Pharmacy Technician Training: What Can It Do For Me?
A pharmacy technician refers to a member of the pharmacy staff who is working under the guidance of a registered pharmacist, and is in-charge of doing pharmacy-related tasks like giving medication and providing patients with health care products and services. To be qualified to work in this industry, one must have the necessary qualities, and must undergo proper pharmacy technician training in a duly licensed pharmacy tech school.
The principal responsibility of a pharmacy technician is to help licensed pharmacists in preparing medications for patients, as well as furnishing them with necessary health care products. They are also typically in-charge of medicine inventory and placing labels on them. Customer support can also be included in their work, as well as other clerical and pharmacy-related duties and responsibilities.
In a typical retail or mail-order pharmacy, technicians can have distinct duties and responsibilities. This will usually depend on the state they are working in and the laws that apply in them. Doctors can send prescriptions to a pharmacy technician, and he is responsible for analyzing them and making certain that they are complete and concise before the actual preparation of the medication. Once the prescription is verified, the technician will now acquire the medicine and extract the right proportions and dosages before giving them to the patient.
When working in hospital or nursing home environment, pharmacy technicians may be required to perform additional work like analysis of patient records and preparing of medication. Upon verification of a prescription by the pharmacist, it will now be up to the technician to bring it to the patient, after which he will take down a log of the important details in administering the medicine. They also make sure that patients have a 24-hour supply of their needed medication.
One of the advantages of being a pharmacy technician is its work environment; clean, well-organized, has excellent ventilation and lighting. An individual must be physically and mentally fit to efficiently perform their tasks and responsibilities. Working hours can have graveyard shifts, and working days can include weekends or holidays, especially on hospitals and other similar establishments that are open 24-hours a day.
A lot of pharmacy technicians engage in an on-the-job training before working, but formal pharmacy technician training programs are also available. Certified technicians are usually given priority, but that doesn’t mean those who are not certified perform less effectively. In the US, there isn’t any clear Federal law which covers the matter of requiring technicians to acquire certification before working.
Formal pharmacy technician training, like regular education programs, will involve classroom and laboratory work, study in different areas like pharmaceutical and medical terms, calculations, recording, techniques, pharmacy law and ethics. They will also need to become well-versed in medicine names, its functions and proper dosage. Most pharmacy technician training programs have internships in order for them to have an actual experience in their field. Once they complete their training, the pharmacy tech school will be able to award them with a certificate, diploma or an associate’s degree, all of which will depend on the type of program they undergo.
To have a better chance of success in this industry, one must posses great skills in customer support and working with a group because they will be interacting with patients, professionals and co-workers most of the time. They will also benefit from having a good foundation in reading, spelling and mathematics. It is important that a technician is very observant, can work with initiative, responsible, organized, alert and has passion for work. Equally important is having precision in skills and actions since we are dealing with human lives here, and we can’t compromise anything.
The demand for pharmacy technicians has soared with the increasing duties of pharmacists. In order to become a proficient pharmacy technician, it is important that you undergo proper pharmacy technician training from an accredited pharmacy tech school. This is a very rewarding career and can take you a long way.