But their duties are far more in-depth than that. Hiring Pharmacy Technician job description Post this Pharmacy Technician job description job ad to 18+ free job boards with one submission. How Many Hours Does a Pharmacy Technician Work? Working as a hospital pharmacy technician comes with its own unique set of pros and cons. Of course, the nitty-gritty specific responsibilities will vary somewhat based on where you work (hospital, drugstore or retail pharmacy) and which state you work in. Fill out the form to receive information about: There are some errors in the form. How to Become a Pharmacy Technician [Expert Tips & Getting a Job], Get Noticed With Your Medical Billing and Coding Certification. has predicted an above-average growth rate for this career path at about 12% in ten years, and experts suspect the. Pharmacy technicians work in a variety of pharmacy environments, in addition to a retail pharmacy (i.e. While hospital pharmacy technicians have the potential to earn more starting out, both positions can climb their way up the pay scale with various certifications and promotions. This is a very active position with a lot of communication between healthcare providers, patients, and pharmacy staff. Compounding Pharmacy. Hospital pharmacy technicians are expected to have a deeper understanding of medical terminology and various complications and procedures, and they work closer with healthcare providers to ensure the patient is receiving the best possible medication and dosage based on their medical history and insurance coverage. This may mean helping them purchase their prescriptions, locating an over-the-counter medication, answering basic medical questions or referring them to the pharmacist. Without pharmacy technicians it’s very likely that medications of all kinds would not be so easily accessible; pharmacists would struggle to keep up with supply and demand, and there would be far more room for error—and in this industry, even the smallest error can result in dire consequences. For example, on Glassdoor.com, CVS pharmacy is reported to offer an average base pay of $13. But in actuality they are the pharmacy technicians, also referred to as pharm techs. Please visit www.rasmussen.edu/degrees for a list of programs offered. Pharmacy benefit managers work to lower the cost of prescription drugs, increase convenience in obtaining prescriptions, and improve safety across the board. Hospital Pharmacy. There is no obligation to enroll. A day in the life of a pharmacy technician is filled with a lot of customer communication, so if you like working with people and you have experience in customer service, this may be a good fit. 05.27.2019, Anna Heinrich | Pharmacy technicians serve as the front line workers in a … Let’s take a closer look at some of the top transferrable skills and abilities you’ll need and how they’re applied. Given below is an example of hospital pharmacy technician job description, showing a list of major duties, tasks, and responsibilities that someone holding the position would be expected to perform in a … Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in March 2015. In most cases, becoming a military pharmacy technician requires formal military training that will vary from branch to branch. They can also pursue more advanced careers in nuclear or compound pharmaceuticals. Learn more about the path ahead of you in our article, “Your Prescription for How to Become a Pharmacy Technician.”. In most cases, pharmacy technicians cannot compound medications without formal specialty training, nor can they administer vaccinations. A pharmacy technician assists the pharmacist with the preparation of prescription medications for customers. So what skills will you need to be successful? In fact, they play an important role in ensuring patient safety. This career offers individuals a realistic and profitable career switch later in life, as well as a promising start for anyone with an interest in the pharmaceutical industry. In the past, you may have assumed they were pharmacists. A pharmacy technician can choose to work full-time or part-time, depending on their personal needs and the pharmacy they work for. is currently $13.32. For a full list of hourly wages by state, you can view the original posting on, After you complete your training program, you’ll need to pass the PTCB Exam with a score of 1400 or higher, snag an internship or externship, and start applying for jobs. Just apply to every pharmacy in your area and try to play up your current skills in math, customer service and critical thinking. However, we enlisted Jeremy Barthels, department chair of the Rasmussen College Pharmacy Technician program, to help identify some standard pharmacy technician duties that apply to nearly any pharmacy setting. As you’ve already seen, pharmacy technicians are vital to maintaining an organized, effective and safe pharmaceutical practice. Unfortunately, your hours as a pharmacy technician will not count toward your mandatory hours as a pharmacist. “Some pharmacy technicians get promoted to pharmacy technician supervisor, overseeing and managing the other pharmacy technicians,” Barthels says. Job description and duties for Pharmacy Technician. Pharmacy Managers are responsible for overseeing everyday operations of a pharmacy. What do pharmacy technicians do? These technicians should expect a great deal of customer interaction and administrative work, such as receiving inventory, managing stock, processing insurance claims, and so on. online at Career Step and learn the skills and job duties needed for a successful career in this growing and vibrant field. Kirsten is a Content Writer at Collegis Education where she enjoys researching and writing on behalf of Rasmussen College. CVS) or hospital. We’ve laid it all out for you so you can start planning which area of pharmaceuticals you would do best in. I. J0B SUMMARY As an integral member of the Pharmacy Services, the responsibilities of the PHARMACY TECHNICIAN, include: managing the clinical investigational drug (CID) inventory; providing technical direction and assistance with clinical trial