Pharmacy Technician Schools

Sometimes it can be easy to misunderstand or satirize the job of a pharmacist and pharmacy technicians. As comedians point out, they get paid lots of money to do what? Count pills and put them from a big bottle into a little one? Or what about reading those labels? "Are you John?" "Yes." "Did you have the prescription for asmetaxleophidrene?" Or sometimes we joke about meeting a sympathy-less technician who loudly reads out your prescription and reveals to the world that you have irritable bowel syndrome, erectile dysfunction, and inflamed rectum, or other equally embarrassing malady. Find a pharmacy technician certofocate school below to get started with your career training.

The world and especially people with health issues that cause them to frequent pharmacies knows that qualified pharmacists and their technicians are worth their weight in gold. The right pharmacist can mean the difference between safely getting the prescriptions and answers that you need, or getting embarrassed and confused at the counter. Pharmacies in many ways hold lives in their hands, and the quality or longevity of that live can be determined by the quality of technicians that are helping behind that counter. Fortunately, you are considering walking down the path to become a pharmacy technician and sharing your compassionate and intelligent personality with people who will genuinely benefit from it.

Selecting a Pharmacy Technician Course

Pharmacy technicians are like the right hand of a pharmacist. Their responsibilities will range depending on the day-to-day needs a pharmacy might have; but the typical tasks your technician's expertise will require to do include preparing prescription medications, working with customers, and even counting tablets or labeling bottles. Some of these tasks might sound trite at first, but no portion of the pharmacy process can be undervalued. A pill too much or too little, and the patient's delicate medication balance is thrown off. A mislabeled bottle could immediately lead to confusion, harm, or much worse. And the quick processing of prescription requests means happy, healthier customers, which in turn means that customers are more likely to return to your pharmacy. Finally, working with customers implies that you will have the opportunity to speak about confidential medical issues and give your professional perspective, all to help settle issues and make each customer's experience more satisfying.

The majority of individuals with a pharmacy technician's degree will find opportunities for employment inside of retail settings and hospitals. Fortunately, there is a growing need for pharmacy technicians in both of these locales. An increasing number of competitive stores are offering pharmacy services. Walgreens and CVS have offer pharmacy services for a long time, but now other retail stores like Walmart and Costco provide pharmacy services. Other chains and independent locations are sprouting around the country and are in high need of professionals to staff their facilities.

Hospitals also offer career opportunities for pharmacy technicians. The job opportunities are not growing quite as much in this less competitive environment, but several factors are increasing the need for technicians in both of these venues. First, every day literally thousands of Americans are reaching the age of 65, which means that the population is getting older and therefore more dependent on pharmaceuticals. Also, companies are trying to be smarter with the way that they approach their pharmacy models. They are more prone to hire capable pharmacy technicians who will perform similar tasks as pharmacists, but require slightly less compensation.

The opportunities for future pharmacy technicians are blossoming in these conditions. With the right qualifications, experience, and eye for opportunity, you too will quickly become the prestigious pill counter and bottle labeler who will help thousands improve and maintain their quality of life. Get started by researching any of the pharmacy technician colleges listed below.

Pharmacy Technician Training Topics

During your training you’ll be exposed to lots of different topics, some of the more general ones include:

Parmacy Law – Learn about the different laws associated with the industry as well as the laws companies must follow that produce and distribute drugs.

Pharmacology – You’ll learn about the human body and the different diseases that attack the body and which drugs are used to treat those attacks.

Communications – One of areas almost any training program will cover will be how to properly communicate with the pharmacists. This is vital as the pharmacist requires someone that has good listening skills as your position can become very fast paced so clear communication is a must.

Insurance Practices – As a pharmacy technician you’ll deal a lot with customers as well as their insurance or health care providers. You’ll need to understand the insurance process including billing procedures.

Preparing Labels – You’ll learn how to prepare labels for all different types of medicine including liquid. The label is the more important part of the entire system which clearly states the number of refills as well as the doctor’s instructions.

Math – One of the topics you’ll get trained on will be pharmacy arithmetic. You’ll go over addition, subtraction, factions as well as decimals. Some of this will be basic but you’ll also learn about roman numerals and Arabic equivalents.

Medical Terminology – No course would be complete without covering proper medical terminology. This will help you communicate with the pharmacists better in order to properly make labels are assist with insurance companies.

Stocking/Counting – Often a pharmacy tech will stock inventory and prescriptions that are low as well as other over the counter medications. Some assistant with mixing intravenous medicines and even count tablets.

Who Hires Pharmacy Technicians

- Retail Chains
- Home Health Care Facilities
- Nursing Homes
- Local Hospitals
- Long Term Facilities
- Managed Health Care Companies
- Insurance Companies
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Pharmacy Technician Resources
American Association of Pharmacy Technicians
NABP National Association of Boards of Pharmacy - http://www.nabp.net/
National Pharmacy Technician Association - http://www.pharmacytechnician.org/
BLS Pharmacy Technicians
ASHP Pharmacists Advancing Healthcare - http://www.ashp.org/