In preparation for the possible establishment of a Pharmacy Technician program, the Eastern Iowa Community College District convened a Developing a Curriculum (DACUM) workshop in December 1989, involving a panel of eight pharmacy technicians (PT's). Panelists helped to develop a DACUM chart, graphically describing the occupation in terms of specific tasks that workers must perform. To validate the entry-level skills defined through the DACUM workshop, a survey was conducted of 333 pharmacy-related businesses in Iowa and the Illinois Quad Cities area, identified through a previous survey as employers of PT's. The survey listed specific job skills, grouped into the following categories: basic skills (11 skills); operating computers (11 skills); filling orders (21 skills); chemo procedures (11 skills); filling outpatient prescriptions (16 skills); maintaining inventory (9 skills); recordkeeping (3 skills); and professionalism (4 skills). Respondents were asked to identify which skills entry-level PT's were expected to perform and to rate the importance of each skill for the entry-level PT. Study findings, based on a 55% response rate (N=183), included the following: (1) 42.1% of the respondents represented pharmacies in retail stores, 22.4% hospital pharmacies, and 15.3% stand-alone pharmacies; (2) the Chemo Procedures category was most frequently cited as containing non-entry-level tasks; (3) most skills identified as entry-level were also considered important; and (4) respondents placed a strong emphasis on communication skills and filing and typing skills. The survey instrument is included. (PAA)