Career Guide: Becoming a Pharmacy Technician

They wear a white lab coat. They count pills. The hand out medicine.

Sounds like a pharmacist, right? Wrong. Well, of course that does describe a pharmacist. But, it also describes the pharmacy technician, a crucial part of the pharmacy team.

OVERVIEW OF PHARMACY TECHNICIAN CAREERS

The healthcare field is the one of the most rapidly growing fields of employment. With a boom in retail pharmacies coupled with an aging population, the need for pharmacy technicians is relatively high.

Pharmacy technicians work under the supervision of a pharmacist and alongside other pharmacy technicians to help the pharmacy orders running smooth. Pharmacy technicians will receive orders from patients or doctors and then fill or refill them. This entails retrieving, counting, pouring, dispensing, mixing, weighing, measuring and/or labeling medication bottles. Some medications are sent ready-to-administer by pharmaceutical companies, however many need to be prepared as mentioned above.

Once a prescription is filled, priced and labeled, the pharmacy technician will either hand to patients or file for a later pick-up. Before filling the prescription, they will make sure the prescription is accurate. Depending on the pharmacy setting, the pharmacy technician could also ring the customer up and process the sale.

Pharmacy technicians may also take and update patient insurance information, maintain stock of supplies and put away orders.

In a hospital setting, pharmacy technicians will do many of the aforementioned tasks as well as some specific to the hospital. These would include preparing IV medications, stocking medications in hospital wards, advise nursing staff on correct storage and perhaps work as purchasing agents with pharmaceutical companies. Hospital pharmacy technicians can also help patients manage medication.

JOB OPPORTUNITIES FOR PHARMACY TECHNICIANS

Job opportunities for pharmacy technicians are expected to grow faster than the average through 2012. Pharmacy technicians can work in many environments, including local and chain retail pharmacies, hospital pharmacies, pharmacy wholesalers, nursing homes and more. Full and part-time positions are available.

While the tasks mentioned above are a part of all pharmacy technician positions, other duties of a pharmacy technician vary from location to location. For example, retail pharmacy technicians may also serve as clerks, operating the checkout counter. Or, pharmacy technicians in a nursing home may deliver medication to patients.

REQUIREMENTS FOR A PHARMACY TECHNICIAN

Requirements for pharmacy technicians can vary from state to state and company to company. Most employers require formal training, and programs can be found and career and technical schools. Training usually lasts under a year and includes both classroom and laboratory work. Courses could include anatomy & physiology, terminology, math & measurements, pharmacy techniques and more. Many training programs also require an internship, or clinical experience.

Some employers will hire someone and provide on-the-job training, too.

Although not required by all employers, there is an voluntary national certification exam that must be passed in order to become a Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT). CPhTs must be re-certified every two years, as well as take 20 contact hours of continuing education classes.