How to Become a Pharmacy Technician in 18 Months

 

Have you considered becoming a pharmacy technician? Are you interested in working in the medical field and providing a valuable service to your community? Do you feel comfortable working with patients as well as working on a team?

If any of this sounds like you, then you may need to find out more information about becoming a pharmacy technician. Below, you’ll find a short guide on how to become a pharmacy technician that can help you get started down this path. Read through this information to learn more about the process.

Choose a Good Program

The first and most important step in this process is to choose a good program of study. You will need to work with a school that has professional accreditation from an organization in the field of medicine. You should also choose a school with a proven track record of students both graduating successfully and finding jobs.

It’s also a good idea to consider the classes you’ll be taking as part of the program you choose. Do they make sense for pharmacy technician work? Will they help you by providing information, hands-on experience, or both? These questions can help you narrow down your choices and pick the right school in no time.

Take Basic Courses

Before you get started focusing on your pharmacy technician courses, you’ll need to take some basic ones. These are sometimes also referred to as general education courses, and they make up the framework you will build your other course knowledge on.

For a pharmacy technician job, you will likely need to take a composition course to help with written communication skills as well as a critical thinking course. You will also need to take biology, math, and sociology to give you the basics of information required for the rest of your more specialized classes.

Take Core Courses

After completing your basic general education classes, you will then move on to your core pharmacy technician classes. These classes will make up the bulk of your studies and will incorporate everything you need to know about pharmacy technician work in general. They will include some labs and hands-on work as well as some lectures.

These classes include topics such as anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, pharmacy technician computer programs, dosage calculations, drug interactions, ethics, pharmacy law, and more. You will also likely need to complete a practicum and some testing in order to receive your certification.

Take Specialized Courses

Finally, you will also have to take some specialized courses as part of your pharmacy technician program of choice. These may include electives that cover additional topics you want to learn about, or they may focus on specialized areas of pharmacy technician work instead. You will need to consider all the possibilities and choose the specialized courses that make the most sense for you.

Some possible specialization courses you could take include accounting, ecology, psychology, diversity, interpersonal communications, computer applications, patient relations, and much more. Consider the areas in which your knowledge and experience might be weaker or choose the area you have a deeper interest in.

Study Online at Your Own Pace

Most pharmacy technician schools and programs are now offered online, either fully or partially. Because of this, it is much easier to study at your own pace and on your own schedule, which makes it easier to complete the program quickly, too.

If you choose a school that allows you to take classes online, you may be able to finish the program in as little as 18 months. By doing this, you’ll be certified and ready to get out there in the job market soon, and you won’t have to work around your other scheduling needs too much, either.

Work with an Advisor

Finally, you should always make sure to work one-on-one with an advisor to help you determine the best plan for your studies. Your advisor will help you take into account your time frame, your budget, and your specialization needs and preferences too. From there, you can work out a program plan that is right for you.

Any quality school and pharmacy technician training program will provide one-on-one assistance to its students at no extra cost. Be sure to choose a school that offers an advisor and makes it easy for you to set up sessions when you have any questions or concerns.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, there is a lot to keep in mind when you choose to become a pharmacy technician. However, even though the initial setup process involves a lot of thinking and planning on your part, the rest is simple. All you need to do is work with your school to ensure you stay on track for your 18-month course, study hard, and learn as much as you can from your hands-on experiences!