Advice

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Jmoss

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HI
I am currently working on finishing my AA degree and my pre-recs to apply for pharmacy school. I would like to get a job as a pharmacy technician while in school, but I live in Florida and you must be certified to get a job, and to get certified you must complete state approved schooling before taking the certification exam.

My questions
Would it be worth it for my future to take time off this summer from my regular school to get certified as a pharmacy technician?

Does any one know of a program certified by the state of Florida that I might be able to complete during summer break?

Any advice would be helpful :)
Thanks,
Josey

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Hi Josey,
This is my thought, not my advice for you ^^. To be a pharm tech, it is not only good for your application, but also good for your career as a pharmacist later. I have just worked for retail pharmacy, so I just know about it ^^.
Firstly, you can know about retail procedures and most important lesson I learn is "how to set priority". I know it sounds weird, but it is very useful for a pharmacy to run "smoothly". If the priority is not set correctly, I can get lots of yelling patients.
So, it depends on what kind of pharmacy you want to work in the future.
 
There are lots of good reasons to work as a pharm tech before starting/while in pharmacy school, but it sounds like it's going to take a pretty big effort on your part just to get into it. As an alternative, you could just wait until you become an intern and probably bypass the whole certification process, no? In my state, you can be licensed as an intern as soon as you're accepted to pharmacy school, but I don't know how it is in Florida.

I don't know if you're applying this year or not, but let's assume you are, and you complete one of these tech training programs this summer. If you're accepted to pharmacy school in the fall and become an intern, all you've really gained by completing the tech training program (besides whatever they teach you, which could be valuable, I honestly don't know) is several months of employment. One of our resident Floridians could probably point out any potential flaws in this plan, but it sounds reasonable enough to me.
 
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Yeah, not Floridian, but it's a good plan not only for your application but it can help you solidify your interest in pharmacy. You know how they will probably ask you "Why pharmacy?" in interviews? Well, you'll have an answer. :)

Also, certification trainings are short, so you should be able to finish it over the summer. You won't have to take time off. One other thing to consider is that you may have difficulty finding a job right out of school so maybe volunteer at some hospitals to get some experience. But YMMV.
 
Floridian here! Only do the program if it is convenient. Once you are an intern the certification won't matter. I am a huge fan of work experience, but you may get certified and then unable to find a job. Only do the program if it is cheap and you are fairly certain you can get a job.

Work experience is great - get it if you can.

Edit: You can PM me if you want.
 
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