How to Learn to be a Pharmacy Dispensary Technician
Pharmacy technicians, or pharmacy dispensary technicians as they are called in Australia and New Zealand, have a greater-than-average job growth projection. Most pharmacy techs work in retail pharmacies, drugstore chains or in grocery stores. Some work in hospitals, nursing homes or Internet pharmacies. The duties vary depending on where you work. Most technicians perform routine tasks to aid the pharmacist, such as counting pills and labeling bottles. Techs who work in hospitals and nursing homes usually have more responsibilities, such as preparing medication that the pharmacist checks and delivering medication to the patient. You can learn how to get this job.
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Instructions
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Get on-the-job training. If you have good customer-service skills, you might land a position with no background or experience. You will learn everything by working with the pharmacist.
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Get education. Although this is not a requirement for this job, you will be a better job candidate if you finish a training program. You will learn job-related terminology, calculations, record-keeping, pharmaceutical techniques, laws and ethics. Another benefit to certification programs is that many offer internships that give students experience working in a pharmacy.
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Volunteer in a hospital. This will give you an advantage in your job search, and it shows that you are dedicated to this field.
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Take classes in chemistry and health education. Then during your job interview, or on your resume, let the employer know you have taken these classes.
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Get a certificate. There are national certification exams that you can take through the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board and the Institute for the Certification of Pharmacy Technicians. Some states might require this certificate, while others do not. You must have a high school diploma or General Equivalency Diploma to take the exam, and you cannot have any felony convictions within five years of taking the exam. If you have drug convictions, you can never apply for this exam.
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Work on your customer-service skills. You will interact with patients, the pharmacist and doctors. You need to know how to talk and relate to each group.
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Be organized and precise. You must never be careless when counting dosages or typing up labels. People rely on their pharmacist to be accurate. If you are responsible for a wrong dosage or bad instructions, you could cause harm.
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Tips & Warnings
You can advance in this job and go on to be a supervisor, a training technician or a pharmacist yourself.
