Pharmacy Technician Questions Thread

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We fill about 400 scripts a day, have 3 pharmacists and about 5 techs. We have a station rotation schedule, so every tech gets to be on pick up, data entry and product dispensing throughout the shift. On data entry, we take scripts from fax, walk-ins and emails, put them into the system and solve ALL insurance issues. At product dispensing (no surprise here) we dispense.. well... the product lol. At pick up, we handle customer issues and check patients out. One tech prepares orders to pick up for nursing homes we have contract with. This is pretty much what we do all day. Time flies by pretty quickly and we have mandatory lunches and breaks.
 
rxlea said:
Hey- you guys should get the premix 2g cefazolins and the 1.5 and 1.25 premade vancos so you don't have to compound them! Saves a lot of time, trust me.
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We currently go through 300+ 2g ancef per week. At the same time making a batch of 120 takes less than an hour. So outside material costs, its only an extra $20 or so to make them. While it might save time, it probably doesn't save money. Same goes for the vanco. What we do is we will pool a giant bag (3-6L) of 50mg/ml vanco and then draw up the most common doses in syringes so that the day crew just slaps a needle on the syringe and shoots it into a bag. Makes for easier c-line/p-line compounding too.
We do still get a lot of other premix/frozen stuff though.

As for the OP, when i worked in retail a few years ago I did mostly pill counting and cashier work. A little bit of data entry and some phone answering too. Whoever else said it was right, hospital pharmacy rules retail pharmacy.
 
I saw this too a few weeks ago. Do you know the deadline to apply?
 
I ****ing hate walgreens (I've worked for the comp for many years). That being said, you should definitely go for it! It will look great on a resume, give you some excellent experience, and you'll probably have some fun.
 
Thank you all for your advice! and sorry austinblnd, I'm pretty sure the deadline was this Friday. 🙁
 
Another avenue for pharmacy techs is medication reconciliation. I interview pts. who are pending admission in the ED. I learn more now about each medication than I did slinging pills. It is exciting because I get to shadow the pharmacist during codes and conscious sedations. In my hospital the pharmacist is the one to administer anesthesia during procedures. It is a great experience! Oh, and it pays rather well too! Bonus!!!!
 
Mariahz said:
Another avenue for pharmacy techs is medication reconciliation. I interview pts. who are pending admission in the ED. I learn more now about each medication than I did slinging pills. It is exciting because I get to shadow the pharmacist during codes and conscious sedations. In my hospital the pharmacist is the one to administer anesthesia during procedures. It is a great experience! Oh, and it pays rather well too! Bonus!!!!
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Well that is badass. Does anyone know how many hospitals allow this?
 
Hey guys,

I was wondering about the programs for a pharm tech and to become certified. For those of you who are certified, could you tell me how long and what program you did? Does it help to be a certified pharm tech when going to Pharm school?

Thanks a bunch!
 
Yeah there's a lot more to pharmacy than retail. Check out nuclear if you ever get a chance. I spend my 5 hr shifts working on drawing doses (aka sterile compounding) , mix sterile water (containing isotopes) with drug vials, and pull up doses into syringes for patients. We do .. maybe 250 doses per day, and when a run starts, everyone gets into the groove, with their music on their ipods etc. I really like the repetitive nature of it. But then things change up in the afternoons, taking a lot of phone calls, data entry, regulatory requirements etc. One thing for sure is that pharmacy is pretty dynamic! If you like doing a lot of things at once this career will suit you.
 
aznhomieboi1689 said:
Hey guys,

I was wondering about the programs for a pharm tech and to become certified. For those of you who are certified, could you tell me how long and what program you did? Does it help to be a certified pharm tech when going to Pharm school?

Thanks a bunch!
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Hmm to make it clear, I think you're asking about the pharm tech program where people pay thousands of dollars for it right? Ok there are 2 or 3 different ways to be a pharm tech...1) Enroll in the 7-8 months pharm tech program (they would give you a chance to do externship at a local pharmacy or hospital which included in tuition and you don't get paid-all volunteer work and u get to touch meds) --> get certificate ---> register for license OR 2) take PTCE ($129)---> get certification if you pass ---> register for license...OR 3) Do both...enroll in pharm tech program and take PTCE (heard you get pay more as a pharm tech with PTCE)

A lot of people in this forum said just take the PTCE only and get license and don't waste too much money on the pharm tech program...Well it's really up to you. And sure, pharmacy experiences, whether paid or not, will definitely benefit you for future pharmacy schools.

