People often wonder, “why pharmacy technician” and “what does a Pharmacy Technician do?” A Pharmacy Technician is a pharmacists’ “right hand person”. Pharmacy Technicians are responsible for gathering information from customers or health care providers to assist the pharmacist in filling the prescription, count out tablets, mix or compound medications, make intravenous medications, among many other duties. Pharmacy Technicians also perform many clerical duties, such as, answering the phone, process of insurance claims and submit medication supply orders.
Interested in becoming a Pharmacy Technician? There are three important qualities in every great Pharmacy Technician.
- The first quality is good customer service skills. While working in any outpatient or retail setting, most of the day will be spent satisfying the customer’s needs. Being polite, helpful, and patient are of the upmost importance.
- The second quality is being detailed oriented. One must pay close attention to detail, as when working with medications, any mistake in calculating, mixing or storing of medications can be dangerous to the patient.
- The third quality is organizational skills. Pharmacy Technicians are required to multi-task and complete all jobs in a timely manner and sometimes all at one time.
What is the workday like for a Pharmacy Technician? Often, Pharmacy Technicians have flexible work schedules. Many Pharmacies are open 24 hours per day; therefore, technicians tend to work various shifts, which allows people to have a career and also be flexible enough to have a family and other outside hobbies or interests. Most Pharmacy Technicians work full time, but many enjoy a flexible part-time schedule. Pharmacy Technicians work in pharmacies, including those found in grocery and drug stores, hospitals and mail order companies, to name a few.
Are you curious about getting started in a career as a Pharmacy Technician? Contact Arizona College today to learn more about our Pharmacy Technician diploma program offered at our Glendale and Mesa campuses.
Information in this blog post is accurate as of January 8, 2014.