protocols; performing drug distribution activities, In today’s digital world, most prescriptions come in the form of e-prescriptions, according to Barthels. When it comes to filling prescriptions, it’s more than just counting pills and labeling bottles. The pharmacy technician must be able to provide simple answers to technical questions about insurance coverage and copays. Administrators can work in a variety of different settings, from hospitals to closed-door locations. Barthels explains that this pharmacy tech duty is a very detail-oriented process with more variety than you might expect. Pharmacy Manager Resume Examples. Certified, registered, and in-training pharmacy technicians may have different duties they can perform. Greeting customers and receiving written prescription or refill requests, Verifying the information is complete and accurate, Establishing and maintaining patient profiles, Typing prescribed medications and affixing labels, Mixing pharmaceutical preparations according to written prescriptions, Double checking prescriptions are filled correctly, Maintaining proper storage and security conditions for drugs, Cleaning and maintaining equipment or work areas according to prescribed methods, Checking for outdated medications in current inventory, Notifying the pharmacist of stock needs and shortages, Assisting customers by answering telephones, locating OTC items, answering questions, or referring them to the pharmacist for medication information. There are three key differences between a licensed pharmacist and a pharmacy technician. Start a converstation with us by filling out the form below. • Educate patient on the instructions, dosage and possible side effects of the medication… Also Pharmacy Technician Jobs. For one thing, there is far more training and schooling required to become a pharmacist. These technicians ... Closed-door Pharmacy. Pharmacy technicians have a variety of options to choose from regarding their place of work. Pharmacy Technician Knowledge and Abilities, Medical and pharmacy terminology and processing techniques, Chemical procedures used to compound, reconstitute and dilute drugs, Ability to monitor consistency and effectiveness of patient/client communication, Ability to identify issues and recommend solutions. The clinical hours required will vary by individual state laws and regulations, but typically range from 1,200 to 2,000 hours. , and the variety of job opportunities is one of them. Registered Pharmacy Technician Responsibilities: 8031908: Effective: 01/01/2010 Change 64B16-27.420 Pharmacy Technician 2:1 or 3:1 Ratio: 7887378: 11/6/2009 Vol. We’ve all seen them before, the smiling people in the pharmacy who help us when we pick up and pay for our prescriptions. , CVS pharmacy is reported to offer an average base pay of $13. Pharmacy Technicians are responsible for ensuring the availability of medication and delivering medications to the right patients and departments. In addition to different career types, there are also several different settings to choose from, but we’ll dive into that a little later. Pharmacy Technician Course Activities. That’s really not bad for an entry-level position with minimal education and training required, coupled with flexible work hours and seemingly endless advancement opportunities. Job Prep: What Position Am I Qualified For? At a compounding pharmacy, technicians require a broader scope of knowledge concerning medications and their effects. Another key difference between the two positions is the pay. In a busy pharmacy, pharmacy technicians are the personnel who keep the operation going. By selecting "Submit", I authorize Rasmussen College to contact me by email, phone or text message at the number provided. The. Career Step provides an accredited pharmacy technician program you can complete online in as little as three months. The role of a pharmacy benefit manager is very different from that of a pharmacy technician. Pharmacy technicians in this position should expect to work closely with a small number of patients, and have additional knowledge regarding the unique needs of their customer base. What Other Jobs Can Pharmacy Technicians Do? Pharmacy administration makes sure everything is running smoothly, and that the pharmacy is up to code on all state laws and safety regulations. Use our Career Test Report to get your career on … Start a free Workable trial and post your ad on the most … Pharm techs working in hospitals and specific hospital units may be preparing intravenous products like Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN) solutions, medications and treatments—all of which play an important role in patient safety and recovery. reports that licensed pharmacists can expect to earn a median annual salary of $126,120, while the salary of a pharmacy technician averages at around $33,000. Pharmacy Technician Job Responsibilities: Supports pharmacological services by stocking, assembling, and distributing medications. Receiving Prescriptions. This includes ensuring the correct spelling of the patient’s name, their address, phone number, date of birth, drug allergies and insurance information. How Can a Pharmacy Tech Become a Pharmacist? Learn about them here. Another popular choice is to work in a hospital setting, although these positions require a greater understanding of medical knowledge and the ability to work closely with medical staff and healthcare providers. Technician, Pharmacy (Investigation Drug Service) University Health Network . Rasmussen College is not enrolling students in your state at this time. The first step to becoming a pharmacy technician is to enroll in an accredited pharmacy technician program. