Pharmacy Technician - What Exactly Do They Do
Author: Scott Knutson

Choosing the job you want is not like choosing what course to
take in college or what dish you want to be served. It's
definitely much harder. At least in college, you only need to
sacrifice four to five years of your life, unless you're
inclined to take it further and get a master's degree. But
choosing the right place of employment can potentially affect
you for a lifetime so one must choose wisely before making a
decision.

In this article, we are going to explore the job description,
specifications and qualifications needed to become a pharmacy
technician.

The first question one should ask is… what is a pharmacy
technician and what does a pharmacy technician do? First of all,
a pharmacy technician is not a pharmacist. A pharmacist must
have a degree in pharmacy. On the other hand, a pharmacy
technician isn't burdened with the same requirements and
responsibilities.

In a nutshell, a pharmacy technician is an assistant pharmacist
but has job responsibilities one step higher than that of a
pharmacist aide.

Let's break down the official definition of pharmacy
technicians' job title into two parts. The pharmacist or
pharmacy aspect of the job requires you to have a working
knowledge of drugs and medicine. A pharmacy technician must also
know the difference between cough tablets and aspirin and have
the knowledge to navigate the fine line between headache pills
and tablets to help relieve PMS and they must also be able to
handle the basic operations of a pharmacy if the pharmacist is
on vacation or nowhere to be found.

The technical aspect of the job also requires the pharmacy
technician to have exemplary organizational skills and they may
be also be required to label medicine bottles and categorize
them under the correct name or group - the 100 mg label must go
on the 100 mg bottle. Just one error, one tiny oversight could
result in very negative consequences for a patient.

Other tasks include being able to work under pressure because
there will be days that the drugstore or pharmacy where you work
has people lined up to get their prescriptions filled.

As a pharmacy technician, you will also be responsible for
supplying aid to licensed pharmacists as they provide patients
with medication and other healthcare products. A well trained,
competent pharmacy technician must therefore be knowledgeable
enough to suggest alternative brands for off the counter
medication but alternatives for prescribed medication is solely
the responsibility of licensed pharmacists.

A pharmacy technician is sometimes required to perform certain
manual tasks like labeling bottles, counting pills or doing
inventory. In some areas of the country, the tasks of a pharmacy
technician and a pharmacist aide overlap so don't be surprised
if on occasion, you end up being asked to complete tasks meant
for the latter. This could include acting as a cashier,
answering phone inquiries, stocking shelves and other clerical
duties. While there are several pharmacy technician duties that
a pharmacist aide can never perform, there are few pharmacist
aide tasks that a pharmacy technician cannot perform.

The job responsibilities of a pharmacy technician can vary
depending on the type of business the pharmacy they work at is
located in. For example, a pharmacy technician is usually
assigned to handle orders sent through courier or even email in
a mail order pharmacy and upon verification that the order is
correctly and properly filled up, the pharmacist technician is
then required to do the actual counting, weighing and mixing of
the prescription.

On the other hand, in hospitals, clinics, nursing homes and so
forth a pharmacy technician may have the added responsibilities
of record filing and the updating of patient files - especially
those related a patient's medication.

If the allure of a pharmacy technician career appeals to you,
check out the links below.


About The Author: Visit http://www.century21rx.com or
http://www.century21rx.com/links.html or
http://www.century21rx.com/sitemap1.html for more information on
a Pharmacology Career.