What You’ll Learn in Pharmacy Technician Class
There are some common misconceptions about pharmacy technicians that we will clear up here, the first being that they are glorified grocery baggers. To go into the reasoning behind this misconception we will need to discuss what a pharmacy technician does, and most importantly, what is going to be expected of you.
A pharmacy technician bears the responsibility of dispensing medication to customers, and in order to do this, they will need to read the prescription and prepare the appropriate dosage. Individuals that have completed pharmacy technician classes will be tasked with working in one of the following locations, though this is not a comprehensive list:
- Drug Stores – This is the most obvious location that people think of when it comes to a pharmacy and you will likely find yourself working at one at some point or another once you obtain your pharmacy technician certificate.
- Grocery Stores – Today, larger grocery stores have pharmacies installed, helping to ensure that individuals have the ability to use them as a one stop shopping location. Don’t be fooled, this is a great location for a pharmacy technician career to take place, and the pay is often quite good. These pharmacies are more often than not located within the larger chain stores such as Publix, Winn-Dixie and Wal Mart.
- Hospitals – All larger hospitals have a pharmacy of some sort installed, whether it’s a full size pharmacy or a very specialized service within the building. Hospitals have always been important pharmacy hosts, and if you find yourself working in one, you can expect to have a well paying and long lasting career.
Pharmacy technicians may be tasked with other jobs and even more lucrative positions of course, all depending upon their level of education and their experience. It may not be terribly uncommon for a pharmacy tech to find themselves working in a laboratory, and once they have had their fill of working in a pharmacy, they might go on to become sales representatives for the large drug companies.
What could be better, after all, than selling the drugs that you have been preparing and packaging for a good portion of your life? Being a pharmacy technician gives you a great deal of experience in these matters, and it’s a great stepping-stone to a larger career if you would like to move in that direction.
The Job of a Pharmacy Technician
You already know what a pharmacy technician does, but do you know how much responsibility it actually entails? You will not only be responsible for making sure that the customer gets their medication, you will be responsible for making sure that it is correct, have the ability to answer any questions reliably that the customer has which is perhaps one of the most important things of all.
The biggest thing that you’re going to run into is the amount of trust the people place in you to do this job. It will be your responsibility to make sure that your customers get the dosage they need, and in some cases you will even need to dispense health advise regarding the medication that you are handing out. To put it lightly, it can be a pretty big responsibility, and it’s one that you have to be ready for.
If you’re prepared to jump into this important field then you’ll be joining a rapidly growing group of individuals. As of 2014 there were 372,500 pharmacy technician jobs in the United States with a 9% job growth up to the year 2024.
That’s much faster than average and as you already know, it’s a great career opportunity. It’s time to choose the career path you’ve always wanted, and time to join a pharmacy technician school that will keep you in a job for many years to come. If you have the will to learn, then we have the tools to teach you everything you need to know at FVI School of Nursing and Technology.
Source: https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/pharmacy-technicians.htm
