Do you know what it takes to become a pharmaceutical tech?

Also known by other names like pharmaceutical technicians, pharmacy Tech, pharmacy technicians are the trained professionals who assist licensed pharmacists provide medicines and other health care products to patients.
They presence in hospitals, clinics, grocery stores, health insurance companies, and retail pharmacies and drugstores ensures the smooth functioning of drug distribution activities in the related place.

• Duties & responsibilities: Duties of pharmaceutical technicians vary according to the type of the work location such as hospital, retail environment, or nursing home medical store. Some state rules and regulations also govern what pharmacy techs can do. In a retail environment, Pharma techs receive prescription slips from doctor’s office, customers, and check them for accuracy. According to the information written on prescription order, they prepare the orders by measuring medication quantities, mixing liquid medications, counting out pills, packaging and labeling of medicines etc. It is the duty of the technician to re-check the order according to the prescription. Once the prescription order is fulfilled, they make calculations for price and file the prescription.
  These professionals also responsible for behind-the-scenes tasks such as ordering inventory, handling insurance claims, maintaining patient records, and keeping the shelves of the store stocked.

How to become a pharmaceutical tech:


If you are wondering how to become a pharmaceutical tech, pharmacy technician training program can help you step-in this competitive industry that is challenging, stimulating, and important to society.

• Pharma TechTraining: Degrees and Coursework: Once you decide to pursue a career as a pharmaceutical aide, you can join training programs offered by: community colleges, hospital, the military and vocational schools. Most technicians learn the skills to perform duties through on-the-job training. Another widely accepted and flexible option of completing the course is an online training program which allows students to attend online lectures as per their schedules and easiness.
  
• The coursework of the training program: is wide-ranging, including science, math, medicine, communications, law and administration. Some of the most common subjects in the coursework include: Pharmacy calculations, Handling controlled substances, Medical and pharmaceutical terminology, Pharmacy law and ethics, Recordkeeping, Communication, Insurance and inventory procedures and others.

During the pharmacy technician training, a student will learn about:

• Law and Ethics
• Pharmacology
• Systems/Anatomy
• Medical/Pharmacological Terminology
• Pharmacy Technology
• Receiving and Interpreting Medication Orders
• Pharmaceutical Calculations
• Filling and Distributing Medication Orders
• Inventory, Purchasing and Reimbursement Packaging
• Over the Counter Medications
• Aseptic IV preparation
• Prescription study skills
• Professionalism and the Workplace, and others.

Essential Skills: Being a pharma aide requires the strong customer service, teamwork skills, the ability to be on one’s feet for the whole day, climbing ladders to retrieve stocks, good communication skills, ability to handle heavy workload, and others.

Sources : - http://www.slideshare.net/SamuelSmih/do-you-know-what-it-takes-to-become-a-pharmaceutical-tech