And I agree with rxlea, you should also do more research in that search bar at top right hand corner of SDN because sometimes the same questions are being asked.
 
Chops369 said:
Well that is badass. Does anyone know how many hospitals allow this?
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Chops,
I think alot of emergency departments just have the nurses administer meds like Brevital or Propofol, but we have a pharmacist in the ED full time so they do the dose adjustments, draw up the meds, and administer right there, for short procedures that is. We also have a pharmacist on each floor for for consultations and protocol dosing etc. It's great if you are really interested in clinical work.
 
type b pharmD said:
Yeah there's a lot more to pharmacy than retail. Check out nuclear if you ever get a chance. I spend my 5 hr shifts working on drawing doses (aka sterile compounding) , mix sterile water (containing isotopes) with drug vials, and pull up doses into syringes for patients. We do .. maybe 250 doses per day, and when a run starts, everyone gets into the groove, with their music on their ipods etc. I really like the repetitive nature of it. But then things change up in the afternoons, taking a lot of phone calls, data entry, regulatory requirements etc. One thing for sure is that pharmacy is pretty dynamic! If you like doing a lot of things at once this career will suit you.
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I would love to have a chance at nuclear pharmacy. We have Cardinal and CAPS out here but it is pretty hard to get a job with either companey. I agree with you, I enjoy the repetiveness.
 
Mariahz said:
I would love to have a chance at nuclear pharmacy. We have Cardinal and CAPS out here but it is pretty hard to get a job with either companey. I agree with you, I enjoy the repetiveness.
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Go for it!! I'd suggest calling the hiring manager and sending a resume in. I did that and was pleasantly surprised a few months later. I was competing against 3-4 other applicants but I think my enthusiasm got me the job. Perhaps cause I'm pursuing nuclear as a long term career.

Also some advice, nuke jobs are easier to get as an intern than as a tech. Our company has 4 techs and 5 interns!

Be sure to emphasize your sterile compounding experience. Out of all the applicants I was the only one with a background in that from my hospital days.
 
Hey everyone,

Does anyone know any online pharmacy technician programs?
I saw one on the web. It was called virtual institute of pharmacy technology but I don't know if it was a scam or not.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
 
I'm going to venture a guess and say its a scam. There was a thread about this posted awhile ago, if you wanted to find it. Long story short on these pharmacy tech online programs/schools/courses/etc. They are a waste of money IMO. I think they run in the thousands of dollars range too. Here's what I did, I bought a CphT book from Border's, and studied it for around a week or two, took the test, and passed. Please do not waste your hard earned money on classes or courses. These books are thorough, and prepare you for the certification test. I got certified, and acquired a job in retail and a hospital because of it. Good luck to you!
 
The only exception I have to add is that some of the courses are good because they offer an internship/externship at the end of the course, which can definitely help you actually get a job.

It's easy to get C.PhT but in a lot of areas, getting a job with your license sans experience is a headache.
 
Thanks for the information!
I'll go ahead and buy a cPhT book.
 
When will you be starting pharmacy school? If you are starting this year, then there is no point to get the certification because once you start, you will obtain a pharmacy intern license which is higher than the certification license!
 
Passion4Sci said:
The only exception I have to add is that some of the courses are good because they offer an internship/externship at the end of the course, which can definitely help you actually get a job.

It's easy to get C.PhT but in a lot of areas, getting a job with your license sans experience is a headache.
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+1.....I didn't even think of that...In my area, tech jobs are pretty easy to come by for the most part. In other areas of the country, some students are certified and still have a hard time finding tech work, so in that case, it would definately be beneficial to have a company find placement for you, as stated by passion4sci.
 
