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Pharmacy Technician - Job
Outlook and Training
Scott Knutson
With the current
shortage for highly skilled pharmacy technician's it's no surprise
that all sorts of schools, as well as their online counterparts are
offering an ever increasing number of pharmacy technician programs.
These programs are specifically geared towards improving the quality
of pharmacy technician graduates nationwide who will then help fill
in the current gap in need for trained pharmacy technician graduates
in the health care industry.
The relationship between a
pharmacy technician and a pharmacist is similar to that of a
paralegal and an attorney in that in essence the pharmacy technician
is an assistant and performs a wide variety of tasks and assignments
that are a bit less high profile and that don't require and actual
pharmacist license. In most circumstances, their boss is a
registered pharmacist.
Pharmacy technicians duties include a
wide variety of duties like: keeping track of patient records,
packaging and labeling prescription medication, keeping track of the
drug supply, compounding medications, understanding prescription
orders, doing inventory, doing the preparation of sterile products
as well as billing and crediting the patients while also being able
to work with a computer.
Pharmacy technicians can be assigned
to various health care settings from hospitals, drug wholesalers,
mail order pharmacies, home health care agencies as well as long
term care facilities.
The current job market for pharmacy
technicians is on fire and is one of the primary factors why more
and more people are looking into a pharmacy technician career. The
options are unlimited and expected to stay that way for the
foreseeable future for a properly trained, competent pharmacy
technician.
Of course salaries and benefits vary depending on
an individual's experience, the type of employer and which part of
the country the employer is located but it's clearly possible to
make a comfortable living.
Most highly rated and reputable
pharmacy technician programs are accredited by the American Society
of Health-System Pharmacists or ASHP and it's becoming more common
for employers to require that any prospective pharmacy technician be
to obtain their certification and license before they will be hired.
Many pharmacy technician programs include some type of hands on
internship in a local pharmacy to get hands on experience along with
the book work which ranges from pharmacology and medical terminology
to human body structure to pharmacology law.
Due to the
demand and popularity of night classes and online learning more and
more pharmacy technician training schools and course offer flexible
class schedules to accommodate not only the young but those already
working adults who are looking for a career change.
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