Pharmacy Technician

Prescription for Success

With the aging of the Baby Boomer generation, healthcare-related fields are growing at a breakneck pace. As a Pharmacy Technician, you’ll have a rewarding career that will offer employment opportunities anywhere in the country. With our hands-on approach to learning, you’ll be ready for a job in a hospital, pharmacy or pharmaceutical company upon graduation.

Pharmacy Technicians assist and support licensed pharmacists in providing health care and medications to patients. The pharmacy technician has broad knowledge and training in pharmacy, however does not require the advanced college education required of a licensed pharmacist. Pharmacy Technicians perform the practical duties, allowing the pharmacist to focus on patient education, pharmaceutical care, and medication management.

Duties may include stocking and inventory maintenance of medications, maintaining patient medication records, interpreting prescriptions and chart orders, preparing medications for dispensing, preparing sterile intravenous medications, delivering medications to nursing stations, preparing insurance claim forms, managing a cash register, and answering phones. In addition to working directly with pharmacists, the Pharmacy Technician also interacts with patients, other pharmacy personnel, physicians, and nurses.

Due to the critical importance of their work, Pharmacy Technicians need to be alert, work with precision and extreme accuracy, and have honesty and good judgment. Good communication skills and an ability to work under pressure are a plus. Want to find out if this career is for you? Check it out on the web at http://www.acinet.org/, and select Occupation Information.

Program Description

The PPCC Pharmacy Technician AAS degree and certificate programs provide hands-on training and clinical work experience that complement rigorous classroom learning to provide you with well-rounded training. When you complete the program, you’ll be qualified to take the National Pharmacy Technician Certification Examination to become a Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT).

Career Path Notes

If your ultimate goal is to become a pharmacist, you should enroll in the Associate of Science Pre-Med Professions degree program at PPCC, then continue on for a Bachelor’s degree in Pre-Pharmacy, Biology, Chemistry or similar at a four-year college or university, before going to a specialized pharmacy school, such as the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center

Program Information

Click here for program specific information.

For More Information

Call the Division of Health, Environmental, Natural and Physical Sciences at 719-502-3400.

Employment Opportunities

Pharmacy Technicians are in high demand and enjoy great job prospects, with excellent opportunities for part-time work and flexible schedules. Pharmacy Technicians are employed nationwide in hospital pharmacies, community (retail) pharmacies, home health care pharmacies, mail order pharmacies, and long-term care pharmacies.

Earnings Outlook

In Colorado, the median hourly salary in 2005 for Pharmacy Technicians was $13.51, with a salary range of $9.67 – $17.32. From 2004 to 2014, there are expected to be an average of 200 job openings per year statewide. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Financial Aid

www.ppcc.edu/FinancialAid

Advising

www.ppcc.edu/Advising

Apply

www.ppcc.edu/Apply

Find Out More About Your Future Career
Contact Career Planning and Advising at (719) 502-3232
www.ppcc.edu/Advising