Pharmacy Technician Career Highlights

• Job prospects are expected to be good for full-time and part-time work, especially for those with certification or previous work experience.
• Many pharmacy technicians work evenings, weekends, and holidays.
• Approximately 70 percent of jobs were in retail pharmacies, grocery stores, department stores, or mass retailers.

Nature of the Work

Pharmacy technicians assist licensed pharmacists dispense medications and other health care products to patients. Technicians generally carry out routine duties to help prepare doctor prescribed medication for patients, such as counting tablets and labeling bottles. Technicians communicate any questions regarding prescriptions, drug information, or health matters to a pharmacist.

Pharmacy aides work closely with pharmacy technicians; the aides are usually clerks or cashiers who answer telephones, handle money, stock shelves, and perform other clerical duties. Pharmacy technicians generally carry out more complex tasks than pharmacy aides do, though in some States their duties and job titles may overlap.

Pharmacy technicians who work in retail or mail order pharmacies often have varying responsibilities, depending on each State’s rules and regulations. Technicians collect written prescriptions or requests for prescription refills from patients, or receive prescriptions sent electronically from the doctor’s office. They verify that the information on the prescription is complete and accurate, and they prepare the prescription. In order to prepare the prescription, technicians locate, count, pour, weigh, measure, and sometimes mix the medication. Then, they print the prescription labels, select the proper prescription container, and affix the prescription and auxiliary labels to the container. Technicians price and file the prescription, once the medication is prepared. Then a pharmacist checks it before it is given to the patient. Sometimes technicians setup and maintain patient profiles, complete insurance claim forms, and stock and take inventory of prescription and over-the-counter medications.

In hospitals, nursing homes, and assisted-living facilities, pharmacy technicians have additional responsibilities, such as reading patients’ charts and preparing and delivering the medicine to patients. In each case, the pharmacist must check the order before it is delivered to the patient. Then the technician adds the information about the prescribed medication onto the patient’s profile. Technicians sometimes assemble a 24-hour supply of medicine for every patient. They package and label each dose separately, and then the packages are placed in individual medicine cabinets of patients until the supervising pharmacist checks them for accuracy. Once the pharmacist has given approval, the packages are then given to the patients.

Working Conditions

Pharmacy techs work in clean, organized, well-lighted, and well-ventilated spaces. Most of their workday is spent on their feet, and they may be required to lift heavy boxes or to use stepladders to reach supplies from high shelves.

Technicians work the same hours as pharmacists. Hours often include evenings, nights, weekends, and holidays, especially in facilities, such as hospitals and retail pharmacies, that are open 24 hours a day. Opportunities for part-time work in both retail and hospital settings are plentiful.

Training, Other Qualifications, and Advancement

While most pharmacy technicians receive informal on-the-job training, employers prefer those who have completed formal training and certification. However, currently there are few State and no Federal requirements for formal training or certification of pharmacy technicians. Employers who have inadequate resources to give effective on-the-job training usually seek formally educated pharmacy technicians. Formal education programs and certification underscore the technician’s interest in and dedication to the work. The military, some hospitals, proprietary schools, vocational or technical colleges, and community colleges offer formal education programs.

Formal pharmacy technician certificaton programs require classroom and laboratory work in several areas, including medical and pharmaceutical terminology, pharmaceutical calculations, pharmacy recordkeeping, pharmaceutical techniques, and pharmacy law and ethics. Technicians also learn medication names, actions, uses, and doses. Some certification and training programs include internships, enabling students to gain hands-on experience in actual pharmacies. Depending on the program, students earn a diploma, a certificate, or an associate’s degree,.

Experience working as an aide in a community pharmacy or volunteering in a hospital may give a prospective technician an advantage. Employers often favor applicants with strong customer service and communication skills, as well as those with experience managing inventories, counting tablets, measuring dosages, and using computers. Prospective technicians need strong mathematics, spelling, and reading skills, and a background in chemistry, English, and health education is beneficial. While some technicians may be hired without formal training, it is usually under the condition that they obtain certification within a specified period in order to keep their employment.

The Pharmacy Technician Certification Board facilitates the National Pharmacy Technician Certification Examination. In most States the exam is voluntary; however, it exhibit the competency of the individual to act as a pharmacy technician. More States and employers are requiring certification as dependence on pharmacy technicians grows. Eligible candidates for the Certification must have a high school diploma or GED, no felony convictions, and pass the exam. They then earn the title of Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT). The exam is given several times each year at various locations nationally. Individuals who pass the exam have a standardized body of knowledge and skills, and many employers will reimburse the costs of the exam as an incentive for certification.

Certified technicians are required to be recertified every 2 years. Technicians must complete 20 contact hours of pharmacy-related continuing education topics within the 2-year certification period to become eligible for recertification. On-the-job training, attending lectures, and college coursework may constitute contact hours. At least 1 contact hour every two years must be in pharmacy law. Contact hours can be earned from many different sources, including pharmacy associations, pharmacy colleges, and several pharmacy technician training programs. As many as 10 contact hours may be earned when the technician is employed under the direct supervision and instruction of a pharmacist.

For pharmacy technicians to be successful they must be alert, observant, organized, dedicated, and responsible. They also must be willing and able to take directions. They should be detail oriented; precision is sometimes a matter of life and death. While a pharmacist must check and approve all their work, a technician should be able to work independently without the need for constant instruction from the pharmacist. Those persons interested in becoming pharmacy technicians cannot have prior records of drug or substance abuse.

Strong interpersonal and communication skills are necessary because pharmacy technicians interact daily with patients, coworkers, and health care professionals. Teamwork is also extremely important because technicians are often required to work with pharmacists, aides, and other technicians.

Employment

In the year 2004, pharmacy technicians held about 258,000 jobs. Around 7 out of 10 jobs were in retail pharmacies, either independently owned or part of a drugstore chain, grocery store, department store, or mass retailer. Nearly 2 out of 10 jobs were in hospitals and a small proportion was in mail-order and Internet pharmacies, clinics, pharmaceutical wholesalers, and the Federal Government.

Job Outlook

Good job prospects are expected for full-time and part-time work, especially for those technicians with formal training or previous experience. Job opportunities for pharmacy technicians will result from the expansion of retail pharmacies and other employment settings, as well as from the need to replace workers who transfer to other occupations or leave the labor force.

Job opportunities for pharmacy technicians is expected to grow much faster than the average for all occupations through the year 2014 because as the population grows and ages, demand for pharmaceuticals will increase dramatically. The increased number population of middle-aged and elderly people—who use more prescription drugs than younger people—will increase demand for technicians in all settings. Due to advances in science, more medications are becoming available to treat a greater number of conditions.

Additionally, cost-conscious insurers, pharmacies, and health systems will continue to expand the role of technicians. Pharmacy technicians will assume responsibility for some of the more routine tasks previously only performed by pharmacists. Nearly all States have legislated the maximum number of technicians who may safely work under a pharmacist at one time. In some States, technicians are allowed more medication-dispensing duties as pharmacists have become more involved in patient care.

Earnings

In May 2004, median hourly earnings of wage and salary pharmacy technicians were $11.37; the middle 50 percent earned between $9.40 and $13.85; the lowest 10 percent earned less than $7.96, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $16.61. Median hourly earnings in the industries employing the largest numbers of pharmacy technicians were:

Often certified technicians earn more, and shift differentials for working evenings, weekends, or holidays also can increase earnings. Some technicians are members of unions representing hospital or grocery store workers.

For information on the Certified Pharmacy Technician designation, contact:

For a list of  pharmacy technician training programs, go to:

For pharmacy technician career information, contact:

*Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor.