Pharmacy Technician Training - Learn About Training At Pharmacy Tech Schools And Online
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Pharmacy Technician Schools
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Are you looking for a new and interesting career? Do you want a job that is both rewarding and lucrative? With pharmacy technician training, you can get the education you need to enter the fulfilling career of pharmaceuticals, and if you are worried about having no time to study, you can even train at home.
Job Description and Employment Opportunities
A pharmacy technician, which is not the same as a pharmacy assistant, may have different responsibilities depending on where you are working, but the general duties include, taking, verifying and filling prescriptions, counting pills, making labels, filing insurance claims, keeping patient's records in order and doing the inventory on the medication.
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With these skills, as a technician you can find a job in a nursing home, a hospital, a pharmacy or even doing mail-order prescriptions. In a drug store, your duties may even be extended to stocking over the counter items and running the cash register. If you work in patient care, the additional task of reading charts and then filling the medication will be required.
Course Curriculum
Of course the curriculum that you will study will vary in amount based on which degree you are working for, but the basic coursework is the same for every program. You will take classes in medical and pharmaceutical terminology, pharmaceutical calculations and techniques, keeping medical records, laws and ethics. you will also train to be an expert in medication, knowing their names, doses, reactions and functions. Your studies will be a combination of classwork and an internship to gain hands on experience.
Pharmacy Technician Certificate
A certificate program is easy to find online, so the course content is about 300-940 hours to be completed at your own pace. You will mix the technical skills with clerical studies and take classes like pharmacology, pharmaceutical laws, dispensing medication and computer skills. This is the most basic degree you can get to enter this field, and your salary and possibility for advancement will only improve if you further your education.
Diploma
The diploma program is generally 2 years and has 1-2 separate internships where you will work in a pharmacy putting your skills to the test. You will gain expertise in preparing medicines with different compounds, working with sterile products and even customer care, all under the supervision of a licensed pharmacist.
Associate's Degree
This is a more extensive program, and there are many pharmacy technician schools that offer this 18 month course. This advanced degree will teach the above basics with additional courses in chemistry, human relations and psychology.
Pharmacy Technician Training Certification or licensing
Not every state requires a pharmacy technician to be licensed, but some, like Virginia, are now making mandatory and many employers prefer it, so more pharmacy technician careers will open up to you if you take the licensing exam. There are certification exams offered by the Institute of Certification of Pharmacy Technicians (ICPT) and the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB). If you pass one of these exams, you will earn the title of CPhT, which means Certified Pharmacy Technician.
Career Outlook and Salary
A pharmacy technician with an associate's degree can expect to earn an hourly wage of between $7.96-$16.61, with experience and location of employment playing major factors in how high the salary can go. There are many pharmacy technician careers you can look into, from entry level technician to management, and the amount of job openings will continue to increase correlating to the ageing population we now have. It is a fast paced, interesting job that will give you years of success and stability.
Online Pharmacy Technican Programs
You can train for this field from the comfort of home by following a pharmacy tech online accredited course, and there are many to choose from. Herzing College, Penn Foster Career School and Rasmussen College are just a few, but be sure not to join something like Stratford Career Institute which offers the training, but it is not accredited, so it won't lead to a diploma. You simply need to begin your pharmacy technician training today to be on your way to a new life.
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