I want to see if I want to go into pharmacy in college, so I'd like to apply for a pharmacy technician job at Walgreens or CVS. If you get the job, how much training do you have to go through? How hard is it?
 
btpayne13 said:
I want to see if I want to go into pharmacy in college, so I'd like to apply for a pharmacy technician job at Walgreens or CVS. If you get the job, how much training do you have to go through? How hard is it?
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More than likely you will start as a cashier or photo tech up front then get transferred to the pharmacy. It's very hard to get hired straight into a tech position...at least from my experience. Most of the time managers don't want to hire people directly into the pharmacy unless you're already certified and have experience. Some managers won't do it due to trust issues or they just flat out want someone with experience so they can start right away.

I work for CVS and their training program is extremely easy. You complete probably 75% of it in web based training, then you have training with your district's pharmacy tech trainer, one 6 hour session for phase 1 and an 8 hour session for phase 2. From there you have on the job training, if I remember correctly it's about 18 hours of that (pick-up is 4 hours, production 6 hours, and drop off is 8 hours). You will also need to obtain a state pharmacy technician license as well as become nationally certified.
 
Hello,

As I former Walgreen's pharmacy tech, I would agree with CVStech on the point about managers generally not wanting to hire a person without previous certification or experience. I worked in the cosmetics department until there was an opening in the pharmacy. Although I was not previously trained or certified as a technician, the manager transferred me to the pharmacy because after hiring several not-so-great employees that didn't stick around, he wanted somebody that he knew was reliable. If you know you want to get a job as a retail tech, I would certainly recommend starting out as a cashier or photo specialist or something and wait for an opportunity to start in the pharmacy.

When I worked at Walgreen's, I also needed to complete computer training in addition to several shifts at a "training store." However, on my FIRST scheduled day of training, somebody quit on the spot at my store and walked out. They had to have me fill in even though I wasn't trained yet!

Best of luck!
 
I got a job directly as a tech at Walgreens. I had two tech jobs previously, so that may have helped. At Walgreens, you do computer training for about a week or two. Not hard, just tedious.
 
Should I apply for a store clerk job then, and then hope there's an opening in the pharmacy? Or should I do the opposite, apply for a pharmacy position, then work as a store clerk, and then work at the pharmacy?
 
cvstech said:
More than likely you will start as a cashier or photo tech up front then get transferred to the pharmacy. It's very hard to get hired straight into a tech position...at least from my experience. Most of the time managers don't want to hire people directly into the pharmacy unless you're already certified and have experience. Some managers won't do it due to trust issues or they just flat out want someone with experience so they can start right away.

I work for CVS and their training program is extremely easy. You complete probably 75% of it in web based training, then you have training with your district's pharmacy tech trainer, one 6 hour session for phase 1 and an 8 hour session for phase 2. From there you have on the job training, if I remember correctly it's about 18 hours of that (pick-up is 4 hours, production 6 hours, and drop off is 8 hours). You will also need to obtain a state pharmacy technician license as well as become nationally certified.
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I got hired straight on as a tech. Was certified already so that made it easier. They were probably having trouble finding anyone to fill the tech slots so I got hired with 0 job experience.
To call the training at CVS "training" is a bit much. It's a web course that shows you the computer system. It was extremely unhelpful. Then there is a half day of general CVS training that the front store cashiers do to. Then some pharmacy training which was kinda helpful.
80% of what I learned I learned on the job though, if not more.

I know what you mean about having to train new ppl though. It sucks lol. It sucked when I was new, and it sucks when a new tech comes.
 
Dezixn said:
I got hired straight on as a tech. Was certified already so that made it easier. They were probably having trouble finding anyone to fill the tech slots so I got hired with 0 job experience.
To call the training at CVS "training" is a bit much. It's a web course that shows you the computer system. It was extremely unhelpful. Then there is a half day of general CVS training that the front store cashiers do to. Then some pharmacy training which was kinda helpful.
80% of what I learned I learned on the job though, if not more.

I know what you mean about having to train new ppl though. It sucks lol. It sucked when I was new, and it sucks when a new tech comes.
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How did you become certified without any job experience?
 
I applied at Walgreen, Targets, Safeway, and CVS but none called me. I finally got a position at CVS b/c a friend there hooked me up. Best of luck to you. Getting a job in pharmacy is super dooper whooper looper snoooper hard. Did I also mention that you'll get trash by customers if u don't know what you're doing?
 
