Pharmacy Technician Certification -Most of the daily work in the pharmacy is performed by qualified pharmacists, who can do everything from the introduction of prescriptions to the preparation of sterile solutions and call customers.
In many places for possible employment, including hospitals, long-term care facilities, pharmacies, grocery stores and mail order pharmacies, employment prospects are good for those who want to become a pharmacist.
In addition, the pharmacist may also intend to accept written prescriptions or requests for replenishment from patients and evaluate the information for completeness and accuracy. Record medical history while maintaining confidentiality and compliance with HIPAA rules.
Providing quality customer service to patients, responding to inquiries, questions or requests and referring them to a pharmacist for medical information. Checking the accuracy of patient information, counting prescription drugs, filling out prescriptions, typing and attaching labels on drugs, and conducting an inventory audit and purchasing consumables and drugs.
Pharmacy Technician Job description
As a pharmaceutical technician, you will work with a licensed pharmacist, where your primary responsibility will be the distribution of medications. Most likely, you will talk to customers, fill out orders and make sure the correct dosage and identification of drugs.
Working in a pharmacy is a very serious job, and you need to make sure that you understand how the pharmacy works, the correct medication procedures, HIPAA laws, and what medications do. If you can keep it all straight and want to work with the public, then this is a great job for you.
Pharmacy Technician Certification Requirements
You need to know about the two main types of certification for pharmaceutical technicians when starting your new career. Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) requires pharmacists to have a high school diploma and pass a certification exam.
National Health Association (NHA) certification is a minimum age of 18 and requires high school graduates to complete a formal curriculum and work experience of at least 1 year before they can take the certification exam. These certificates will help you quickly find a job and succeed in your chosen career as a pharmacist.
Pharmacists should be re-certified every 2 years to ensure that they are aware of any changes and advances in health care that affect their practice. You can do this by going through 20 hours of continuing education to make sure your skills are relevant.
Online courses and certification programs will prove valuable in order to give you the right start on a new working fruit. With the right kind of training and knowledge, you can be on the path to a long and successful career as a pharmacist.
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Skill required to be a Pharmacy Technician
- Communication: Pharmacists communicate with pharmacists and physicians when taking prescriptions. They should also listen carefully to the needs and questions of clients to potentially refer them to a pharmacist.
- Problem solving: Pharmacists must be mature enough to resolve conflicts between patients, insurance companies and colleagues.
- Organization: Pharmacy balance sheets are delegated by pharmacists, such as shelves for storing things, keeping inventory in patient and customer care.
- Mathematical skills: completing prescriptions and compiling medicines requires a deep understanding of the necessary mathematical concepts.
- Detail-oriented: serious health problems can occur due to errors in the type of recipe, quantity or interaction. Although pharmacists are directly responsible for the safety of medicines, pharmacists are the first line of defense against these risks.
Pharmacy Technician Salary
With certification in hand, pharmaceutical technicians can expect their salaries to grow much faster. Depending on where you work, your experience, and your type of healthcare employer, technicians can expect to earn up to $ 16 an hour. The larger the retail network of pharmacies, the more technicians can count on earnings.
As with entry-level positions, technicians in hospitals and nursing homes can expect to earn much more. As a certified pharmaceutical technician, your salary can grow much faster with more responsibilities that you can now take on.
Payment depends on experience. The more experience you have, the more you can count on earnings. Responsibility also matters. As you gain more experience, you are expected to take on more responsibilities in the pharmacy. The better you work, the better you can expect to pay.
How to become a Pharmacy Technician
• Take Pharmacy Technician Certification
There are no formal educational requirements to become a pharmacist other than a high school diploma. However, many employers prefer job candidates who have completed a formal training program. Pharmaceutical technician programs can be found in colleges and vocational schools.
Programs usually award a certificate or a law degree and can last from one to two years. In these programs, students are introduced to drugs, pharmacy procedures, pharmaceutical terminology and pharmaceutical legislation. One of the degrees that pharmaceutical professionals can obtain is a specialist in pharmaceutical technology.
• Take part in an internship
Take part in an internship. The internship can be part of a pharmaceutical technician program or available after a person fulfills their educational requirements. Interns can work and study under the supervision of a professional pharmacist and gain valuable experience in this field. It is also a chance for people to learn about the dosage, names and actions of various drugs and other important information.
• Learn the state requirements for pharmaceutical technology
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics notes that many states have rules for pharmaceutical technicians. This may include the number of hours of formal training and continuing education, examinations and meetings required. Depending on state regulatory law, pharmacists may be licensed after passing the exam.
Potential technicians should consult with their state’s pharmaceutical board to determine what is required for employment and to ensure that they have met all relevant pharmaceutical technology requirements.
• Complete on-the-job training
Most programs allow students to gain clinical experience while studying. Depending on state law, students may also choose on-the-job training without enrolling in a graduate program. Clinical experience can take the form of a structured curriculum in a retail pharmacy that works with the school. Another option is to undergo practical training in an approved pharmacy or medical center.
• Earn your CPhT certification
Although not all states and employers require certification by pharmaceutical technicians, voluntary certification can be helpful when looking for work. The two organizations that offer certification exams are the Pharmaceutical Attestation Council (PTCB) and the National Health Association (NHA). Both organizations offer the designation of a Certified Pharmacist (CPhT).
