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| Pharmacy Technician Program Details, Career Prospects & More |
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 What is a Pharmacy Technician? What are their duties? Pharmacy Technicians have been called pharmacy helpers, pharmacy clerks, pharmacy aides, pharmacy assistants, & pharmacy support personnel. Some pharmacy technicians are still given these older titles in some areas of the country, while in other areas they may be called pharmacy technologists.
Pharmacy technicians must have a broad knowledge of pharmacy practice, & be skilled in the techniques required to order, stock, package, & prepare medications, but they do not need the advanced college education required of a licensed pharmacist. Pharmacy technicians may perform many of the same duties as pharmacists, however, all of a technician’s work must be checked by a pharmacist before medication can be dispensed to a patient.
Pharmacy technicians can work everywhere pharmacists work, although some state laws may limit the duties pharmacy technicians can perform. Pharmacy technicians work in hospital pharmacies, retail pharmacies, home health care pharmacies, nursing home pharmacies, clinic pharmacies, nuclear medicine pharmacies, & in mail order prescription pharmacies. In addition, some pharmacy technicians have been employed in non - traditional settings by medical insurance companies, medical computer software companies, drug manufacturing companies, and drug wholesale. What are the duties? When working in a pharmacy, pharmacy technicians must work under the direction of a licensed pharmacist. In a retail pharmacy, technicians may stock & inventory prescription & over the counter medications, maintain written or computerized patient medication records, count or pour medications into dispensing containers, type prescription labels, prepare insurance claim forms, & manage the cash register.
In hospitals, pharmacy technicians may perform many of the same duties as they do in retail pharmacy, but they may have additional responsibilities including assembling a 24 hour supply of medication for each patient, repackaging medications, preparing commercially unavailable medications, preparing sterile intravenous medications, maintaining nursing station medications, collecting quality improvement data, delivering medications to patient rooms, & operating computerized dispensing &/or robotic machinery.
In most practice settings, pharmacy technicians perform any duties they are assigned by the pharmacist. The one requirement all these pharmacy technician duties have in common is a need for absolute accuracy & precision in both the technical & clerical aspects of the job.
What personal qualities should one have? Although pharmacy technicians work under the supervision of a licensed pharmacist, & must be willing to take directions, they must also be able to work competently without constant instruction by the pharmacist. In any pharmacy setting the patient is the most important person. Pharmacy technicians must truly care about, & find satisfaction in serving, the patient. Because of the critical nature of many common pharmacy duties, the pharmacy technician must enjoy performing precise work, where details can be a matter of life or death. Even if a task is repetitive, a pharmacy technician must be able to complete the task accurately every time. Pharmacy technicians must also be able to maintain this accuracy even in stressful or emergency situations. Many pharmacy technical duties require good manual dexterity, & pharmacy technicians should enjoy working with their hands. Good communication & interpersonal skills are also essential for a pharmacy technician who must interact with pharmacy coworkers, patients, & other health care professionals on a daily basis. Finally, all employers want dependable employees, but dependability is especially important for pharmacy technicians since a patient's welfare may depend on their work.
What are the hours & salaries? Depending on where Pharmacy Technician’s work, they may have varying schedules. Hospital pharmacies are often open 24 hours a day. Clinic and retail pharmacies often have extended hours. The starting salary in hospital pharmacy generally tends to be higher than for retail pharmacy. In hospitals, there are usually shift differentials of 10% to 15% paid in addition to base pay for work on evening, night or weekend shifts. Most hospitals & many retail pharmacies also provide fringe benefits such as paid sick leave, medical & dental insurance, & retirement plans.Click Here to go to the Salary Pagefor the most current information on Salaries.
Education & training requirements? Informal, "on the job" training was (in the past) the most common training for pharmacy technicians. However, many employers can no longer afford to train technicians "on the job", & are seeking formally educated pharmacy technicians. Formalized pharmacy technician training was first offered by the armed forces, but is now also offered by hospitals, proprietary schools such as Unitek, & others. Most formal pharmacy technician education programs include classroom & lab work in: medical & pharmaceutical terminology, pharmaceutical calculations, pharmacy record - keeping, pharmaceutical techniques, & pharmacy law & ethics. Pharmacy technicians must also learn medication names, actions, doses & uses. Most formal training programs include clerkships or internships where students receive hands - on training at actual pharmacy sites. Successful graduates of pharmacy technician programs may receive a certificate or a diploma, depending on the individual program.
Certification requirements? The Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) now offers a voluntary, National Pharmacy Technician Certification Examination. These exams are designed to certify the competency of those individuals who demonstrate the knowledge required to practice as a pharmacy technician. Currently, all 50 states offer the National Pharmacy Technician Certification Exam. Many employers in these states prefer to hire formally educated &/or examination - certified pharmacy technicians. Some retail chains now recognize PTCB certification. Walgreens was the first major employer to sponsor its pharmacy techs sitting for the examination, offering training programs & pay raises upon successful completion of the PTCB examination. Other employers have followed, such as CVS Pharmacy.
Employment outlook, advancement opportunities? The increasing clinical emphasis of pharmacists’ responsibilities, the increasing pharmacy workload due to our aging population, & the increasing need to control healthcare costs make the employment outlook for well - trained pharmacy technicians very good. Currently, pharmacy technicians are assuming more responsibility for routine tasks, previously performed by pharmacists, & will be responsible for mastering new pharmacy technology as it becomes available. Opportunities for advancement vary with the pharmacy technician's employer. Uniform career ladders for pharmacy technicians are not yet well developed in all practice settings. Many large hospitals do have career ladders, with pharmacy technicians advancing to supervisory roles, or advanced, specialized, technical duties.
As a registered pharmacy technician in California you can, under the supervision of a registered pharmacist, perform tasks related to receiving, dispensing, distribution, control, maintenance, compounding, manufacturing, packaging and labeling of pharmaceutical products. Currently, pharmacy technicians are assuming more responsibility for routine tasks, previously performed by pharmacists, and will be responsible for mastering new pharmacy technology as it becomes available. Opportunities for advancement vary with the pharmacy technician’s employer.
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