A day in the life of a pharmacy technician

Today, the medical community knows more than ever about the diseases and conditions affecting millions of lives. Without prescription medications, countless individuals would live a more difficult and painful day-to-day life, or perhaps not live at all. To provide the best service possible, pharmacy technicians work alongside pharmacists to make sure patients’ medications are distributed as efficiently and safely as possible.

A pharmacy technician assists the pharmacist and ensures that the pharmacy operates smoothly. Some typical tasks include:

• Counting tablets and labeling bottles
• Administrative duties: answering phones, stocking shelves, operating cash registers and referring health or medication questions to the pharmacist
• Receiving and processing prescriptions and prescription refills

Pharmacy technicians obviously find work in pharmacies, but other work settings are also an option. Retail and mail-order pharmacies both employ pharmacy technicians, as do hospitals and nursing homes. In hospital or nursing home settings, pharmacy technicians may have the added responsibility of reading patients’ medical charts and preparing their medications based on that information.