The objective of Arizona College of Allied Health's Pharmacy Technician course is to provide a sound educational environment for instruction and training to equip its graduates for entry level positions in pharmacy-related services. This is accomplished by approximately one half of the course work consisting of lecture/demonstration and one half consisting of hands on laboratory procedures.

The Pharmacy Technician works under the direct supervision of a licensed pharmacist. The supervising pharmacist must be fully aware of all activities involved in the preparation and dispensing of medications, including the maintenance of appropriate records. The duties and responsibilities of technicians are consistent with their training and experience. They are not assigned duties that by law must be performed only by a licensed pharmacist. Pharmacy Technicians, as part of a team, will fill requisitions for drugs after review of the physician's order using unit-dose or appropriate packaging, which permits identification until administration. They will also be involved in reviewing orders for drug allergies, dosing, interactions and incompatibilities. A trained Pharmacy Technician will prepare parenteral medications and properly label all dispensable and secondary products. An efficient technician will ensure the location, quality and quantity of poison antidotes and the phone numbers of the regional poison control center. Technicians also participate in drug utilization-evaluation and quality assurance programs and will consistently review the pharmacy's inventory of drugs expired, withdrawn, recalled, inadequately labeled, or other non-usable drugs. These examples of duties are not all-encompassing or restrictive, and are expected to vary with changing needs and priorities.

Arizona College of Allied Health's Pharmacy Technician academic program is three (3) quarters in length, each quarter consisting of twelve (12) weeks. The student is then required to complete four (4) weeks of clinical externship. The program length will be approximately forty (40) weeks in duration. A typical student will attend classes between 9:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. or 5:30 p.m.-10:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday.  Classes are based on the standard academic hour (50 minutes). Appropriate class breaks will be provided.