Overview of a Pharmacy Technician

What Is a Pharmacy Technician?

If you are looking to obtain a career in the healthcare field, a career as a pharmacy technician is a great way to get started!

A pharmacy technician is a health care provider who performs pharmacy related tasks while working directly under the supervision of a licensed pharmacist in order to help and support patients and ensure that they receive the best care possible.

What Does a Pharmacy Technician Do?

All pharmacy technicians are legally required to work under the supervision of licensed pharmacists. Pharmacy technicians assist the pharmacist in maintaining the overall efficiency, safety, and accuracy of pharmacy operations and their time is often split between using their technical skills for prescriptions and providing outstanding customer service.

The role of a pharmacy technician can differ depending on the setting they work in, but most pharmacy technicians supply medications; prescription or over-the counter (OTC) to patients, assemble medications for prescriptions, and provide information to patients and other healthcare professionals.

What Are Some Important Traits of a Pharmacy Technician?

Pharmacy technicians need to be detail oriented and must have excellent communication skills. Most pharmacy technicians work with a group of others, so teamwork is important. As the healthcare industry is always changing and growing, it is important that pharmacy technicians be flexible and adaptable to change as well. KLR Pharmacy Technician Training School met with four pharmacists and asked them what they thought the most important traits of a pharmacy technician were. You can read that blog post by here:

Most Important Traits of a Pharmacy Tech

How Does a Pharmacy Technician Spend Their Days?

Pharmacy technicians spend their days preparing and filling prescriptions, interacting with customers and answering questions on the telephone and in person, managing inventory and performing organizational tasks in the pharmacy, filling automated dispensing cabinets, and more. There are more specialized roles for pharmacy technicians that require more responsibility.

Where Does a Pharmacy Technician Work?

Pharmacy technicians can work in a wide variety of settings including places like community (also known as retail) pharmacies, hospital pharmacies, pharmaceutical production, pharmacy sales, mail-order, prisons, primary care, education, military, and veterinary practices.

While pharmacy technicians have many options of which setting they land in, it is important to note that each of these can have different roles for the technician and each state has its own regulations on what a pharmacy technician can do.

How Do You Become a Pharmacy Technician?

Pharmacy technicians must have a high school diploma and, in most states, they must take a board-approved course in order to be eligible to sit for the national exam. Once you have taken your exam and passed it, you will need to obtain a state license in order to legally work in any pharmacy. This is done with a simple online application, background check, and application fee. KLR Pharmacy Technician Training School assists students fully in this process and covers the fees associated with the exam and license.

Will I Be Able to Find Work as a Pharmacy Technician?

In recent years, and due to increased workloads brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic and pharmaceutical regulations, the demand for healthcare services has skyrocketed and there is a massive demand for healthcare occupations, including pharmacy technicians. In 2021, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that healthcare occupations are among the fastest growing sectors in the economy and as a part of this ballooning market, jobs for pharmacy technicians are expected to continue to increase.