Pharmacy Technician at Texas State Technical College

www.tstc.edu The next 10 years will see baby boomers approach their senior years ... and a nationwide increase in healthcare-related needs. From hospitals to home-health aids, America will offer unprecedented opportunities in medical fields, including related areas such as the pharmaceutical industry.

A larger, older population and the increasing use of medication will translate into expanded job opportunities for skilled, dedicated pharmacy technicians, particularly those with formal training. Anticipating the national trend in increasing medical-related needs, Texas State Technical College's Chemical/Environmental Laboratory Technology department developed the Pharmacy Technician program.

The Pharmacy Technician Specialization focuses on the specific skills needed in today's fast-paced, high-volume pharmacy. The curriculum encompasses three semesters of intense classroom and laboratory instruction designed to prepare graduates for the Certified Pharmacy Technician, or CPhT, examination. Administered by the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board, this credential demonstrates that the technician has mastered a specific body of knowledge and skills applicable to pharmacy—the science that deals with the collection, preparation and standardization of drugs and medicines.

The pharmacy technician has a very high level of responsibility. Because pharmacy technicians receive written prescriptions and refill requests, they must verify the accuracy of the information on the prescriptions. The technician must retrieve, count, pour, weigh, measure and sometimes mix medications. Pharmacy technicians also prepare prescription labels, select prescription containers and affix appropriate labels to the containers.

Technicians often price and file prescriptions, in addition to establishing and maintaining patient profiles, preparing insurance claim forms and stocking and taking inventory of prescription and over-the-counter medications. In hospitals, technicians have added responsibilities such as reading patient charts, preparing medications, delivering prescribed medications to patients and copying detailed information about those medications onto patient profiles.

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Education

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• Pharmacy
• Technician
• career
• training
• education
• medicine
• TSTC