Requirements for the CPhT exam include a high school diploma and, in the case of the NHA, completion of a pharmaceutical technician training program or at least one year of experience in the field. Both organizations need a 2-year period to support certification.
To become a pharmaceutical technician, you should consider completing a pharmaceutical technology program, familiarize yourself with your state’s requirements for the position, and consider certification.
• Become specialized
Some pharmacy professionals have chosen to work exclusively for a retail network of pharmacies and undergo special training to work as a general pharmaceutical technician, public pharmacist or central pharmacy operator, or in a similar role.
• Maintain certification
Pharmacists are required to take a recertification exam conducted by the Pharmacists Certification Commission (PTCB) or the National Health Association (NHA) every two years. You must have completed at least 20 hours of continuing education before taking the exam.
Approved continuing education activities may include seminars, seminars, conferences, college courses, and credit agency services. As a technician, you will need to document your continuing education and submit it online for testing. The recertification is also subject to a two-year fee.
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Pharmacy Technician Degree Online
Pharmaceutical degrees, which prepare students for the skills and knowledge needed to work as a pharmacist, will also help prepare students for national exams. In these programs, students will learn basic skills such as computer use, basic mathematics and medical terminology, as well as other pharmaceutical classes such as pharmacology, pharmacy operations, pharmacy calculations, communication with patients, and more.
Online learning will include knowledge-based learning and skills development through laboratory activities. Some programs will include special training in aseptic practice, sterile formulations, and more topics to better prepare students for advanced pharmacist tasks.
Other programs may include more training on business communication, a keyboard, and more basic skills that will be needed at work. Some programs pay more attention to biology and chemistry, or human anatomy and physiology.
When you study these subjects online, you may have digital or printed textbooks to help you learn, and you will need to complete the task, usually by a certain date. Some programs will require students to log on to a computer to “attend” classes at the same time as other students.
Other programs allow you to complete your lessons and assignments at any time of the day or night if you complete them before they are due. Many programs allow students to communicate online in forums, and access to teachers, tutors, and counselors is part of many online programs.
Some programs will require field visits, sometimes scheduled as 2- or 4-day activities, and some will require more frequent trips to campus. Take a look at the general requirements for any program you are considering and get all the information to compare your options.
Pharmacy Technician Certification Online
• State Fair Community College
The online Fair College Certificate in Pharmaceutical Engineering is an entry-level 18-credit program for those wishing to work in this growing industry. The program allows you to study at your own pace, preparing for the national PCTB exam to become a CPhT.
The Skills Certificate program allows students to get started quickly, but provides the opportunity to apply their coursework to professional certificates or graduate programs, increasing their credentials while they are already working in the pharmacy profession.
• Sinclair Community College
At Sinclair Community College, the online pharmacist program is an annual technical certificate program for 33-34 hours. Designed to prepare students for retail, mail order, hospital, nursing home and home health care, the program develops knowledge and skills for employment and the PTCE exam.
The Pharmacy Technician Certification program includes 80 hours of simulated laboratory work and 210 hours of directed practice in a pharmacy. Students must achieve level B or higher in all pharmaceutical classes to be able to participate in directed practice.
• Barton County Community College
The 29-credit online pharmaceutical engineering certificate program for two semesters at Barton County Public College includes 100% online pharmacy internship courses arranged on an approved student-friendly website.
The program prepares students to take national PTCE or ICPT exams. Tuition is low for all online students, no matter where they live, and all online courses can be taken asynchronously at any time of the day. Courses include pharmacy payments, pharmacy operations, medical terminology, customer service and business English.
• Allen County Community College
Allen County Community College has a 31-hour online pharmacist certification program that can be completed in two semesters. Students can choose an internship for a pharmacist or a course in pharmaceutical engineering to complete a certification program.
Students who study online pay a very low tuition fee regardless of their geographical location, and textbook rentals help reduce tuition costs. The program includes courses in operations, calculations, computer concepts, natural herbal healing, business communications and more.
• North Dakota State College of Science
The Hybrid / Online Pharmacist Certificate Program at North Dakota State College is a one-year study program if you follow the suggested sequence. Online courses are broadcast live, so students should be available during course meetings. Laboratory work must be performed at the university.
Eight weeks of hospital and community internships are part of the program. Courses include law and ethics, intravenous use and sterile products, human relations, and more standard pharmacy courses. The program begins in the fall, but students can begin by taking the general education portion of the program at any time they are offered.
• Northwest Iowa Community College
The Northwest Iowa hybrid / online pharmaceutical technician certification program begins in the fall and takes two semesters of full-time study. The 32-hour credit program has a small additional fee for non-staff students, reasonable tuition, but high costs for required books.
The program helps students take the national exam to obtain a license in Iowa and other states. Some courses are only available on campus, but others are available to students online, completing assignments on time.
• State Fair Community College
The online professional pharmacist certificate offered by the State Fair College is a 30-hour program that can take 32 weeks, although only 7% of students complete it in that time period. All courses in this program can also be enrolled as a specialist in applied sciences in this field.
The online professional program is a higher level than the program of certificates of their skills, with additional courses in mathematics, medical terminology, technology and professional practice experience.