So is it acceptable to apply for a pharm tech position without any training at the moment? How do you get training before you apply? Should you?
 
I don't think anybody mentioned the CPhT certification through PTCB (pharmacy tech cert board). Go to their website and learn about the process. All you do is study a few days from a study book (a ptcb study guide- I heard the author Mosby is good) and if you're decent at basic math, you should pass. I forgot how much the test costs but once you have it, it will be easier to get a tech job, even with zippo experience. You'll have to memorize some stuff, but it shouldn't be that hard if you're used to studying for school. Most people on this forum passed the first time they took it, even those with zero experience.
 
Thank you so much. I have too much free time this week because I'm on spring break. I'll start studying.
 
Is it still probable that one can be hired without being certified?
 
Do you know where I can enroll in a pharmacy tech program? I live in New Jersey and I want to become a pharmacy tech. I am currently in my second semester of college completing prepharm prerequisites full time. What is the shortest amount of schooling I can go through to become a CPHT? and how much does it usually cost? I have asked around to volunteer at the hospital, retail stores and they all said no. I am sick of asking around to volunteer.

Should I take an online course?

Yeah I was just thinking of buying this book and just study by my self and take the test.
http://www.amazon.com/Pharmacy-Technician-Perspective-Press/dp/0895827360/ref=pd_sim_b_2
 
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Honestly, I would just apply to be a clerk at pharm. department at a retail store first then get a permit, become a tech. trainee, earn your hours, get experiment while you're a tech. trainee, then take the test. It shouldn't take you more than 1 year to get the lincence. And guess what? It's free! All you need to do is go to work.

Good luck.
 
i'm not sure how it works in new jersey, but in california, you don't even need to go to school. you study the study materials that you buy online and sign up to take the test. pass the test, mail it in to the state...and get your tech license.
 
Yeah in illinois you just have to take a test, you don't HAVE to take any classes, but for some people it might be helpful if you have never worked in a pharmacy. Or you can just study with a book on your own.
 
bottlecap1990 said:
what is the best book i should buy to help me prepare to sit for the PTCB exam? I don't have time to go through pharmacy tech school or online because I am a full time student completing prepharm prereqs.

should i buy the practice test? how long should i study for?

I was thinking of buying this book
http://www.amazon.com/Pharmacy-Technician-Perspective-Press/dp/0895827360/ref=pd_sim_b_2
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I bought this one from amazon because of the great reviews people gave it. I also read that you should buy a supplemental math book because it didn't have a good math section. But if you think you are okay on math you should be fine.
 
A litttleeee bit off topic, but I've heard that it is somewhat hard to find a pharm tech job... is that true? If so, would it help if i applied early at a pharmacy?
 
I have asked 2 hospitals and they all said they do not have openings for a volunteer or a pharmacy tech job. I also went around and asked retail stores like (CVS, Walgreens) and they all said no to volunteer. Right now I am studying to become certified since I heard it is easier to get a job being certified.
 
It is hard to find a pharm tech job but I think its just a product of the way the ecomony is at the moment. I know in some states it's a higher paid position. Here in Jersey you don't have to be certified just registered in order to work as one and the pay in ok but usually starts at or a little higher then min wage.

Just to give some job hunting pointers. I've been working at a pharmacy as a tech for the last 2 years and a lot of places people forget to look are at supermarket chains! Thats where I'm currently employed! People just think the obvious CVS, walgreens and independant pharmacies but supermarkets have internal pharmacies as well as walmarts and such! Good luck!
 
@Moni526: I want to apply for Fall 2011.
@hckyply: yeah good idea.
 
Silly question, but after receiving my intern license are there any benefits to being a licensed tech also? Thanks.
 
Nope! In fact, most state boards require you to turn in your tech license in order to acquire an intern license.
 
what about our PTCB licenses? my LA state license expires june 30th and my national PTCB license expires july 31st, but i am planning on moving to austin in june. i won't be able to get my intern license for a month or 2 after classes start from my understanding. am i just going to be SOL to work as a tech once i move to TX until i get my intern license? i'm assuming it will take a while to get certified by the TX state board and even so, it would only be for about 2-3 months until i get my intern license. anyone who moved out of state for pharm school over the summer have any experience with this? thanks in advance.
 
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