Pharmacy Technician Questions Thread

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fidelio

fidelio

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All right all right. I bet this question has been asked numerous times, but I just have to ask!

Can't I just take the PTCB exam and become a licensed pharmacy technician in the state of California?

Must I REALLY have to go to a school for training that would cost $11,000? I went to their first week of class and I already know everything. Everything that I could do on my own.

Please Please Please tell me there's a better way!
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That's correct. I passed the PTCB exam and used that to get registration from the CA Board. If you already started the training class, will you be able to withdraw with a refund?
 
fidelio said:
Can't I just take the PTCB exam and become a licensed pharmacy technician in the state of California?
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yes

fidelio said:
Must I REALLY have to go to a school for training that would cost $11,000? I went to their first week of class and I already know everything. Everything that I could do on my own.
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my tech friends went to ROP. They offer free training program to become a CA state tech. but if you know everything already, I guess no need to go the training program. Save your time and make money. :thumbup:
 
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manx12 said:
That's correct. I passed the PTCB exam and used that to get registration from the CA Board. If you already started the training class, will you be able to withdraw with a refund?
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Luckily yes I can. :)

And yes I heard about ROP, but I heard it was hard to get into because it was free.

But man tomorrow morning, the first thing I'm doing... is dropping out of that class!

Thanks you guys!!! *hugs*
 
Please fill me in a bit...

So I know that you can become licensed in CA by just passing the exam,

BUT CAN YOU ACTUALLY GET A PHARMACY TECH JOB IN CALIFORNIA *WITHOUT* GOING THROUGH SOME PROGRAM?

I'm asking because after searching for so long, I am still not clear on that. I also talked to one of the pharmacists who work at my local Longs and he told me that to become a pharmacy technician here, I'd need to go through some program (like at a JC or something)...

I don't want to just study for the exam on my own, pass it, and then find out I can't get hired. A license is next to useless if I can't get a job with it.
 
shikamaru said:
BUT CAN YOU ACTUALLY GET A PHARMACY TECH JOB IN CALIFORNIA *WITHOUT* GOING THROUGH SOME PROGRAM?
Click to expand...

You can start to work as a pharm casher. You cannot fill meds until you get a license, but you can still help them inventory, stocking, casher job, pick up window.... When you get a license, they will probably give you a tech job. Where are you located?
 
In NY they'll hire you without the certification or the training.

I took the PTCB exam after just studying on my own, and I got hired with no other experience.
 
I mentioned this in my other post. If you are in a huge city where tech's are always available, then yes, you would probably need to go through a program to get hired.

Legally, you just need to be licensed. Realistically, with so many techs to choose from, it's easy to see why only ppl who went through a program are hired.

The only loophole around this is 1)if you know the pharmacy mgr and she doesn't mind or 2)If you start out as a cashier and gotten so used to the computer system and way pharmacy runs, get the licensed and you just get a raise.

I am almost certain this is the case in San Francisco. Not sure about anywhere else.
 
tsubasa said:
You can start to work as a pharm casher. You cannot fill meds until you get a license, but you can still help them inventory, stocking, casher job, pick up window.... When you get a license, they will probably give you a tech job. Where are you located?
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I live in the San Jose area. Seeing how this situation is like in San Francisco, I'm guessing it's the same over here. Of course I know there are no job guarantees in life, but I'd very much rather play it safe and go through some program and have a greater chance of getting at least a pharm cashier job than to just study on my own, pass the exam, and have a greater chance of getting no job. :eek:
 
Pharm. casher and clark are good positions to start ...If you are in S. Cal, I know some pharm. comp looking for a tech. but license is not requirement... good luck! If you put your resume online for retail pharm., I am pretty sure they will call you to set a interview. They are always looking for cashers. :luck:
 
shikamaru said:
I live in the San Jose area. Seeing how this situation is like in San Francisco, I'm guessing it's the same over here. Of course I know there are no job guarantees in life, but I'd very much rather play it safe and go through some program and have a greater chance of getting at least a pharm cashier job than to just study on my own, pass the exam, and have a greater chance of getting no job. :eek:
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Don't worry! There are lots of jobs for techs...& no, you don't need to go to a school - just pass the exam. I live in the Bay Area & have worked from SF to Morgan Hill & nobody cares if you went to school. You just need that certificate from the State Board, which now requires the exam. If you want to go to a school, you can always go after you pass the exam - check out Foothill or Mission College - they both have programs which are relatively inexpensive.

It depends on what kind of a practice setting you want. Hospital jobs are the most difficult to come by...obviously, there are fewer of them. But, jobs in retail are there, you just ususally need to start as a floater (means you fill in for vacations by going to many different pharmacies). Some techs will start by working for a temp agency. That gives you an idea of the different corporate structures & computer systems, how happy the employees are, allows you to go to hospitals & just gives you some experience. You just need a car - if you live in SJ, you know we live in our cars!!!!

Good luck - stop worrying!
 
sdn1977 said:
Don't worry! There are lots of jobs for techs...& no, you don't need to go to a school - just pass the exam. I live in the Bay Area & have worked from SF to Morgan Hill & nobody cares if you went to school. You just need that certificate from the State Board, which now requires the exam. If you want to go to a school, you can always go after you pass the exam - check out Foothill or Mission College - they both have programs which are relatively inexpensive.