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that licensed pharmacists can expect to earn a median annual salary of $126,120, while the salary of a pharmacy technician averages at around $33,000. Pharmacy technicians in health care facilities, such as hospitals and ambulatory clinics, often have added responsibilities in addition to filling prescriptions for patients and delivering them daily. As you can see, there’s more to the work of a pharmacy tech than you might expect. Pharmacy benefit managers are responsible for maintaining pharmaceutical contracts, negotiating discounts and rebates, and processing claims for prescription drugs. Lastly, there is also a difference between pharmacy technician duties and those of a licensed pharmacist. This process keeps the pharmacy stocked and prevents potentially disastrous issues with out-of-date drugs. lesser known facts about a career as a pharmacy technician. In addition to all of the duties mentioned above, some pharmacy technicians take on expanded roles as they gain experience and progress in their careers. Pharmacy technicians work for government agencies, mail order companies, long … Talk with an admissions advisor today. If you already have a full-time job or a growing family, online programs are a fantastic way to better your future without sacrificing what matters most to you, whether that’s spending time with your kids or earning a steady income as you continue your education. Practice settings for pharmacists vary widely from independently owned drugstores to nationwide grocery store chains, medical centers, military bases and marijuana dispensaries. What Other Jobs Can Pharmacy Technicians Do? On an average work day the pharmacy technician will perform various job duties, which may include: A pharmacy technician helps ensure the pharmacy operates and runs smoothly. I’ve been a pharmacy tech for 6 years. 4. Pharmacy technicians can work your typical 9am-5pm, or they can opt for a graveyard shift or swing shift. Pharmacy administration is a higher-level position responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the pharmacy, ensuring adequate customer service, organizing pharmacy records, and so on. If you have an interest in the military life and pharmaceuticals, this may be the perfect career for you. They may also require a certification in their field, as well as an additional specialty certification for compounding medications. Pharmacy assistants also assist licensed pharmacists with selling and preparing medication to patients in retail pharmacy drugstores. Ensuring availability of drugs by delivering them to patients or facilities. With additional training, activities may also include obtaining medication histories, facilitating transition… Many of the people visiting a pharmacy aren’t thrilled to be there—being sick and dealing with insurance isn’t a whole lot of fun. Monitors daily activities … You’ll find that this estimate will vary according to the location you choose and where you live. , pharmacy technicians in America earn a median annual salary of $32,700 or $15.72 hourly. Requirements and Responsibilities. We’ve laid it all out for you so you can start planning which area of pharmaceuticals you would do best in. Assists the Chief Technician … Above-average math skills are a must, in addition to organization and acute attention to detail. As you work as a pharmacy technician, you can continue your education, build up an impressive resume, and advance as a pharmacy technician while you work toward your doctoral degree. Most prescriptions are now received via e-prescriptions in our digital-based … If you’re aspiring to become a pharmacist one day, why not immerse yourself in the industry and gain a wealth of experience on your way to the top? You can become a pharmacy tech in less than two years with the right training program and a passing grade on the final exam. If you’re at all curious about pharmacy tech duties and what you can expect on the job, then you’re in the right place. 5 Little Mistakes People Make in Job Interviews, Using Your Dental Assistant Training to Determine Your Asking Salary, 3 Reasons Alternative Education Is Here to Stay. Rasmussen College is a regionally accredited private college. As a Pharmacy Technician, your job tasks and responsibilities may include: receiving incoming prescriptions, transcribing physician’s orders, … Are there any pharmacy technician positions that do not involve standing up all day long and where are they located??? Typical knowledge and skills include: As pharmacy technicians work with all types of people, it is important to have strong communication and customer service skills. When an order comes in, the manifest will be checked for accuracy, and then the medications … The primary duties of a hospital pharmacy technician include filling and refilling prescriptions. These pharmacy technician daily tasks are to be expected in every different setting, and set the standard for the basic job description of a pharmacy technician. A pharmacy technician wishing to become a licensed pharmacist will need to continue their education to earn a Doctor of Pharmacy degree, pass a national pharmacist licensing examination, and complete a certain number of clinical hours. Please correct the errors and submit again. A day in the life of a pharmacy technician. This setting comes with the typical pharmacy technician duties, but may vary due to the fact that these are independently owned and operated. This is just one reason managing inventory is such an important duty that falls on the shoulder of the pharmacy technicians. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Here are some of their primary duties and responsibilities: Supporting pharmacological services … 35/44 : Proposed 64B16-27.420 The Board proposes the rule amendment to provide clarification of registered pharmacy technician … Responsibilities: Prepares medication … What does a pharmacy tech do? If so, you’re ready to take the next step. Rasmussen College is a regionally accredited college authorized to operate as a postsecondary educational institution by the Illinois Board of Higher Education. Receiving and confirming prescription orders is a huge part of it. Probably 99% of us get into it this way out of all the techs I known and worked with. Being a pharmacy technician requires being familiar with a lot of Of course, opportunities for advancement are plentiful in both the hospital and retail settings. What a pharmacy technician cannot do will depend on the setting in which they’ve chosen to work. What does a pharmacy tech do day-to-day? Pharmacy technician duties in a military setting are fairly similar to those in the retail sector; however, the environment can be a lot more fast-paced and somewhat stressful if you don’t work well under pressure. The pharmacy tech is the right hand man or woman to the pharmacist, and works alongside the pharmacists to ensure patients’ medication is processed, filled and distributed as efficiently and safely as possible. What Are the Job Duties of a Pharmacy Technician? “Obviously, customer service skills are a must,” Barthels says. “Although there may be more e-prescriptions than in the past, it is still a vital part of the technician’s role to obtain and confirm the patient’s information when he or she brings in a written prescription,” Barthels says. