Working together to provide optimum pharmaceutical care”.
Comprehensive pharmacy services are provided at the two main sites of Austin and Repatriation campuses and also to Royal
Talbot Rehabilitation Centre. Pharmacy staff participate in a co-ordinated work team via a roster system, and they work at
different sites (as needed) in order to provide an integrated, high quality service to all pharmacy department customers.
Our philosophy is to foster a learning environment and to promote teamwork as the best method to deliver day to day
services, for both our customers and the individual staff members. A priority for all pharmacy staff members must be to use
every available opportunity to demonstrate the value of the pharmacy services to our customers. This is a conscious effort to
develop and effectively market the pharmacy services, and to target the services offered by achieving a better
understanding of the needs of each customer group.
Position Accountabilities
(list the main duties & accountabilities of the role)
Role Specific
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Under the supervison and direction of the Senior Pharmacist, Cancer Services, prepare all dose forms of
chemotherapeutic agents, biotherapeutic agents and investigational agents using aseptic technique in
accordance with SHPA, WorkSafe, Australian Standards, and the Austin Health guidelines in a timely
manner.
Maintain a clean working environment of the Cytotoxic Suite.
Conduct daily and monthly cleaning of the cytotoxic cabinets.
Maintain a clean and safe operation of the cytotoxic preparation unit.
Check expiration dates and rotate medications, syringes, IV bags and other productds regularly.
Order, receive and restock inventory including medications , intravenous fluids, and consumables.
Dispense prescribed medications as required.
Prepare additive labels.
Deliver medications as needed.
Prepare and collate PBS prescription as required.
Assist with the return of stock from wards or other areas in accordance with the Pharmacy Recycling Medication
Policy.
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Answer telephones, responding to questions or requests as appropriate.
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Perform quality control checks.
Collate statistics as directed
In conjunction with the Senior Pharmacist, Cancer Services, manage the day to day running of the
cytotoxic suite
Participate in the training/or orientation of new technicans and pharacy staff rotated to the area.
Perform other tasks as assigned.
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Organise the pick up and delivery of chemotherapy gowns for washing and sterilising.
Further details are provided in the Pharmacy Manual for Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness & Research Centre.
Outcome Measures:
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Competent in cytotoxic preparation.
Medications and consumerables are in date.
The Cytotoxic Suite and cabinets are clean and in order.
Competent in dispensing inpatient medications and discharge prescriptions.
Competent in inventory control process.
Competent in provision of customer services.
Successful completion of validation program for compounding aseptic and chemotherapeutic agents.
General responsibilities are:
1. Policies and Procedures
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All pharmacy staff must act in accordance with all relevant legal, Austin Health, Formulary, Drug & Therapeutics Committee
etc. policies and procedures.
Outcome Measure:
 Any actions which have occurred contrary to policy must be recorded and action taken to minimise future variation
from policy.
2. Occupational Health and Safety
Participate in the pharmacy department occupational health and safety program is mandatory
Report to the management any unsafe work practices, hazards, and near miss incidents and accidents to the management.
.
Outcome Measure:
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Annual O&HS target activities are undertaken within the designated time frame.
Incidents, clinical issues, hazards, safety risk and near misses are responded to and reported appropriately.
.
3. Customer Satisfaction
All pharmacy staff members should participate in activities to improve customer satisfaction. This could be a survey to
measure customer satisfaction score with an individual service area (as per duty roster) or a general department activity. An
action plan should be developed to meet customers expectations to improve the satisfaction rating.
Outcome Measure:
 Customer satisfaction measurement undertaken and analysed.
 Understand the expectation and requirement of customers.
 Changes are in place to address reasonable customers requirements and expectations where possible.
4. Continuous Quality Improvement
All pharmacy staff members must participate in the Staff Performance and Review Development Program.
All pharmacy staff members must participate and contribute to quality improvement activities.
Outcome Measures:
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Performance review and development discussion is conducted annually.
Ongoing compliance with best practice in the area of practice.
As well as listing the role specific position accountabilities, please include the All Employees section & delete
Management Roles section if not applicable to the role.
All Employees
 Comply with Austin Health policies & procedures, as amended from time to time, which can be located on the intranet
(The Hub): http://eppic/
 Participate in Austin Health’s annual Performance Review and Development (PRD) program as required.
 Engage in processes to monitor service delivery and participate in improvement activities.
 Undertake not to reveal to any person or entity any confidential information relating to patients, employees, policies,
and processes and do not make public statements relating to the affairs of Austin Health without prior authority of the
Chief Executive Officer
 Report incidents or near misses that have or could have impact on safety - participate in identification and prevention of
risks.
 Participate in the emergency incident response activities as directed.
Key Selection Criteria
(what are the key qualifications, skills, experience & attributes are required to perform in this role?)
Essential for Performance in the Position
 A commitment to Austin Health values: Integrity, Accountability, Respect and Excellence.
 Satisfactory completion of a certificate III or IV in Health (Hospital Pharmacy Technician) course awarded by a registered
training organisation or equivalent qualification (as approved by the Pharmacy Board of Australia).
Position Description Pharmacy Technician 2016
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Completion of the Peter MacCallum cytotoxic or equivalent training course
Cytotoxic manufacturing experience.
Completion of Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) or equivalent.
A strong attention to detail.
Effective communication and interpersonal skills
Effective customer service skill.
Demonstrated initiative and motivation.
Ability to work effectively as a team member.
Willingness to perform routine, repetitive tasks.
Willing to learn new tasks and use initiative.
Ability to work independently.
Basic computer skills.
Desirable but not essential for Performance in the Position
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Previous hospital pharmacy experience
Use of a closed system drug transfer device (PhaSeal or similar)
Experience with PBS
Advanced computer skills
Other Relevant Information
(Other information to be made known to persons interested in appointment to this position)
Pre-Existing Injury
Prior to any person being appointed to this position it will be required that they disclose full details of any pre-existing
injuries or disease that might be affected by employment in this position.
Immunisation
Maintain appropriate levels of immunisation in accordance with Austin Health’s Workforce Immunisation/Screening Policies,
in the interests of yourself, all Austin Health staff, patients and visitors.
Austin Health Values
The Austin Health values play a critical role in shaping how we operate as an organisation. They influence our performance,
planning, recruitment, training and development, along with our relationships with colleagues, patients and their relatives
and friends. The Austin Health values set the standard that we expect all staff to live up to in the way they undertake their
role and responsibilities across the organisation, our values:
Integrity
We work in the spirit of collaboration and honesty to build effective working relationships
across the whole organisation.
Accountability
We are transparent, responsible and build trust by fulfilling promises and communicating
effectively.
Respect
We care about others and treat each other with consideration, equality and fairness.
Excellence
We continually strive to advance patient focused care through innovation, research and
effective stakeholder management.
Austin Health is a Bully Free and Smoke Free Employer
Austin Health is committed to providing employees with a healthy, smoke free work environment where bullying and
harassment does not occur. Consistent with this and Austin Health’s corporate values of integrity, accountability, respect and
excellence, Austin Health will not tolerate employees:
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Behaving in a bullying or harassing manner in the workplace; or
Smoking on Austin Health premises or in Austin Health vehicles.
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Austin Health is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to attracting and retaining a diverse workforce that reflects
the community we serve. Austin Health is committed to providing an inclusive culture where all employees can contribute to
the best of their ability.
Document Review Details
Review date of Position Description:
1/8/2019
Manager Signature:
I, _______________________________________ (employee name), have read, understood and accept the content in
this position description.
Employee Signature:
Position Description Pharmacy Technician 2016
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