Pharmacy Career People, come here please!

[Kaitlyn]

Gee, sorry for the lack of a good title :-/ Who here is a pharmacy tech? I've decided I think I'll get into the pharmacy field, I can't be a nurse because I get too woosy too fast lol. Pharmacy isn't going to go away, and although I'd love to have a boarding barn and have it be my income that won't be right away and I need to make decent money in the meantime, so I think I'll go with a pharmacy position so it's still in the medical field but not all the gross nurse stuff lol. I'm a weenie, I can't do that stuff. So I guess the point of the post is, was is hard getting to where you were? Did you have to memorize a lot in college? Just in general, do you like it? Would you switch if you could? Elaborate please :)

[Miracle Whip]

Hmm.. Probably a lot of chemistry as I recall. My mom kept saying Pharmacist when I was in school but the pre-pharmacy program at a 4 year college is pretty tough. I think you can take the Technician program at a local community college though.

One thing my sister pointed out is you are fairly limited in your work environment and have little chance of moving up without a degree. Nor can you get other positions within the store unless it was as a cashier or stocker. Woo haa.

Why do you think you are a weenie when it comes to nursing? Nursing can be so many many different things and the demand is so much greater. How about a legal secretary? There used to be a pharmacy tech - Steph, she has not been online in quite some time. She was able to own a Hackney pony.

I'd take a shitload of business courses if you want to run a stable. I work part time at 2 different stables and one of them has a lot of drama and problems finding a decent barn manager.

[Kaitlyn]

Ah, 4 year college, yes. I'm looking into those no-BS course colleges. I've had a lot of BS courses already at a community college. The moving up thing I can see as I used to work at CVS and talked to the pharmacy techs a lot but there's a job that I'm interested in on Monster that has to do with pharmacy and sales. And that set off this current bell lol. The whole aspect of Nursing makes me queezy? Anybody know what I'm trying to spell? lol. A lot of people are cutting down on doctor's visits although health care is booming, it's not as busy as it was. Secretary jobs in general are shrinking because they are becoming part time instead of full time because the forms are cutting down on costs.

It's my dream to run a stable, but it won't be happening for a while. Ideally I'll go back to school for business, but I'm leaning more towards horses as my hobby and not my career.

[Miracle Whip]

Poop? Blood? Snot? Infection? Give me a break. If you can clean your horses stall a little human poo is peanuts. I thought it was pretty yicky too but when the time came I cleaned it up. I remember one lady had poo dripping down her stockings by the time we found her...you do it because its your job. Unless you know for a fact that the smell or whatever makes you GAG...welll,, don't be a wimp.

Anyway.

I agree that secretarial is a tough area - but I did know a girl when I was in college that went through a secretarial program and worked as a secretary BEFORE going to a 4 year college. It worked for her. On the other hand, I had a 4 year degree, no business or office type courses and could not find a clerical job to save my soul.

If I had it to do over I'd go to a trade school.

[Remali]

Is a pharmacy tech a two year degree? I should look it up. I think it sounds like a nice job.

Or, another one that sounds decent is a physical therapy aide...around here I think it is a 2 year degree for PT Aide. I looked into that at one time but a lot of the classes were in another town about 150 miles away, so too far for me to drive all the time for that long.

I checked the local college website, and here in Eau Claire, WI the Pharmacy Tech program is a one year diploma. Not bad!

[Syble413]

I'm a pharmacy technician. Believe it or not, you don't have to go to college to be one, although state certified technicians do make slightly more.
Here's a link to the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board. It has lots of information that should be helpful to you. If you have any specific questions after you visit the site, I'll be happy to give any insight that I can.

https://www.ptcb.org//AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home1

The PTCB Certification
Program is NCCA
Accredited


HomeRESOURCESPharmacy Technicians
“I am a little prouder of it because it is not something that you can study for a few nights and expect to breeze through.”

—Bonnie, CPhT


Edited to add this to make it easier for you. (The site has much more information)


General Defintion


The exact definition of a pharmacy technician varies based on the state you live in. However, the basic definition is an individual working in a pharmacy who, under the supervision of a licensed pharmacist, assists in pharmacy activities that do not require the professional judgement of a pharmacist. Pharmacy technicians are used in a wide variety of practice settings, including community pharmacies, hospitals, the military, in home health care, long term care, mail service facility, managed health care facilities, and educational/training programs. For the purposes of national voluntary certification, pharmacy technicians are defined as individuals working in a pharmacy, who under the supervision of a licensed pharmacist, assist in pharmacy activities not requiring the professional judgement of a pharmacist. The pharmacy technician is accountable to the supervising pharmacist, who is legally responsible by virtue of state licensure for the care and safety of patients served by the pharmacy. The pharmacy technician performs activities as the result of having certain knowledge and skills.




Job Duties

Specific responsibilities will depend on the pharmacy setting and scope of practice. Below is a list of duties that a pharmacy technician might find in many practice settings:

Assist pharmacist in labeling and filling prescriptions;
Assist patients in dropping off and picking up prescriptions;
Entering prescriptions into the computer;
Verify that customer receives correct prescription(s);
Compound oral solutions, ointments, and creams;
Scheduling and maintaining workflow;
Prepackage bulk medications;
Screen calls for pharmacists;
Medication ordering;
Work with insurance carriers to obtain payments and refilling authority;
Prepare medication inventories;
Prepare chemotherapeutic agents;
Compound total parenteral nutrition solutions;
Compound large-volumes of intravenous mixtures;
Assisting in outpatient dispensing;
Assisting inpatient dispensing;
Preparing IV mixtures;
Purchasing and billing;



Knowledge, Skills, Training, and Education

State practice acts and employer policies determine training and education requirements. Below is a list of some characteristics that may be desired:

Professional attitude;
Strong communication skills;
Ability to work in teams;
Previous customer service experience;
Ability to type 35 words a minute;
Understanding of medical terminology and calculations;
Attention to detail;
Outgoing;
Hard working;
Be a quick learner;
PTCB certification may be desired or mandatory;


Growth in the Pharmaceutical Industry


Working as a pharmacy technician is a great place to start if you are interested in having a career in the pharmaceutical industry. Starting as a pharmacy technician gives the person the type of background training that would be necessary to become a pharmacist or work elsewhere in the pharmaceutical industry.