Education experience of a pharmacy technician

Many new pharmacy technicians learn the tricks of their trade through on-the-job training, but formal training exists, too. Job applicants who have received pharmacy technician training may be favored over those who have not. The military, some hospitals, proprietary schools, vocational-technical colleges and junior and community colleges offer pharmacy technician training programs that utilize a combination of classroom and laboratory experiences. Courses in these programs cover topics such as:

• Pharmaceutical terminology
• Calculations and recordkeeping
• Pharmaceutical techniques
• Pharmaceutical law and ethics
• Chemistry
• English reading and writing
• Health education

This formal education background is often not strictly required by employers, but pharmacy technician candidates who have received training or certification will be more competitive. In a busy work environment such as a pharmacy, a pharmacist or supervisor may not have the time or resources to train a new, inexperienced pharmacy technician. In this case, the candidate’s prior training and knowledge is a great advantage.