How to Be a Good Pharmacy Technician

Although most pharmacy technicians receive informal on-the-job training, employers surely favor those who have completed formal training and have been certificated. Formal pharmacy technician education programs require some classroom and laboratory work in a variety of areas, including medical and pharmaceutical terminology, pharmaceutical calculations, pharmacy recordkeeping, pharmaceutical techniques, and pharmacy law and ethics. Technicians also are required to learn medication names, actions, uses, and doses. Many training programs include internships, in which students gain hands-on experience in actual pharmacies.

How to be a good pharmacy Technician? What kind of criteria do one need to be a good pharmacy technician?

1. Prospective pharmacy technicians gain their working experience as an aide in a community pharmacy or volunteering in a hospital before the actual employment. Applicants with mass experience managing medicine inventories, counting tablets, measuring dosages, and using computers as much as skillful in most of the clerical work is definitely an added bonus

2. To learn and grasp the knowledge of pharmacy technician's fast, a background in chemistry, English, Biology, Chemistry and Health education of any type may be beneficial.

3. Gain the certification and other qualifications. Both the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board and the Institute for the Certification of Pharmacy Technicians, administer national certification examinations. To be eligible for either exam, candidates must have a high school diploma or GED, no felony convictions of any kind within 3-5 years of applying, and no drug or pharmacy related felony convictions history before. Employers, often pharmacists, know that individuals who pass the exam have a standardized body of knowledge and skills.

4. One should get recertified every 2 years with 20 hours of continuing education within the 2-year certification period and at least 1 hour must be in pharmacy law. Continuing education hours can be earned from several different sources, including colleges, pharmacy associations, and pharmacy technician training programs.

5. Strong customer service and teamwork skills are needed because pharmacy technicians interact with patients, coworkers, and health care professionals 98% of their time

6. One need to have good skills and strong background in Mathematics, Spelling, and Reading as the pre-requisite to be a good pharmacy technicians. Successful pharmacy technicians are alert, observant, organized, dedicated, and responsible. They should be willing and able to take directions, but be able to work independently without supervisory and constant instructions.

7. Someone whom are familiar with medical terminology and well aware of all the medications, pills, injection fluids which are in the pharmacy in their scientific terms as well as more layman names.

8. Good interpersonal skills to deal with a wide variety of individuals in a team. He should be a team player, and mix along well with the rest of the team mates.

9. He needs to be someone who is adaptable to performing multiple tasks. He need to be capable to handle all kinds of instructions given by the pharmacists at any one time. He needs to be computer savvy as well to utilize the best of computer to complete his tasks accurately and in the shortest time.

10. A pharmacy technician must be precise when they deal with medications and the necessary doses for different patients, which will either heal or kill the one who consumed them; therefore details are sometimes a matter of life and death. Thus, the responsibility of the pharmacy technicians is very important as they deal with medications.

11. Candidates interested in becoming pharmacy technicians cannot have prior records of drug or substance abuse.

12. Good pharmacy technician deserve a good career advancement. In large pharmacies and health-systems or even government hospitals, pharmacy technicians with significant training, experience and certification can be promoted to supervisory positions, mentoring and training pharmacy technicians with less experience. Some may even advance into specialty positions such as chemo therapy technician and nuclear pharmacy technician.

For more information about pharmacy technician continuing education and pharmacy technician certification, visit PharmacyTechnicianEssentials.com. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Elaine_Ee_Lee

How Long Will it Take to Get My Pharmacy Tech Certification?

As most people know, a health care related career is some of the most important work a person can do. Whether a doctor, a nurse, or a pharmacist or pharmacy technician, health care workers strive to keep people healthy. And what could be more important than that?

For those looking into a health care career, the position of Pharmacy Technician may appeal to you. Depending on the workplace, a Pharmacy Technician has a variety of duties and responsibilities, from counting out pills to corresponding with customers, and each duty is important. Even routine tasks, such as labeling bottles, can be of life-or-death importance-- as, of course, it’s imperative that patients are given the correct medications in the correct doses.

The hourly earnings of a Pharmacy Technician also vary from workplace to workplace. Pharmacy Techs who earn the most generally work in hospitals, where they earn an average of $13 hourly. The lowest-earning Pharmacy Technicians work in health or personal care stores, with about a $10.50 hourly wage. Obviously, where you choose to work as a Pharmacy Technician matters. And because hospitals and other highly specialized locations pay best, they also look for the best Technicians-- that is, Pharmacy Techs with certification.

Training to Be a Pharmacy Technician

While some smaller drug stores, etc., simply provide on-the-job training to untrained Pharmacy Technicians, most higher-paying locations look for Pharmacy Technicians with formal training and certification. To obtain this, most aspiring Pharmacy Techs attend online or classroom training courses. When choosing a Pharmacy Tech course, there are several things to keep in mind, such as length of course, depth of subject matter, and quality of the course (accreditation).

How Long Will it Take?

Most Pharmacy Technician training courses run from about six months to a year, depending on the course. In that time, you will learn the skills required to operate a pharmacy, follow correct pharmaceutical procedures, provide the correct drug dosages, and assist the pharmacist in administrative tasks. This course also helps to prepare you for your PTCB (Pharmacy Technician Certification Board) exam or ExCPT (Exam for the Certification of Pharmacy Technicians).

While there are very few current federal and state laws governing the need for Pharmacy Tech certification, having a PTCB or ExCPT certification is becoming the standard. Passing one or more of these examinations is of key importance.

What if I Need to Finish Faster?

If you don’t have the six months to a year it takes to complete a Pharmacy Tech training course, there are several options available. As the certification is more important to potential employers than the formal training, you can choose to focus your time on studying for the test. You can do this either by studying the test materials, or taking one of the variety of short “crash course” cramming sessions offered by some schools. Most of these courses are from a few hours to several days, and are designed to give you all the information you need to pass you PTCB or ExCPT exams.

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