Is Pharm. TEchnician program a waste of time??

[tina]

Right now I"m doing my undergrad as Chem major. I will be applying to Pharmacy school afterwards. I been thinking about taking a 2 semester, 10 hours/ week ROP course to trained as a Pharmacy Technician. Does anybody know the pay for a pharm.tech? Can you work part-time? Will this training help me when i get into pharmacy school?

any advice is appreciated=)

thanks

tina

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[rxgremlin]

In a nutshell, don't waste your time and money. If you want to be a pharmacy tech while you are working on an undergrad, its a good way to earn money while being exposed to pharmacy.

Almost anybody will provide OJT to you at their store. I've seen the tech certification exam and its a joke, especially if you have taken college level science courses. The techs that I've seen that took training courses are no better than ones who didn't.

The tech training courses might help you very slightly in pharmacy school, but certainly not enough to justify the expense. My advice is apply for a job as a tech, let them train you (you paid in the process) and see if you like pharmacy. If you do, then apply to
pharmacy school.

 

[Samoa]

I agree w/rxgremlin. Don't waste your time. Once you get in, many states will exempt you from any certification requirements they have for pharmacy technicians. And even if you take the training courses, you will still have to go through training at your work site. They don't shorten it if you're certified. Plus, I am of the opinion that anyone who can get into pharmacy school can learn to be a technician very quickly on the job.

 

[tryinghard]

wait...are you telling me that you have to complete a certificate to work as a pharm technician??? i want to work at a pharmacy...i have a BA. can i do so...what cna i do at thsi point??

 

[Samoa]

It depends on the law in your state. You should check with your state's board of pharmacy.

But in general, the profession of pharmacy doesn't give a rat's @ss what degree you hold. If it's anything other than a professional pharmacy degree, it doesn't count. Sorry to be so blunt.

 

[Kovox]

Im confused...

How do you become a pharm tech? I am looking for a job before professional school starts, and I don't want to work in a lab...so I figured I'd be a pharm tech.

Can I just go to um riteaid or cvs and say "hi i wanna be a pharm tech, train me"

 

[rxgremlin]

If they are hiring and need somebody, yes. They will train you and either encourage you or make it mandatory that you become certified after a few months. Certification is nothing more than passing a simple exam and doing continuing ed. credits every couple of years.

 

[2badr]

Originally posted by rxgremlin
If they are hiring and need somebody, yes. They will train you and either encourage you or make it mandatory that you become certified after a few months. Certification is nothing more than passing a simple exam and doing continuing ed. credits every couple of years.

Certification depends on the state tho doesn't it? You have to be certified here (pharm tech) but I'm not sure if that is across the board...

 

[INevrLearn]

Its not a national thing yet, but I think it will be within the next two years... (I.E. - get certified first.... cash register work isn't that fun )