ATTITUDES OF OHIO HOSPITAL PHARMACY DIRECTORS TOWARD NATIONAL VOLUNTARY PHARMACY TECHNICIAN CERTIFICATION

Ohio pharmacy directors' attitudes about national voluntary pharmacy t echnician certification were surveyed. In May 1996 a questionnaire was mailed to all 224 hospitals in Ohio. The questionnaire contained 29 a ttitudinal statements constructed as forecasts of the effects of certi fication; pharmacy directors were asked to rate their level of agreeme nt or disagreement with each statement using a 7-point Likert scale. T he response rate was 61.4% (137 questionnaires returned). Respondents indicated modest agreement with 21 of 27 attitudinal statements and th erefore had a generally positive view of certification. For example, t hey agreed that certification will improve technicians' knowledge, ima ge, confidence, skills, and job satisfaction. They disagreed that cert ification will allow technicians to function independently, result in the replacement of pharmacist positions with technicians, or eliminate the need for on-the-job training of technicians. There were significa nt differences in scores between directors working at hospitals employ ing certified technicians and directors working at hospitals not emplo ying certified technicians for only three statements. Overall, Ohio ho spital pharmacy directors had positive attitudes about pharmacy techni cian certification.