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

Recent Montana legislation permits pharmacy technicians to perform sel ected pharmacy duties previously restricted to pharmacists and pharmac y interns. Hiring pharmacy technicians in lieu of student interns coul d reduce the number of paid student internship positions in Montana, f orcing students to seek paying internship positions in other states or to obtain hours in Montana without pay and placing additional financi al or time burdens on students. Montana pharmacy owners and managers w ere surveyed concerning their attitudes towards job responsibilities w hich might be delegated to store clerks, pharmacy technicians and stud ent interns, and their plans to employ pharmacy technicians and studen t interns in the future. Surveys were mailed to all 269 pharmacy manag ers in Montana. An overall response rate of 80.3 percent was obtained. Survey results suggest that 13 Montana pharmacies were lost in 1994 t o students hoping to obtain paid intern hours in Montana.