It depends on what kind of a practice setting you want. Hospital jobs are the most difficult to come by...obviously, there are fewer of them. But, jobs in retail are there, you just ususally need to start as a floater (means you fill in for vacations by going to many different pharmacies). Some techs will start by working for a temp agency. That gives you an idea of the different corporate structures & computer systems, how happy the employees are, allows you to go to hospitals & just gives you some experience. You just need a car - if you live in SJ, you know we live in our cars!!!!

Good luck - stop worrying!
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Thank you SO much for the info! That helped a lot and now I can plan out my upcoming year a lot better. Thank you!
 
Any books to recommend to prepare for the PTCE exam? I don't care for math sections.
 
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fidelio said:
Any books to recommend to prepare for the PTCE exam? I don't care for math sections.
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there are a few names said in http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=268084

someone else also mentioned the pharmacy trainer

Hope that helps a little. Meanwhile, I have a quick question to make sure that I got this whole becoming a pharmacy technician process down, and I would appreciate any input!

As a pre-pharmacy student in CA with no pharmacy experience, let's say that I study for the PTCB Exam on my own and pass it, and I go through the license application process for CA. Does that make me a certified pharmacy technician (and allow me to get hired as a pharmacy technician)? or am I missing something big in my thinking?
 
shikamaru said:
As a pre-pharmacy student in CA with no pharmacy experience, let's say that I study for the PTCB Exam on my own and pass it, and I go through the license application process for CA. Does that make me a certified pharmacy technician (and allow me to get hired as a pharmacy technician)? or am I missing something big in my thinking?
Click to expand...

You are right! :D

I did not have that much time to study for PTCB. I did not buy any books but did 3 sets of practice tests, reviewed them in 2 weeks and got 867/900. After you reviewed them, you can see the common questions and 40-50% of questions were exactly the same or similar to the real test. Good luck!
 
Can someone tell me what kind of certificate/etc is given by the Board and by the state after successful completion of the PTCB Exam?

I just spoke with another pharmacist working at Longs and he told me in order for them to hire someone who wants to be a PT, the person must hold a certification that shows he/she's completed some kind of program. :confused: :confused:
 
Hi everyone,

I am just wondering, for those of you who have taken the PTCB exam, did you pass on your first try? If so, what score did you get and how much did you study? I have been studying for a month and will be taking it in two weeks. I want to make sure I pass the first time because I dont want to waste the $129 fee.

Does the exam cover a lot of drug related questions like generic/brand name stuff? I am worry about that because there are so many drugs to memorize. I am good with the math and law though. I hope there is more questions on math and law then on the drug names. Any advice and comment is very much appreciated. Thank you.
 
It's cake. I studied for 2 weeks with no prior experience and got 805/900. I mainly studied math and law as well, so you should be fine.
 
I took the ICPT, and studied for 3 weeks on my own from a prep-test e- book and passed on my first try. There were probably 3-4 questions about what a specific drug is used for or what class is falls under, and there were a couple of questions about knowing what to do about scheduled drugs (they'll give you the drug and expect you to know what schedule it is). Other than that, law and math were the biggies. I wouldn't waste your money on a class and definitely wouldn't waste your time on memorizing the top 200 proprietary/generic drug names. Just check out or buy a prep book, study for a month, and you should be golden...
 
i'll be taking it on the 8th of september.
im using the pharmacy technician 3rd ed. by the APhA along with its workbook and certification review.
i'll let you know what main topics were covered.

good luck (keep studying)!
 
I took the test on the 20th of august but i want to submit my pharmcas application early and include that i have the ptcb certification even though i won't know until sep 8th. I am quite positive that i will get certified however, i'm not sure what start/expiration dates to put on the pharmcas application concerning the ptcb. Can someone share a similar experience or maybe an advice? Would it look weird to say sep 2008 - sep 2010? or is it sep 08 - Aug 2010?
 
Thank you everyone. Really helpful. Yeah, I m fine with the math. Since you guys say that there isnt much drug related questions, I feel a lot more confident about passing now.
 
Sorry to steal the thread, but I didn't think I should start a new one and I couldn't find any threads with the answer in it.

Are any of you trying to becoming a CPhT in California? If you are, please PM me because I'm trying to do it on the side, and I can't find any clear cut instructions on how to do it on the internet. Thanks.

and 75% is passing? Sounds incredibly doable.
 
It's not that bad. I studied about 3 hours before the exam. I wouldn't advise that if you're not good with math. I ended up with a 785. Most of my questions were math related, which I thought it would be. Math (except calculus) is pretty easy for me, so I didn't study that hard.
 
