Preview

Pharmacy Technician Research Paper

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
698 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Pharmacy Technician Research Paper
HongPhuong Le
Introduction to Healthcare 116
January 6, 2011

Health Occupations Research Assignment

Pharmacy technician is someone who is supposed to be having a working knowledge of medicine and multiple tasks. They assist pharmacists, fill prescriptions, and perform various customer service assignments. Another common assignment includes fielding patient questions regarding information on drugs, health concerns, and prescriptions. They then must calculate, measure, weigh, mix, and pour the patient’s medication. They also responsible of keeping up with patient’s profiles, preparing patient’s insurance documents, data entry, putting items on the shelves, handling the cash register, and answering telephone calls.

I am particularly
…show more content…
ACCP supports an expanded role for colleges and schools of pharmacy in the development, standardization, and validation of pharmacy technician education and training programs and encourages their active involvement in facilitating team-based learning opportunities for student pharmacists and student pharmacy technicians …show more content…
Mathematics, spelling, and reading skills also are important. Successful pharmacy technicians are alert, observant, organized, dedicated, and responsible. They should be willing and able to take directions, but be able to work independently without constant instruction. They must be precise; details are sometimes a matter of life and death. Candidates interested in becoming pharmacy technicians cannot have prior records of drug or substance abuse. Pharmacy techs are on their feet all day. The job requires them to either stand or move about the pharmacy for the better part of their shift, so suffice it to say it is a good idea to be in at least reasonably good physical condition to consider this line of work. Being in good physical shape is properly befitting of anybody who represents any aspect of the healthcare industry as it is representative of putting into practice modern understanding of prevention through fitness.

Pharmacy technicians in a retail setting can expect an hourly wage of $5 to $8, whereas a new technician working in a hospital can expect an hourly wage of $7 to $9. On average, the hourly income for experienced pharmacy technicians is the same in a retail setting or hospital, with a national average of $10 to $13.50 per hour

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    I completed my Institutional Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience (IPPE) at Miami Valley Hospital located in Dayton, Ohio. Miami Valley Hospital is an 848 bedded hospital with several units, those of which I had the privilege of working in were the intensive care unit (ICU), the burn unit, and the behavioral health unit. I also had the opportunity to spend time in the main pharmacy as well as the emergency department. I worked with pharmacists Beth Quedenfeld, Michelle Inman, and Jen Welch along many technicians.…

    • 218 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The pharmacy technician performs activities related to three broad function areas. The specific responsibilities and activities that pharmacy technicians may perform within each function area are:…

    • 1786 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    There are many important associations involving Pharmacy Technicians. To pick only three seemed very difficult. Realizing that Technicians have a large role in the pharmacy industry, their job is progressing into more the just “helpers”. Associations provided individual foundations for these paraprofessionals to excel in their profession. Pharmacy Technicians have advanced from clerks to working with the pharmacist directly.…

    • 588 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Brick23

    • 373 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In the U.S pharmacy technician get paid differently depending on there state. In the state of California the average hourly wage is $18.45, the annual wage is $38,380. So basically they are being paid about $20,000- $40,000 a year the only difference is the state they are working in.…

    • 373 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    It requires lots of planning along with the morals and character of a true professional. This is a career path requiring lots of selfless work, a compassionate heart, and a sharp mind. The pay is competitive and benefits are aplenty. To be fully prepared to pursue this profession one must gain experience in the medical field and be prepared to do a lot of research. If these things are done with the right tenacity then problems on the road to meet that end should be minimal.…

    • 1874 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Some of the processes or policies that are implemented to ensure patient safety are using a complete quality assurance procedure to ensure medication is accurate and safe before providing it to the patient. All prescriptions that is received by the pharmacy must go through a lot of verification to make sure it for one a legitimate prescription and to ensure there are no medication errors, before dispensing back to patient. When dealing with filling medication a system must be put in place to prevent errors from according with systems put in place there could be errors that could have been avoided. To ensure medication errors are avoid some systems that are put into place is provided extensive quality training to all pharmacy employees, having…

    • 263 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    I have not always wanted to be a pharmacy tech, I changed my major at least 4 times already. My college years started and stopped a few times since I graduated from high school. I left college the first time and joined the Marine Corps. I served in the Marine Corps for eight (8) years as a Communications Operator. The problem for me there was that I did not want to pursue a career in communications. While I was serving I took some college level course and that is where I went through two of my four college major changes. Some might see that as indecisive, I saw it as trying to find the right fit for me. I have since gotten out of the military and went back to school, since I have begun this new path in my education I have also changed my major twice. I went back to school…

    • 581 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The procedures of pharmacy technicians and pharmacists are very different. The differences between pharmacy technicians and pharmacists are that pharmacists have more schooling, more scope of knowledge, different duties, responsibilities, and…

