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A Pharmacy Technician Program can help you prepare for a career as a pharmacy tech. This job could be a good way to get yourself started in the pharmacy field without having to attend a long and demanding pharmacy program. Learn more about what it takes to become a pharmacy technician, and what you can expect from Pharmacy Technician School below.
Becoming a Pharmacy Technician
A pharmacy technician is someone who helps pharmacists with distributing medication to customers. Job duties include packaging and labeling prescriptions, collecting medical information from customers or doctors, answering phone calls, assisting customers with questions, and organizing inventory. A pharmacy technician works under the supervision of a pharmacist. The technician will be focused mainly on administrative and customer service tasks. A pharmacist will be putting the prescriptions together, but in some cases, a technician can assist with mixing medications. To become a pharmacist, you need to complete a lot of education, but to become a pharmacy technician, you do not have to complete nearly as much schooling. Becoming a pharmacy technician could be a great way to step into the industry.
To become a pharmacy technician, you need a high school diploma or equivalent. You also need some on-the-job training. However, there are also Pharmacy Technician Schools or Programs that can train you to become a pharmacy technician. These schools offer you short programs that will give you the training and hands-on experience you need. When you graduate from a Pharmacy Technician Program, it will show your potential employer that know what you are doing, and you have experience in your field.
Courses in Your Pharmacy Technician School
Attending a Pharmacy Technician School can help you get started on a career as a Pharmacy Technician. This program teaches you how to assist a pharmacist with packing and distribution. This program lasts nine months, and it consists of 300 theory hours, 300 lab hours, and 160 externship hours. Learn more about the specific courses and topics of study below.
- Anatomy and Physiology – During Pharmacy Technician School, you will take a basic anatomy and physiology course because it will be a good foundation for your future classes. In the pharmacy industry, it is important to understand how different medications affect the human body and its systems.
- Pharmacy Calculations – Mathematics and calculations are a big part of the pharmacy industry. This is because formulas and calculations help pharmacists put together the correct medications and the correct dosage. You will take a pharmacy calculations course during your schooling that will teach you about different formulas needed in different pharmacy settings so that you can better understand how math is used in the pharmacy.
- Pharmacy Principles and Practice – This course will teach you all about working in different pharmacy settings. For example, you will learn about pharmacy units in hospitals and what type of medication and stock they require. You will also learn about other settings and the best practices in each one. This course will go into what it is really like to complete the duties of a pharmacy technician.
- Pharmacology – Pharmacology is the study of drugs and how they affect different systems in the body. Your study of pharmacology will include studying specific medical terminology, systems of the body, side effects, toxic reactions, and more.
- Pharmacy Information Systems – This course will start to teach you about the computer systems you will come in contact with while you are working as a pharmacy technician. You will learn about the systems used for dispensing prescriptions as well as systems for electronic medical records and more. You will also learn about billing, insurance, and reimbursement systems so that you get some experience working with the technology and systems.
- Pharmacy Technician Externship – At the end of your Pharmacy Technician Program, you will do an externship. This externship will give you some hands-on working experience in a pharmacy. You will get observational experiences, and you will also get supervised working experiences. This will help you gain skills and experience working in your field before you graduate.
Those are not all of the courses you will take during your Pharmacy Technician School, but those are a few of your courses. These courses can give you a good idea of what to expect during your schooling.
The FVI School of Nursing and Technology has a Pharmacy Technician Program that could set you up for a good career working in the pharmacy field. You can complete this program in nine months so that you can get out into the workforce. Click here if you would like to learn more about the Pharmacy Tech Program at FVI School of Nursing and Technology.
For more information about graduation rates, the median debt of students who completed the program, and other important information, please visit our website:
https://fvi.edu/consumer-information/.
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