Pharmacy Technician training at a glance

If you want to have a long and prosperous career in pharmacy, you should attend a good school with a great pharmacy technician training program. When looking for a great training program, one place to start your research is at your local community college. Attending a local community college will teach you the core fundamentals of starting a great career in pharmacy.

In the first year of your pharmacy technician training, many students learn the basics that many health care professionals are taught. You are taught fundamentals such as medical terminology, basic and complex word problem solving, basic drug pronunciation, and different drug interactions. Some programs go a little further and get into the chemical makeup of the many drugs that are manufactured on a regular basis. This may seem like a lot to the new incoming student, but these are essential attributes that one must absorb to become successful when choosing this particular career choice.

Although it may seem like a lot of math and science from the outside looking in, most pharmacy technician training programs that are taught in an actual college setting also require prerequisites before a student is even accepted into the program. For example a student must have a certain level of math skills coming into the program. Many require you to have a certain number of years of chemistry and biology. Along with these courses, they may require you to have courses such as keyboarding, sociology, economics, and other courses that may strengthen and enhance your communication skills.

Once a student passes all of the prerequisite courses assigned by the given college, then and only then may the student apply for admission into the actual program itself. Usually the application process can be a bit daunting and require a lot of paper work, which may include medical records, background checks, and transcripts for any prior course work that has been completed. This may seem rather tedious, but the reward from completing the program outweighs all the early red tape one must fight through to get accepted.

Now that the student is accepted, it is now time to schedule their classes. Most programs follow the same format. Many technical schools have the course work broken down into two semesters and a clinical lab immediately following the course work. Many students that do well in their clinical work get hired on as full time employees. How is that for a benefit? Here is a general break down of how many colleges structure their semester course work:

Pharmacy Technician Training:
Here is a breakdown of what a typical pharmacy technician semester course work will typically look like. Course work and class length will vary from school to school. (Results may vary) Please check your local college admissions office for further details. Some courses may be passed over due to prior college coursework. Most programs run for two semesters. Generally semester two ends with a four week clinical.

Communication skills – entry level
Medical Terminologyr
Computers in healthcarer
Keyboarding or typingr
Introduction to pharmacy operationsr
Pharmaceutical math and pharmacy calculationsr
Introduction to Drug Classification
Pharmacy Clinical experience (phase 1)
Pharmacy Customer Relationsr
Institutional Pharmacy Practicer
Orientation to Sterile Solutionsr
Pharmacy Operations Labr
Pharmacy Clinical experience (phase 2)
Applied Pharmaceutical Calculationsr
Psychology of human relations (Introductory Psychology may be used as a substitute)

There are many Pharmacy technician programs that are starting up every year. When you first glance at them, they may seem like the perfect match for your career needs. Before committing to them, it is wise to dig deeper into what they offer, how long they have been around, and if the program they offer is accredited by The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP). The program’s main goal is to educate future pharmacy technicians with the skills and knowledge to secure employment in a variety of pharmacy settings. A technician that completes the training should have the confidence to walk into a community or institutional setting and perform at the highest level possible.

Looking further down the road, the career outlook for Pharmacy technicians appear to be rather promising. New mandates on medication delivery system, a shortage of pharmacists, and the life expectancy of individuals increasing, Pharmacy technicians will be in great demand for many years to come. If you are looking for a great career change with a promising future or looking to start a new professional career with many benefits, becoming a pharmacy technician could be the career choice you have been dreaming of