    • 696 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There are many organizations that physician assistants can join to connect with other physician assistants and keep up with current issues taking place in the profession. The American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) is a national professional organization for physician assistants that practice in the United States.1 The AAPA represents 108,500 certified physician assistants throughout the country.2 For members, tools and resources are provided to further improve the quality and accessibility of health care. This organization holds annual conferences across the country for physician assistants (this year the annual conference will be held in Las Vegas, Nevada).3 I believe it would be beneficial for me to join this organization when I am practicing as a physician assistant because I will be able to connect with many physician assistants from across the country as well as learn about issues in my field and how to improve the quality of care given. AAPA uses email to convey information on…

    • 473 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In order for Pa to become a Pharmacy tech, she needed to be certified. In order to be certified, she had to take a class which can be a semester or depending on where you take the class. After she had taken the class she took the state certification and pass in order to be a Certified Pharmacy Technician. The highest entry level education you may need is a High School diploma to be available to work as a Pharmacy technician and has to go through 600 hours of instruction and 200 hours of externship over a 10-month period. You can also have an Associate's degree which will take you one or two years and be certified as a Pharmacy technician. We also discussed the requirements of skills you needed to become a Pharmacy technician. One strong skill is having strong attention to detail, since majority of their daily tasks is measuring, dosing, and dispensing prescription medication to patients. They also must have good written and verbal communication skills to communicate effectively with the pharmacists they work with or the patient, medical professionals when they come into contact. Pharmacists are required to continue to educate themselves on drug information and the changes being made in society. The basic Prerequisite is being licensed and certified through the board of pharmacy. As long as you finish a course focused on pharmacy techs then you can get…

    • 695 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    While the main task is to dispense medications, there is a lot that goes on behind the scenes that I had never thought about. There are so many resources and work that goes into managing a patient’s entire medication list that rarely gets thought of. I admire the memory that many of the workers have. While I am sure it would come with time, it amazed me how many of the techs and pharmacists knew all the patients by name and could answer a lot of questions about them without having to ask the patient. It seemed they knew just about everyone’s life story.…

    • 1166 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Being A Pharmacist Essay

    • 1001 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The main job of a community pharmacist is to dispense prescription medicine. They typically work in a retail setting. They thrive to make sure that the patients in the community get the prescription medications that are needed. They also provide knowledge about the medications being dispensed, as well as information on over the counter medications. Not only do they distribute medication, they also ensure that the medication being prescribed is a normal dose. If the dose looks abnormal they will go into further investigation, and if need be they will contact the doctor. There is a high demand for community pharmacists. Individuals rely on the knowledge of their local pharmacists. Community pharmacists are able to educate individuals on the side effects, interactions, purpose, and how to properly take their medications. In my opinion, people are starting to realize the importance of their pharmacists and how their role is to solely help their…

    • 1001 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    a. Like many allied health professionals, pharmacy technicians evolved over time, from an informal position in a corner pharmacy to a specialized training certification. This change became more evident when pharmacist began handling various prescription drugs and became more involved in helping patients.…

    • 700 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Brief Description The independent community pharmacy owner is a hybridized role that emphasizes pharmacist management skills in a community setting. The individual is responsible for both providing care to the community and for maintaining the stability of the business itself. It is necessary for the owner to be capable of leading a team, often less than 10 persons but can increase with store growth, and have accounting skills. The owner, generally, has a large sum of money invested in the pharmacy and as such their financial stability is intertwined to the success of the nuclear pharmacy. A typical day may include tasks such as handling radioactive substance, handling conflicts between staff members, filling nuclear prescriptions, ensuring the proper handling of radiopharmaceuticals, and communicating the proper radiopharmaceutical-related information to others. The biggest challenged for persons considering a career in this area are the time and money that must be invested to initially start a nuclear pharmacy. Equipment used in a nuclear pharmacy tends to be more expensive. Tungsten shields and leaded glass shielding are some of the more expensive items found in a nuclear pharmacy. About three quarters of a million dollars needs to be invested in inventory, and for a new graduate, that is a large sum of money. Nuclear pharmacy owners spend a great amount of their time in work-related activities, and 80 hour work weeks are not uncommon. The stress level that comes with the added responsibility of running the business can be taxing. It may take many years before the pharmacy is profitable, and it is entirely possible the store will never become profitable. One must consider all of these possibilities before deciding upon a career as an…

    • 1008 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Today I was doing my usually task as a technician student. I package and repackage bottle of medicines, draw oral syringes, pull out medications that going into the Pyxis, took out papers from the printer, and put tubes back on the shelve after it have been delivered. The pharmacy was busy for couple of hours then it stop and pharmacy technicians and I just stand, sat, walking around the pharmacy and wait for more work to do. My total hour now is ninety-two.…

    • 83 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays