Pharmacy Technician Certification & Your Career
Most pharmacy technicians, if not all of them, aim to have their own certification. You can have a career in this field even without this but having a pharmacy technician certification will soon be a requirement in all States. Right now, about twenty States require a nationally-recognized certification and there are a number of establishments, especially the larger ones, that require pharmacy technicians be certified first before they can apply for job positions.
Most pharmacy technicians work in retail pharmacy. This includes small scale and large chain drug stores in your neighborhood. Pharmacy technicians in this setting have more interaction with patients or customers in the course of helping pharmacists fill prescriptions and other tasks that the pharmacists may need help with. The technician prepares the prescription by counting, measuring, pouring, weighing, or sometimes mixing the medication. They will then label, price, and file this prescription to the patient's medical records. Before handing this put to the patient, the licensed pharmacists need to check this for accuracy ad verification. Since error in dispensing may happen, pharmacists in retail setting prefer to hire those with their pharmacy technician certification in order to make sure the technician is capable in doing her job well, even if the pharmacist will have to verify everything first.
Pharmacy technicians working in hospitals, assisted-living facilities and nursing homes have added responsibilities in addition to some of the basic tasks of pharmacy technicians. In this work setting, they have less interaction with patients as the health practitioners are usually the one that requests the medication and the technician, after verifying it with the pharmacist, will then deliver the medication to another member of the healthcare team, usually to a nurse, who will the administer the medication to the patient. One of the additional responsibilities that technicians working in this setting have includes preparing sterile solutions. Most hospitals require pharmacy technician certification from their technicians.
The other work setting that most pharmacy technicians work in is in mail-order pharmacies. These days, mail order pharmacies include online pharmacies where patients can order their prescription filled. In this setting, there is very little, if none, customer interaction between the patient and the pharmacy technician. Nevertheless, the pharmacy technicians still need to make sure they are dispensing the right prescription that their customers have ordered.
Whatever's the work setting that the technician is working in, a pharmacy technician certification is still important, whether it's a requirement or not. A certification will open many windows for career advancement for the certified technician, including higher salary than what non-certified pharmacy technicians receive.
Most pharmacy technicians work in retail pharmacy. This includes small scale and large chain drug stores in your neighborhood. Pharmacy technicians in this setting have more interaction with patients or customers in the course of helping pharmacists fill prescriptions and other tasks that the pharmacists may need help with. The technician prepares the prescription by counting, measuring, pouring, weighing, or sometimes mixing the medication. They will then label, price, and file this prescription to the patient's medical records. Before handing this put to the patient, the licensed pharmacists need to check this for accuracy ad verification. Since error in dispensing may happen, pharmacists in retail setting prefer to hire those with their pharmacy technician certification in order to make sure the technician is capable in doing her job well, even if the pharmacist will have to verify everything first.
Pharmacy technicians working in hospitals, assisted-living facilities and nursing homes have added responsibilities in addition to some of the basic tasks of pharmacy technicians. In this work setting, they have less interaction with patients as the health practitioners are usually the one that requests the medication and the technician, after verifying it with the pharmacist, will then deliver the medication to another member of the healthcare team, usually to a nurse, who will the administer the medication to the patient. One of the additional responsibilities that technicians working in this setting have includes preparing sterile solutions. Most hospitals require pharmacy technician certification from their technicians.
The other work setting that most pharmacy technicians work in is in mail-order pharmacies. These days, mail order pharmacies include online pharmacies where patients can order their prescription filled. In this setting, there is very little, if none, customer interaction between the patient and the pharmacy technician. Nevertheless, the pharmacy technicians still need to make sure they are dispensing the right prescription that their customers have ordered.
Whatever's the work setting that the technician is working in, a pharmacy technician certification is still important, whether it's a requirement or not. A certification will open many windows for career advancement for the certified technician, including higher salary than what non-certified pharmacy technicians receive.
