Pharmacy Technician Training Class

If you have done the research about pharmacy tech training you understand that there are no strict educational guidelines. Although, employers will often choose to hire someone with a two-year degree over an individual with a basic certification. Your pharmacy tech training  is vital to your ability to get a job and should cause you to reconsider taking the least expensive route. If money is a concern then take a step back to investigate the variety of ways to pay for quality pharmacy tech training.

Do You Qualify for Free Pharmacy Tech Training?

Utilizing the largest source of grants and scholarships is the best way to start your search for money. This requires logging onto the FAFSA.gov website and filling out the information to find out what you qualify for. Programs for pharmacy tech training are available based on numerous qualities including: Read the rest of this entry »

While training for pharmacy tech employment most individuals see themselves working along side a pharmacist, making excellent income and perhaps become a pharmacist one day. Once they get into the actual job they often find that there is little room for them to move up in their position and they are stuck floundering for the long term until they make a change.

Is Pharmacy Tech Employment the Right Fit for You?

Although you may believe that pharmacy tech employment is the right position for you offering you all that you need, you should ask yourself some important questions about your job. Decide if any of the information below fits your current employment situation:

• There is no room to grow in your current position and you are not able to advance. Many pharmacy techs take positions that don’t offer regular pay increases or health or insurance benefits.
• Bonus packages are not something common in your workplace. They do not provide incentive programs to promote better work habits and arranging your vacation time can be a struggle.
• Too many hours are necessary for the pay that you are being given. You are given too much work or not given enough pay for the work you are doing. Many pharmacies are understaffed or consist of many part time employees making it difficult to obtain consistent working hours. Read the rest of this entry »

Any career is advanced through continuing your education, so why not enhance your pharmacy tech training with free classes on the internet? Keep in mind that free and paid for may not always be equal in the quality of continuing education classes. However, any step that improve your job performance and ultimately help you to become a more valuable professional is certainly better than standing still in your current position.

What to Know Before You Start

A great deal of the continuing education, or CE, information that exists on the web is focused on actual pharmacists and not pharmacy tech training. You should understand that quite often those directed at pharmacists are especially beneficial to your tech position.  Research the different training options and consult with your pharmacy manager as to which CE classes would benefit you as a pharmacy tech. If you don’t have a current pharmacy manager to consult with then consider topics relevant to pharmacy tech training such as:

• Medication errors
• Specific laws
• Various medical conditions
• Compliance
• Internet Read the rest of this entry »

If you have decided to begin pharmacy tech training, you are probably excited about starting a new career. Being a pharmacy tech may offer you many advantages, but as with everything in life, both the training in this field and the actual career can have disadvantages as well. Here is some information you might want to know before you enroll in a pharmacy tech training program.

Pharmacy Tech Training Online or Traditional

When you first decide that you want to enter into a training program for pharmacy technicians, you may be faced with two options. You can either take your training over the internet or in an actual college classroom. There are several benefits and disadvantages to both.

• Online Classes- Internet courses offer you the freedom to set your own hours and take as long as you need to complete the courses. Because of this freedom, you may be able to juggle work, school, and other commitments much more easily. There will be no need to commute to the classroom; you can attend while sitting at home in your pajamas. This type of schooling may not work well for those who do not understand computers and those who can not motivate themselves to start and complete their work.

• Classroom Setting- Attending a regular classroom gives you the opportunity to have hands-on training with a professor who can easily answer any questions you have. For some students, the way that material is presented in a regular classroom may make it easier to learn and understand. You will also have the benefit of fellow classmates who can help you work on homework and study for tests. The classroom setting may not be helpful to those who need a flexible schedule and those who have trouble commuting back and forth to campus. Read the rest of this entry »

Pharmacy tech training is necessary before seeking employment in a hospital or local pharmacy.  Training will prepare a pharmacy technician for the responsibility of filling patient prescriptions and interacting with a pharmacist.  Using the resources that are available online will help a pharmacy technician prepare for certification and for the demands of their new career. Here’s a list of the most useful resources:

Pharmacy Tech Training Resources

Drug Abbreviations for the Pharmacy Technician

Understanding drug abbreviations is one of the most important parts of being a pharmacy technicians.  While a pharmacist is responsible for checking all prescriptions before they are released to the patient, the pharmacy technician is the first line of defense.  Knowing drug abbreviations will help you avoid many potentially harmful errors, and there are several resources available for those working to learn drug abbreviations. Read the rest of this entry »

After completing your pharmacy tech training you probably think you’re ready to start working in any local pharmacy. Unfortunately, you may not be as prepared as you think. Pharmacy technician training classes focus on teaching students how to handle and prepare prescriptions. Few training courses tell you what mistakes a new pharmacy tech might make or how to avoid them.

