Pharmacy Technician
If you have ever contemplated about becoming a pharmacy technician sometime in the near future, you must know that you are making an excellent career choice. Not only are you getting into a very stable career, you are also putting yourself in a great position to have lucrative financial benefits and superb employment opportunities as well. But before you make any initial step, it would be beneficial if you first have a good idea what the pharmacy technician career is all about. This article will provide you with a general overview about the pharmacy tech’s duties and responsibilities, training requirements, and other important matters.
As a pharmacy technician, you are expected to receive prescription requests of patients and making sure that they receive the correct type and dosage. Your daily routine will involve counting, measuring, and weighing pills and tablets, labelling medicine bottles, stocking shelves, and pricing the medication. Pharmacy techs work under the direct supervision of a licensed pharmacist who will also check that everything is in order before the patient receives his medication. In some organizations, people who perform clerical and administrative duties may be referred to as a pharmacy aide.
The first step you would take in order to start a career as a pharmacy technician is receiving formal training. You may have already heard about some pharmacy technicians who have worked their way into a successful career by just getting into an informal on-the-job training, but with the sheer number of applicants in this career and the higher standards of today, this level of training just isn’t enough to make you proficient and competitive anymore. And besides, many employers are becoming more selective and choosing applicants who have had formal training from an accredited training program or a reputable school.
Depending on the school you choose and the training program you enroll in, you may spend somewhere around 6 months to 2 years in a classroom setting – yes, you’re going to hold books, work on some math and science subjects, talk about pharmaceutical lingo and technicalities, and get your hands dirty with some laboratory work. You will also get to have a preview of just what life is like being a pharmacy technician, and you’ll get this chance once you start with the internship, which is generally included in your program. Your training should be able to provide you with the skills and expertise you need to become proficient as a pharmacy technician.
If you want to go out with a blast becoming a pharmacy technician, it is best that you contemplate about acquiring certification. Like other careers, change is always constant, and therefore you have to keep up with these changes and stay competitive. Certification will help ensure that you will stay sharp as a pharmacy technician, keep you at the top of your game, and adhere to industry standards as well. You can get your certification through the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) or the Institute for the Certification of Pharmacy Technicians (ICPT) and this means complying with their requirements and passing their certification exams.