MrBoba said:
Are any of you trying to becoming a CPhT in California?... I can't find any clear cut instructions on how to do it on the internet.
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Here is the California board of pharmacy's website for obtaining your license: http://www.pharmacy.ca.gov/applicants/apply_for_a_license.shtml

There are 3 main ways to obtain your pharm tech license:
1) Completion of a pharm tech course
2) Training by a branch of the armed forces
3) Certification by the PTCB

The easiest and most time-efficient method is to qualify by PTCB certification, which involves getting a passing score of 650/900 on the exam (PTCB website). There are set time frames to register for the test, which are usually about a month before the actual test dates. The next coming registration window is Sept. 2 - Oct. 17 to test Nov. 10 - Dec. 19. The test is all computerized with a 2 hour time limit. This is plenty of time, and I finished within the first hour. There are 90 questions, 80 of which are scored (10 are not scored and are used to evaluate questions for future tests). You will get your results roughly 1 month after your test date.

Next step is to apply for your license (Link to application). You need to have your fingerprints done (Live Scan). Then send in your application, the fee, a notarized copy of your certificate, and the second copy of your Live Scan request. It takes 1-2 months to get your pharm tech license in the mail.
 
i agree that it wasn't too bad. i probably invested too much time into it, but it probably helped at the pharmacy. good luck
 
mochiko said:
Here is the California board of pharmacy's website for obtaining your license: http://www.pharmacy.ca.gov/applicants/apply_for_a_license.shtml

There are 3 main ways to obtain your pharm tech license...
Click to expand...

Thanks, I'll probably study for this exam starting early November, register, and take the test after all of my finals are over. Based on others posts, it doesn't sound too hard, since I'm already pretty comfortable doing basic math calculations and conversions.

This gives me even more reason to drop Middle Eastern Studies in my first quarter. I'd much rather receive certification as a Pharm Tech.:thumbup:
 
Easy. Study calculations and pharmacy law. Don't bother memorizing brand/generic.
 
Does anyone have an idea about which book to buy for the PTCB? I don't want to waste my money, so advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.
 
Having had both hospital and retail experience, I found it to be a breeze, I only looked over a few things, maybe 2 hours worth total and got an 850. I work at a place where it is required, many of them come from retail only experiences, and I haven't heard of anyone failing. Don't worry about the brand/generic names, the 2 or 3 questions they may ask, you probably know. If you look at any, look over the diabetic drugs. Just remember that every test is different, so my experience may be totally different from yours. If you have pharmacy experience, you should be fine.

Good Luck!
 
TTUMike said:
Easy. Study calculations and pharmacy law. Don't bother memorizing brand/generic.
Click to expand...

Ditto plus those prescription abbreviations if you don't already know them.
I studied for about 4 hours the night before and passed easily.
 
lol...looks like iam over doing it...i mean...ive always been good at math up to my differentials and stuff...blah...i think whats getting me is the fear of knowing 200+ drugs lol
 
ptcb test is a joke. Just study pharm. law and conversions. There are a few conversions that you don't see everyday so take a look at those. The rest is common sense.
 
so i just got back from taking the test and let me first say that at least 8-10 questions had to do with the specifics of drugs, meaning their brand name, generic, class, treatment, etc.. this caught me off guard since i was going into this test only expecting 2-3 questions on drugs after reading prior posts. there were lots of calculations and a good amount of questions on law. there were also a decent amount of questions on what a tech should do/can do in a given situation. there were also some questions that were never discussed in the two texts that i studied from.

i actually taught myself and think i did ok for the amount of time that i studied which was about a month.
i think im barely hanging on to passing. :confused:
good luck to everyone else that has to take it.
 
I have been working as a tech for a little over a year. Full time in the summers and part time during school. I maybe looked at the review books for 15min before i realized it was worthless. If you have any experience at ALL and you have the math ability of a 7th grader...you're fine.
 
Majic said:
If you have the math ability of a 7th grader...you're fine.
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you are definitely right about that.
the calculations were very simple compared to the types of questions i was challenging myself with at home. i definitely over killed with studying different calculation problems.
 
Awesome thread. You guys/gals give me hope! Now I know what to study before taking the test. I'm confident I will pass now... going to register for the next exam. Thank you all :thumbup:
 
ILikeDrugs said:
so i just got back from taking the test and let me first say that at least 8-10 questions had to do with the specifics of drugs, meaning their brand name, generic, class, treatment, etc.. this caught me off guard since i was going into this test only expecting 2-3 questions on drugs after reading prior posts. there were lots of calculations and a good amount of questions on law. there were also a decent amount of questions on what a tech should do/can do in a given situation. there were also some questions that were never discussed in the two texts that i studied from.

i actually taught myself and think i did ok for the amount of time that i studied which was about a month.
i think im barely hanging on to passing. :confused:
good luck to everyone else that has to take it.
Click to expand...

ditto....i took it 9/6....i hope i pass...blahh
 
easy. i passed, no pharm tech experience, just studied math, law, and the abbreviations off and on for a week no more than 3hrs a day. I didn't even bother looking at the drug names.
 
Dave4468 said:
easy. i passed, no pharm tech experience, just studied math, law, and the abbreviations off and on for a week no more than 3hrs a day. I didn't even bother looking at the drug names.
Click to expand...

Which book did you use to study? And do you mean the medical abbreviations?

Examples:

a = without
ambi = both

etc,

???
 
my friend had class notes...abbreviations like:

ii= 2
tid= twice daily
po- orally
sl- sublinguil

etc...
 
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