heres a Q

[OwlMyste]

Hello,

I was researching Pharmacy Technician jobs and schooling and am considering going into Job Corps to get my training and certification as a Pharmacy Technician. I have done research into being a Pharmacist, but heres the main Question. I know the Pharmacist makes phone calls, counsels patients etc. but does the Pharmacist actually fill the prescriptions, or is that a technician only job? Also, I have researched the salaries for Pharmacy Technicians and the results don't look too thrilling. Average salary in some places start out as $17000 per year! I was wondering, how the hell anyone could live decently off a salary that low? Anyone you aspiring pharmacists/technicians know thats made a career out of a Pharmacy Technician? and what about a raise? my mother told me that every year you are given a cost of living raise. About how much would that be in various locations of the country? there's also diffrent types of Pharmacy Technicians...(I, II, III, IV, etc.) ......what do each of those do and how long does it take to achieve the highest level Pharmacy Technician? Thanks in Advance,

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[Redrum16]

I'm currently applying for a pharm tech job in Sacramento. 17,000 is really low. Since I'm not officially a pharmacy tech (my license is being processed and I need some experience) my pay is lower than it will be, about 11-13/hour. The tech jobs I've come across pay around 14.00/hour. That's what they pay at a few of the local pharmacies and that's what Walgreens (and i'm assuming other large chains) pay pharmacy techs here. According to my calculations, 14.00/hour is about 29,000 before tax.

 

[jdpharmd?]

California seems unique in that it pays techs so well. At my old store in MI, even a tech who had been with the company for several years would be lucky to see $10/hr. There were no qualifications besides being 18 years old.

Although I ran into some "career techs" who made $14 or so per hour, it's a pretty hellish job and I really don't know why anyone would want to do it, unless they were looking to get experience to eventually (go to school and) move up to a pharmacist, drug rep, doctor, or whatever. Esentially you're the worker bee who takes a great amount of flack from the customers, and sometimes the pharmacist. It makes it even worse to think that you're doing the "dirty work" while the pharmacist makes quadruple your pay.

Is there a college requirement for techs in cali? Those of us who don't live there know very little about your strange world.

 

[OwlMyste]

What specific jobs does the Pharmacist themselves do? If I were to be a Pharmacist, I would want to be able to do some of the "dirty work" (mixing up and counting out prescriptions, etc.) I would think that would be the most interesting. I know the Pharmacy Technicians do that, but what about the Pharmacist?

Also, Anyone here know of any Technical Schools in Georgia that offer Pharmacy Technician???????

 

[lovilla]

Originally posted by OwlMyste
Also, Anyone here know of any Technical Schools in Georgia that offer Pharmacy Technician???????

I found this website

Albany Technical College, Diploma
Atlanta Metropolitan College, Certificate
Augusta Technical College, Diploma, A.A.T
Central Georgia Technical College, Diploma
Columbus Technical College, Diploma
Georgia Perimeter College, Certificate
Heart of Georgia Technical College, Diploma
Ogeechee Technical College, Diploma
Southwest Georgia Technical College, Diploma
Valdosta Technical College, Diploma


There are also online training courses. this is one of them

Take a look at the practice certification exam on this website It will give you an idea of what is asked on the exam.

 

[jdpharmd?]

Originally posted by OwlMyste
What specific jobs does the Pharmacist themselves do? If I were to be a Pharmacist, I would want to be able to do some of the "dirty work" (mixing up and counting out prescriptions, etc.) I would think that would be the most interesting. I know the Pharmacy Technicians do that, but what about the Pharmacist?

Depending on what setting you'd like to practice in, the pharmacist can and does do all of the things that you've mentioned and more. Techs are aids or helpers to the pharmacist and allow the pharmacist more time to check the prescriptions, counsel the patient, talk with dr's, etc. In a retail setting, the pharmacist is usually his or her own boss and can have things done the way that best suits the store and their lifestyle.

Some pharmacists to virtually nothing except sit on a stool and nod, and some are elbow-deep in compounds, patient counseling, counting the script, runnining the computer etc. A pharmacist and a tech have very different education levels and correspondingly different pay levels, but usually do very similar tasks. However, the path that they must take to get there is very very different. Above all, the pharmacist is there to supervise, take responsibility, and be an expert with regard to drugs. A tech's job is to help the pharmacist do that by taking care of some of the more mundane tasks.

 

[OwlMyste]

I have an idea what compounds are, but could you please clarify to me what exactly they are, and how pharmacists make them and mix them? also do the technicians get to make and mix compounds also?

 

[LVPharm]

"Compounding" is the act of "custom-preparing" a medication...making a formulation of several drugs or dosage form of a drug that is not manufactured. This can be anything from making ointments and creams, to suppositories ("rectal rockets", etc), suspensions, lollipops, etc. Sometimes it is to make a medication more palatable (add a flavoring agent), or easier to take (if the patient can't swallow a pill, make a suspension) thus improving compliance. Compounded scripts are a rarity in most ordinary retail practice (at least where I've been). There are "compounding pharmacies" that do most of this work. you can find more info on this at http://www.pccarx.com

I just made some "Magic Mouthwash" today....that's probably only the 3rd time I've made it since I started pharmacy school, and is the only "compounding" I've ever done outside the classroom. As far as I know, there is nothing in the pharmacy law statutes in Nevada that says a tech can't prepare compounded prescriptions...compounding pharmacies hire techs to do that sort of thing. The recipe for "Magic Mouthwash" is usually written on the script by the practitioner...you simply have to do some quick calculations to achieve a desired final volume.

 

[Triangulation]

At least in CA, you can do fairly well as a tech. I know a good number of people who make over $20/hr as techs after doing it for a few years. I started at $16/hr as "senior tech" even though i hadn't set foot in a retail pharmacy before bc i had my bs. Kinda weird bc i was getting trained by all of these people who knew a hundred times what I did, but were technically under me and earned less pay (sometimes substantially less.) To answer your question, yes, at least in CA, you can earn a decent living as a fulltime tech and there's a crap load of demand. I think that's why people enter it for the security rather than the pay.

Don't think that i'm not gonna get screwed, in two mos I'll be an intern at wag's and I'll be making about 1/3 what a pharmacist makes, but have to do everything they do ec verification (which sounds big i know, but as far as workload doing the consults takes a lot of time and frees up a lot of time for the pharmacist. I think interns are a real bargain for retail. When the intern at our store is around she probably does 90% of the consults.)

 

[Redrum16]

To answer JDPharm's question, there are several ways to gain a technician's license in california. You can complete a certain number of hours experience, pass a test after attending a technical school, or simply have a bachelors in a pertaining major. A high school diploma is all that is required for the first two. I was a psychobiology major and that's how I got mine. It's good to be in Cali! (Even though it takes us months to process licenses). We can thank government cuts for that though. I was just at the board of pharmacy in sacramento the other day and they told me only one girl is responsible for processing thanks to spending cuts. Maybe I'll actually get my license by x-mas.