The Doctor Isn’t Always Right…Did Your Pharmacy Tech Training Mention That?

Once you start working as a pharmacy tech you will probably notice right away that filling real prescriptions is not the same as practicing in a classroom setting. Learning how to interpret the prescribing doctor’s handwriting, fill the prescription, and check insurance information while dealing with patients and coworkers is confusing at best. After you get used to filling prescriptions, you may notice that certain medications are consistently prescribed in certain dosage amounts or quantities. Read the rest of this entry »

According to statistics, a pharmacy technician (pharmacy tech) career can provide you with an average earning…yes, you heard that right, average. Your annual salary will most likely cap out at a bit above $40,000. Since the opportunity for advancement as a pharmacy tech to a pharmacist position isn’t possible without a college degree, you may be wondering what you can do to increase your annual earnings. You’ve come to the right place.

To qualify for higher paying jobs, and to meet the guidelines of some states, a Pharmacy Tech must receive a certification. That’s the first step to becoming more valuable (and worth a higher income) in your pharmacy tech position. When choosing your continuing education courses, don’t just choose whatever seems easiest to pass. There are literally hundreds of continuing education courses available to the pharmacy tech and any of them can be used toward the renewal of your certification. But, a smart pharmacy tech will choose continuing educations wisely. Here’s the inside scoop. Read the rest of this entry »

Thinking about online pharmacy tech training? Read this…

The pharmacy technician career field is rapidly becoming a popular health care industry career choice as the need for trained pharmacy technician grows.  In the past pharmacies, hospitals, and mail-order prescription businesses provided internal training for all pharmacy techs.  Now, state and national governments in the United States are requiring pharmacies to employee only certified pharmacy technicians.  There are continuing education courses that offer pharmacy tech training, but even though these courses are designed with working adults in mind they are not always very convenient.  An alternative to continued education training are online pharmacy tech training schools.  There are many schools providing online pharmacy tech training courses, but finding the right one is not always an easy task.

Where to Look for Online Pharmacy Technician Training Read the rest of this entry »

According to the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board, more than 400,000 pharmacy technicians have earned their certification since 1995. With the growing need within the pharmaceutical industry for intelligent and skillful technicians, the role of a pharmacy technician is no longer a career path that should only be sought through on-the-job training, as it once was. More and more pharmacies are requiring aspiring pharmacy technicians to take part in educational courses and become certified within their particular state. For those who still don’t list training as a requirement, the plain truth is this; a pharmacy technician without proper training will find themselves increasingly passed up when job opportunities become available.

Today’s Steps to Becoming a Pharmacy Technician

In today’s competitive job market, education is the key factor for even being considered for most careers. In order to start your career as a pharmacy technician, there are a couple of different routes you can take, but only a few will guarantee you with job security and the necessary knowledge to perform your job safely and efficiently. Read the rest of this entry »

A career as a pharmacy technician can be very rewarding, but the job comes with a lot of responsibility. There can be serious consequences that come with miscalculations. Take a look at the real life story of one pharmacy technician.

The Case of Emily Jerry

At the Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital, located in Cleveland, Ohio, a pharmacist and a pharmacy technician received a prescription for a drug called Eposin. This was a chemotherapy solution that was to be used for a little girl named Emily, who was a little less than two years old. On February 26, 2006, when the chemotherapy solution was administered, Emily became violently ill and ended up on life support an hour after she started taking the drug. On March 1, 2006, Emily passed away.

It was discovered that the pharmacy technician who made the chemotherapy solution had decided to make a batch of saline solution from scratch instead of using the readily available saline in the pharmacy. Later reports stated that the pharmacy technician was distracted with her wedding plans, that the pharmacy was short-handed, and that the computers were not working correctly, making prescription orders difficult. The pharmacist in charge of the technician said that he felt rushed by the nurse who stated the urgency of the prescription. Read the rest of this entry »