Pharmacy Technician

Overview and Key Facts

What Do They Do?

A pharmacy technician could...

Overview Listen to this section

Pharmacy technicians play a very important role at a pharmacy. Pharmacy technicians help pharmacists in many different ways. They make sure a pharmacy runs smoothly every day. They may have a role in customer service by taking personal information, answering questions, and taking payments. A technician can measure or mix drugs and package and label containers. They may also count all of the medications to let the pharmacists know if there are low stock items. Pharmacy technicians can work in a hospital to make sure all patients are given the medications they need.

Do You Have the Skills and Characteristics of a Pharmacy Technician?

1. Active Listening: ? Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
2. Reading Comprehension: ? Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
3. Speaking: ? Talking to others to convey information effectively.
4. Critical Thinking: ? Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
5. Service Orientation: ? Actively looking for ways to help people.

6. Social Perceptiveness: ? Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
7. Time Management: ? Managing one's own time and the time of others.
8. Monitoring: ? Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
9. Coordination: ? Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
10. Judgment and Decision Making: ? Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

Core Tasks

Think about if you'd like the typical tasks a Pharmacy Technician might do:

• Receive written prescription or refill requests and verify that information is complete and accurate.
• Answer telephones, responding to questions or requests.
• Prepack bulk medicines, fill bottles with prescribed medications, and type and affix labels.
• Maintain proper storage and security conditions for drugs.
• Assist customers by answering simple questions, locating items, or referring them to the pharmacist for medication information.
• Price and file prescriptions that have been filled.
• Establish or maintain patient profiles, including lists of medications taken by individual patients.
• Order, label, and count stock of medications, chemicals, or supplies and enter inventory data into computer.
• Receive and store incoming supplies, verify quantities against invoices, check for outdated medications in current inventory, and inform supervisors of stock needs and shortages.
• Mix pharmaceutical preparations, according to written prescriptions.
• Operate cash registers to accept payment from customers.
• Clean and help maintain equipment or work areas and sterilize glassware, according to prescribed methods.