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has predicted an above-average growth rate for this career path at about 12% in ten years, and experts suspect the pharmacy technician duties will evolve with the needs of the consumer and medical advancements. A career in retail pharmaceuticals is the most common, as job availability is ample and the pharmacy technician duties are of the most basic caliber. Take pharmacy technician courses online at Career Step and learn the skills and job duties needed for a successful career in this growing and vibrant field. Connect with Rasmussen College on Facebook, Connect with Rasmussen College on Instagram, Connect with Rasmussen College on LinkedIn, Connect with Rasmussen College on Pinterest, Connect with Rasmussen College on Twitter, Connect with Rasmussen College on Youtube, Human Resources and Organizational Leadership, Information Technology Project Management, Your Prescription for How to Become a Pharmacy Technician, Financial Aid and FAFSA (for those who qualify). The basic pharmacy technician daily tasks still apply to a mail-order pharmacy. Pharmacy technician knowledge and abilities include: There are a few lesser known facts about a career as a pharmacy technician, and the variety of job opportunities is one of them. Many of these advanced duties will depend heavily on the setting you work in as well as state laws and regulations. The typical job description of a pharmacist is to oversee pharmaceutical operations, supervise technicians, and provide patient counseling on matters pertaining to prescribed medication. Pharmacy technicians can receive written prescription and refill requests, fill prescriptions, give a patient their medications, work the cash register, process insurance claims, verify insurance coverage, receive inventory, and perform other administrative tasks. External links provided on rasmussen.edu are for reference only. The best states for pharmacy technicians boast an average hourly wage of $14 and up. – Exceptional customer service involves exceeding customer expectations, where the standard and level of service received exceed what the customer could reasonably define as normal or expected. Apart from the regular duties, a pharmacy technician's duties in a hospital setting will include: • Process prescriptions and dispense medications. Closed-door pharmacies are niche operations that can be found in private places, such as long-term care facilities or group homes. is filled with a lot of customer communication, so if you like working with people and you have experience in customer service, this may be a good fit. By choosing the hospital setting as opposed to the retail sector, you are essentially trading your low-stress work environment and flexible hours for increased pay. All work is done under the direct supervision of a licensed pharmacist… Performs all Pharmacy Technician III duties as needed. – This means you actively look for ways to help people. degree, which can take anywhere from six to eight years to earn, coupled with undergraduate study or a bachelor’s degree. Compounding pharmacies require an advanced level of training and specialty certifications in order to properly compound unique drug combinations. It’s easy to look through the benefits of a career and decide it’s the right path for you, but how can you be sure? Colleen Jenkins, CPhT, a pharmacy technician at St. Luke's Outpatient Pharmacy in Boise, Idaho, and the 2014 Next-Generation Pharmacist TM Technician of the Year, told Pharmacy Times that she … JOB DESCRIPTION . It’s never a bad idea to enter an industry on the ground floor. – This is the ability to sincerely listen to what another person is saying and then take the time to understand the points being made by restating or paraphrasing what you have heard in your own words. – When you use logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems you’re using critical thinking skills. Learn more about these five pharmacy tech duties to get a better understanding of the profession so you can decide whether it’s the right career for you. More info. According to the. The typical work hours for a pharmacy tech may include nights, weekends, and holidays, because a pharmacy is something the public needs near-constant access to. A pharmacy technician wishing to become a licensed pharmacist will need to continue their education to earn a Doctor of Pharmacy degree, pass a national pharmacist licensing examination, and complete a certain number of clinical hours as a pharmacist. In addition to serving customers, pharmacy technicians are responsible for a variety of tasks including maintaining … Supports the Chief Technician to ensure pharmacy assistant, student technician and post-qualification pharmacy technician training are accommodated within the department (including dispensing accuracy and ACT) 5. He says that not only will the pharmacy tech need to retrieve these prescriptions via computer software, but they will also need to verify insurance coverage prior to the patient picking up their prescription. Pharmacy technicians assist licensed pharmacists with the preparation and distribution of prescription medications. pharmaceuticals, this may be the perfect career for you. As the medical world continues to develop and evolve, so too will life as a pharmacy technician.