Compounding Training: PCCA vs. Medisca? (Any others?)

[SomeGuy]

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I've already done the PCCA 2 day boot-camp course for students, and now I'm looking into PCCA or Medisca after I graduate.

For PCCA, if I register while I'm still a student, it'd be US$1200 for both the vet compounding course, and the advanced compounding course (not sure how much that includes on sterile compounding). And I'd have to go down to Houston for a week (one course has the wet lab on the Mon+Tues, the other is the Thurs+Fri). There's also a (I believe to be) substantial online study component before you go down (they estimate about 10 hours of didactic work/week for 10 weeks).

For Medisca, it'd be US$2000 (but they said if I haggle with them about being a student, they could bring that down), and it'd be 3 days of lab at U of Florida + a 24 hour self-study component.

I'm near Toronto, so I'd be flying down either way (likely from Buffalo), and I'd imagine that Florida would actually be the cheaper flight.

Anyone have any opinions? From what I've read, PCCA sounds like a better deal, but perhaps someone has done the Medisca course and can chime in? Are there other training programs available that I should be aware of?

 

[goldennemesis]

I worked in a compounding pharmacy as the main compounding tech for about 9 months, so I am far from the expert, but I got the impression that PCCA is the gold standard for compounding. PCCA has even been used as a reference in some of my pharmacy classes (I am a p1). If it were me, I would go with them.

 

[NorEl3yn]

I've already done the PCCA 2 day boot-camp course for students, and now I'm looking into PCCA or Medisca after I graduate.

For PCCA, if I register while I'm still a student, it'd be US$1200 for both the vet compounding course, and the advanced compounding course (not sure how much that includes on sterile compounding). And I'd have to go down to Houston for a week (one course has the wet lab on the Mon+Tues, the other is the Thurs+Fri). There's also a (I believe to be) substantial online study component before you go down (they estimate about 10 hours of didactic work/week for 10 weeks).

For Medisca, it'd be US$2000 (but they said if I haggle with them about being a student, they could bring that down), and it'd be 3 days of lab at U of Florida + a 24 hour self-study component.

I'm near Toronto, so I'd be flying down either way (likely from Buffalo), and I'd imagine that Florida would actually be the cheaper flight.

Anyone have any opinions? From what I've read, PCCA sounds like a better deal, but perhaps someone has done the Medisca course and can chime in? Are there other training programs available that I should be aware of?

Hi there,so which compounding training u choose ?? I am a pharmacist and i am not sure which one in better PCCA (which only train if u worked in independent pharmacy or Medisca ??? thanks
HS

 

[Sparda29]

Training for compounding? What the ****? Isn't that something you're supposed to learn in school?

 

[lampshade14]

I've already done the PCCA 2 day boot-camp course for students, and now I'm looking into PCCA or Medisca after I graduate.

For PCCA, if I register while I'm still a student, it'd be US$1200 for both the vet compounding course, and the advanced compounding course (not sure how much that includes on sterile compounding). And I'd have to go down to Houston for a week (one course has the wet lab on the Mon+Tues, the other is the Thurs+Fri). There's also a (I believe to be) substantial online study component before you go down (they estimate about 10 hours of didactic work/week for 10 weeks).

For Medisca, it'd be US$2000 (but they said if I haggle with them about being a student, they could bring that down), and it'd be 3 days of lab at U of Florida + a 24 hour self-study component.

I'm near Toronto, so I'd be flying down either way (likely from Buffalo), and I'd imagine that Florida would actually be the cheaper flight.

Anyone have any opinions? From what I've read, PCCA sounds like a better deal, but perhaps someone has done the Medisca course and can chime in? Are there other training programs available that I should be aware of?

OP are you Canadian? I'm a Canadian Pharmacy student myself, and I'm wondering if you could use the completion of this course as a professional designation in Canada or are you simply taking it to get the skills on compounding. I ask because I talked to a preceptor of mine about vet compounding, and he seemed to think you need a manufacturing license to do most of it for some reason...though maybe you don't if you do this course

 

[All4MyDaughter]

Training for compounding? What the ****? Isn't that something you're supposed to learn in school?

Hardly any pharmacy school teaches enough compounding for one to truly be considered a compounding pharmacist. You learn the more specialized stuff at the PCCA training. Not sure about Medisca.

 

[Sparda29]

Hardly any pharmacy school teaches enough compounding for one to truly be considered a compounding pharmacist. You learn the more specialized stuff at the PCCA training. Not sure about Medisca.

I mean what else is there besides solutions, suspensions, creams, ointments, gels, hormone replacement therapy, IV, chemo. You pretty much learn all of that in school. Hell, we even had a rotation at a purely compounding pharmacy and the owner didn't do any additional training. Everything I did there was pretty much follow a formula we download from online.

 

[All4MyDaughter]

I mean what else is there besides solutions, suspensions, creams, ointments, gels, hormone replacement therapy, IV, chemo. You pretty much learn all of that in school. Hell, we even had a rotation at a purely compounding pharmacy and the owner didn't do any additional training. Everything I did there was pretty much follow a formula we download from online.

Well, I definitely didn't work with hormones in school. Nor did I make chemo. I would have, on rotations, but I was pregnant so that was out. But maybe your school had a more comprehensive compounding class. I took compounding at Kentucky before I transferred and it was just integrated into "patient care lab." We did the major stuff (suspensions, solutions, creams, ointments, suppositories) once or twice and moved on to something else. It wasn't very much training at all.

But there is a lot more than that. I work for an independent that has a separate compounding pharmacy and they do many things that I did not learn in school. Lots of vet stuff, lollipops, troches, suppositories, rectal rockets. We use equipment that I've never seen before, etc. All of the full time pharmacists + the lead compounding technician have been to the longer, more comprehensive PCCA training (not the 2 day bootcamp).

 

[Sparda29]

Well, I definitely didn't work with hormones in school. Nor did I make chemo. I would have, on rotations, but I was pregnant so that was out. But maybe your school had a more comprehensive compounding class. I took compounding at Kentucky before I transferred and it was just integrated into "patient care lab." We did the major stuff (suspensions, solutions, creams, ointments, suppositories) once or twice and moved on to something else. It wasn't very much training at all.

But there is a lot more than that. I work for an independent that has a separate compounding pharmacy and they do many things that I did not learn in school. Lots of vet stuff, lollipops, troches, suppositories, rectal rockets. We use equipment that I've never seen before, etc. All of the full time pharmacists + the lead compounding technician have been to the longer, more comprehensive PCCA training (not the 2 day bootcamp).

It's possible that our school had more compounding classes since we're in New York and New York State has that darned Compounding Exam as part of the licensing process.

 

[All4MyDaughter]

It's possible that our school had more compounding classes since we're in New York and New York State has that darned Compounding Exam as part of the licensing process.

Probably. I think many states have eliminated that as part of getting licensed. So Colleges of Pharmacy have scaled it back in favor of important things like 6 page "patient care plans" and physical assessment (although I grudgingly admit some of that subject has been useful to me in my practice).