Pharmacy Technician Certificate Program
The Pharmacy Technician Certificate Program is being developed in response to a rising
need for trained technicians to work in either the hospital or retail pharmacy setting. In
recent years, the Pharmacy Technician profession has become indispensable to the health
care field. A nationwide shortage of pharmacists and a growing consumer demand for
prescription medications have allowed pharmacy technicians the opportunity to play a
continually more important role in today's pharmacy industry. With this growing
opportunity, however, has also come increased responsibility, and this increased
responsibility has made Pharmacy Technician Certification an important issue for many
industry employers and even to some state legislatures. Some states now require all
individuals who work as pharmacy technicians to become nationally certified.
A pharmacy technician is an individual who, under the supervision of a pharmacist, assists
in the performance of activities of the pharmacy department not requiring the professional
judgment of a pharmacist. Pharmacy technicians assist and support licensed pharmacists in
providing health care to patients. Pharmacy Technicians have been called pharmacy helpers,
pharmacy clinicians, pharmacy support personnel and various other titles, depending on
their location. In all parts of the country, pharmacy technicians must have a broad
knowledge of pharmacy practice and must be skilled in the techniques required to order,
stock, package, and prepare medications, but they do not need the advanced college
education required of a licensed pharmacist. Pharmacy technicians may perform many of the
same duties as a pharmacist; however, a pharmacist must check all of their work before
medication can be dispensed to a patient.
This 240-hour program will prepare students for entry-level pharmacy technician
positions. Medical and pharmaceutical terminology will be introduced, and basic anatomy
related to the pharmacology of medications will be a major component of the coursework
along with pharmaceutical calculations. This program will provide students with the
necessary information required to pass the National Certification Exam offered by the
Pharmacy Technician Certification Board.
As a part of the Pharmacy Technician certificate program, students will be required to
perform clinical rotations. Clinical rotations will include 20 hours of retail
experience and 20 hours of hospital experience. The students will choose institutions
to complete this requirement. The instructor will help each student individually locate
local facilities where they can do their clinical rotation to fulfill the requirements for
the course.
Curriculum:
The curriculum consists of:
- Ethics of Pharmacy Practice and Role of Pharmacy
Technicians
- Prescription Medications
- Patient Care and Interaction
- Charges and Reimbursement
- Medical and Pharmaceutical terminology
- Pharmaceutical calculations
Objectives:
Upon completion of the Accent Learning Pharmacy
Technician Course, the student will be able to:
- Define the differences between the hospital and retail
pharmacy setting.
- Demonstrate ethical conduct in all duties performed.
- Understand the laws that govern pharmacy, whether federal
or state mandated.
- Interpret physician orders and prescriptions.
- Prepare and distribute medications.
- Define medical and pharmaceutical terms, and common
abbreviations.
- Understand the pharmacology of medications in relation to
the anatomy they affect.
- Perform pharmaceutical calculations.
- Communicate effectively with patients and medical
professionals.
- Understand the importance of confidentiality of all
patient information.
- Process insurance billing and/or collect payments.
- Control inventory.
- Pass the National Certification Exam
Prerequisites:
In order to sit for the national certification exam,
candidates must have a high school diploma or equivalent; therefore, it is recommended
that students have this before enrolling for this program. Students should be proficient
in keyboarding (approximately 35 words per minute), have a basic understanding of a word
processing computer program (Microsoft Word recommended), and have a command of English
grammar and punctuation. No healthcare or medical office work experience is required.
Audience:
The target audience for the Pharmacy Technician program
is individuals interested in learning job skills for pharmacy technician employment
opportunities or individuals interested in changing job skills to become pharmacy
technicians.
Materials:
Accent Learning will provide the five required textbooks
for this program. They include: The Pharmacy Technician, Basic Pharmacology, Pharmacy
Calculations, Pharmacy Technician Workbook and Certification Review, and Drug Card
Workbook. All texts are published by Morton Publishers.
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