Pharm Technician

[triplerox]

What exactly do pharm technician do? Just curious because all i hear about them is "counting pills." Also, to be able to work in a field where you research to create new drugs, would you need pharmD/PhD? Sorry if i sound dumb, but i really know nothing about pharmacists so i thought i'd do a little research before considering this career option

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[triplerox]

oops nm, stumbled across the FAQ sticky. delete this post!

 

[rxcrystal]

A pharmacy technician does everything in the pharmacy except council patients on their medications.
As far as retail pharmacy goes, a typical scenario would be: A patient drops off a prescription, the tech finds them in the computer, takes care of insurance issues and types all the info in for the pharmacist to check. Once the pharmacist has checked that the info is typed in correctly, the tech can fill the medication (usually no "pill counting" is needed; there is usually some kind of scale that weighs everything now). The pharmacist again checks the techs filling job to make sure everything is correct, bags it up and gives to the tech to ring up. One the patient is rung up, if the Rx is new for the patient, the pharmacist will council him/her on their medication(s).

 

[PossiblyCrazy]

As far as a hospital Technician:

Many different jobs. All technicians rotate into different shifts during the week

1. Central Pharmacy: Technician grabs label off of printer that the pharmacists have verified, gets med from stock room/refrigerator/iv room, places med on counter for pharmacist to check. Tech goes on hourly rounds in his/her section of hospital to deliver patient meds into pyxis machines/refrigerators. The technician also loads everyday meds into pyxis machines and not just patient specific.

2. Pyxis fill: Technician spends the day with other technicians restocking the pyxis machines throughout the hospital, restocks pyxis fill area, etc..

3. IV: Technician makes IV medications for patient specific and for refill of everyday meds.

4. Chemotherapy: Technician makes chemo

There are a few more shifts, but the above are the typical.
Also, the tech is obvously always under pharmacist supervision/verification.

Hope this helps.

 

[Farmercyst]

Understanding it is in the FAQ and someone will still probably ask the question again in the not too distant future. I'll go ahead and close this one.

Though you know that Urban legend that says Pharmacists only count pills. Well, they don't. They make the techs do that.