getting pharm tech certified?

[pharmgrl5]

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How do you go about getting pharm tech certified if you already in college? The community college nearest me has an online program for it but there isn't any way I can or should take a leave of absence from my school so I can do the classes at the other one. Half the classes in the program I'll already be doing anyway, not sure how to go about this. Is it even required to do the classes?

 

[Bella0098]

I wouldn't even bother with the classes, depending on where you live you don't need to be certified to get a job as a tech. I did on the job training, paid the $125 for the test and aced it. You could probably even just study from the book and still pass. It's not so bad.

 

[HoosierPharmD]

The certifications classes are not that beneficial since you are attending college. You could probably get a certification book from a fellow prepharm that is working as a tech or cheap offline.

You can pass the test if you know how to read a prescription, which book/guide is needed to look up specific information, some easy compounding questions, knowing how many pills needed for a script, and brief drug classifications.

I also studied the book prior to the exam and aced it.

Knowing nothing about pharmacy and studying enough to do well on the exam would probably take me 15-20 hours.

I had been a pharm tech for a year, studied the morning of the exam and did really well. I am used to doing this though. I worked two jobs, had heavy science courseloads each semester, performed research, and was a Teaching assistant all through college. GPA 3.32 for 167 credit hours for a biochem chemistry double major in 5 years.

 

[fenil2005]

just buy this book certification review for pharmacy technician by Noah. Reifman study on your own(i studied for 3 weeks and passed the exam). i had no experience in pharmacy before taking the exam.

 

[gtpederson]

conversions (teaspoons to metric), calculations, and common medical abbreviations with math. That was 90% of my PTCE.

I paid for the online test the night before. Studied for a couple hours the ones I got wrong. Went in and passed. It's not hard. Even without pharmacy experience.

 

[rxgrl08]

Hey I got certified and didn't study but I had been a tech for over 4 yrs. The other girl that works with me didn't study at all, had been a tech for some months and passed. She thought she failed for sure but passed. As long as you are actively in school and know some pharmacy basics, like common drugs, then you'll be fine. Don't waste your money on any classes, study guides, or even the practice one. Good Luck!

 

[RaginCajun]

Programs can give you externships and some pharmacies perfer them. That is probably the only slight advantage.