Pharmacy technicians are one of the medical related careers that are in demand today. A lot of people have been considering taking up a pharmacy technician course and having a lot of inquiries about it. This career is not just taking up a vocational course because most states are already requiring that you obtain a pharmacy technician certification before you can practice. You can have a brief background about the career of a pharmacy technician and see if this is really the job that is meant for you:
1. What are the duties and responsibilities of a pharmacy technician?
A pharmacy technician basically works as an assistant of a licensed pharmacist. Here are some of the common duties of a pharmacy technician:
- Pharmacy technicians prepare, store and distribute medications to patients
- Facilitate the processing of patient’s insurances or ledgers and do some billing processing.
- Checks the pharmacy’s inventories, organizes patient’s and drug stock’s data and other paper works in the pharmacy.
2. What is the workload of a pharmacy technician?
The job of a pharmacy technician includes both the duties of a licensed pharmacist alongside with some clerical work. In hospitals, a pharmacy technician may be on a shifting schedule since pharmacies work for 24 hours. If you plan to work in other institutions other than the hospital, part time workload may be availed by most employees.
3. What are the requirements before one can practice as a pharmacy technician?
- You must take up the pharmacy technician training course which usually lasts for 1- 2 years. There are training courses that are available online but you can also opt to take the course on a classroom set-up
- It is also required by most employers that you undergo an externship program. Most training courses provide an externship program for their students. This serves as your hands on training as a pharmacy technician.
- The last step will be obtaining your pharmacy technician certificate which is an examination conducted by the Pharmacy technician Certification Board. This certification is subject to re-certification every 3 hours to encourage pharmacy technician to undergo continuing education programs.
4. What is the career outlook for pharmacy technicians?
The demand for pharmacy technicians started in the year of 2006 and job offers continue to increase as the aging population increases. The expected demand for pharmacy technicians is until the year 2016. Meanwhile, the salary of a pharmacy technician ranges from $25,000-$35,000 per month.
The career of a pharmacy technician is just not about demand and salary; it also needs dedication to service as it is the health of the people that you are working at.