December 31st 2009 Pharmacy Tech School: What Is This All About?
A pharmacy technician refers to a member of the pharmacy staff who is working under the guidance of a registered pharmacist, and is in-charge of doing pharmacy-related tasks like giving medication and providing patients with health care products and services. To be qualified to work in this industry, one must have the necessary qualities, and must undergo proper pharmacy technician training in a duly licensed pharmacy tech school. The main duty of a pharmacy technician is to aid registered pharmacists in providing patients with medicine and health care products. They are also generally involved with assisting in arrangement of prescribed medication, counting medicine stocks and applying labels. They can also deal with customer inquiries and other operations of the pharmacy. Pharmacy technicians can either work in retail or mail-order pharmacies, in which will involve different duties and responsibilities, depending on the state they are in and the regulations that apply. When they are sent prescriptions from the doctor’s office, they must review the prescription for completeness and accuracy before preparing it. They will then prepare the prescription by acquiring the particular medication, preparing exact measurements and dosages of the medicine and may also mix them. Pharmacy technicians may be required to perform supplementary tasks when working in a hospital or nursing home; tasks can include assessment of patient records as well as medicine preparation. The prescription will now undergo verification by the pharmacist, and afterwards will require delivery and administration by the technician. They will also make sure that all important details about it are recorded. They can even be required to ensure a constant supply of medicine for patients 24-7. One of the advantages of being a pharmacy technician is its work environment; clean, well-organized, has excellent ventilation and lighting. An individual must be physically and mentally fit to efficiently perform their tasks and responsibilities. Working hours can have graveyard shifts, and working days can include weekends or holidays, especially on hospitals and other similar establishments that are open 24-hours a day. A great number of pharmacy technicians usually partake in an on-the-job training, and some prefer getting an official pharmacy technician training from a competent pharmacy tech school. Those getting formal training are much more preferred by employers who have insufficient resources to give training. In the United States, there is currently just a minor or no Federal laws governing certification of pharmacy technicians prior to getting work.