If you’re seeking employment in the fast-paced world of healthcare, becoming a pharmacy technician is a great place to start. As a pharmacy technician, you’ll have the opportunity to work in a retail or institutional pharmacy where you might positively impact the lives of patients. A pharmacy technician program will help you to develop professional and ethical standards, technical skills, and knowledge to meet medication needs in compliance with regulatory and employer standards as well as demonstrate regard for patient confidentiality.
There is a continuous demand for health care workers, including professional and nationally certified pharmacy technicians. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that employment will grow faster than the average for all occupations in response to the rising senior population, shortage of registered pharmacists, and development of new drugs. As a technician, you’ll be an important asset in the pharmacy as you assist the pharmacist with the receipt and preparation of prescriptions, inventory control, records, customer service, and other administrative functions. Success depends on your ability to promptly and accurately fill prescriptions, maintain the pharmacy inventory, and demonstrate genuine compassion and respect for patients.
The Ohio State Board of Pharmacy requires pharmacy technician students to register as a Pharmacy Technician Trainee before participating in the pharmacy externship component of the pharmacy technician program. A criminal background check and drug screen are required for registration. After completing the theory and practical requirements, graduates will have the confidence to take a national certification exam and assume their assigned duties in a retail, institutional, or home-infusion pharmacy.
Delaware Area Career Center
The comprehensive pharmacy technician program at Delaware Area Career Center prepares students for entry-level employment in a retail or institutional pharmacy. Graduates receive a Pharmacy Technician Certificate that will prepare them for success on the national certification exam to become a Certified Pharmacy Technician. The training will include classroom lectures, lab practice, and an externship. The program is part of the DACC One to One Experience, giving students the ability to conveniently share files with teachers and classmates, assigned logins to the mydac.org domain, and round the clock access to their documents. A Chromebook fee will be included in the lab fee. Course topics include pharmacology, billing and insurance, customer service, receiving and dispensing prescriptions, inventory management, dosage calculations, compounding, IV flow rates, pharmacy terminology, the top 200 drugs, retail pharmacy operation, updating patient profiles, mixing, pouring, weighing medications, and packaging and labeling.
Admission criteria:
- Attend a program orientation
- Submit to a background check – to participate in the pharmacy externship
The program fee is $410 and includes the course workbook, OSHA 10-hour General Industry, First Aid, CPR, AED Training, HIPAA, Fraud Waste and Abuse Certificate, and Youth Club Dues. The Chromebook cost will not exceed $200. Additional costs include uniforms, BCI and FBI background check, Pharmacy Technician Trainee Registration, index cards, and 3-ring binder.
- Website: https://www.delawareareacc.org/high-school/students/programs-of-study/south-campus/pharmacy-technician
- Address: 4565 Columbus Pike, Delaware, OH 43015
- Phone: (740) 201-3225
Columbus State Community College
The Pharmacy Technician Program at Columbus State prepares students for employment in just two semesters. The curriculum covers basic pharmacy concepts such as reading and interpreting prescriptions, medical abbreviations, pharmacy terminology, non-sterile and sterile compounding, dosage forms and routes of administration, packaging and labeling, billing and insurance, inventory control, and drugs and their effects. The training will include intensive preparation for national certification. Graduates will have the competencies to work in hospitals, retail pharmacies, nursing homes, outpatient facilities, and assisted living facilities. The ASHP accredited curriculum includes classroom theory, simulated labs, and experiential training in a retail and institutional pharmacy. The externship covers at least 130 hours of hands-on activities in real-world pharmacies. Clinical affiliates include Walgreens Pharmacy, OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Ohio State University, and Thompson’s Neighborhood Pharmacy. Students must complete the academic coursework with a grade C or higher to participate in the pharmacy externship. The program typically covers a period of 26 to 32 weeks for full-time students. New students are admitted in the Fall and Spring semesters only.
Admission criteria:
- Read through the Information Session PowerPoint and take the Pharmacy Technician Information Quiz
- Place into ENG 1100
- Have a high school or vocational school GPA of 2.0 or higher
- Place into MATH 1025
- Have a high school diploma or GED
- Secure admission to Columbus State Community College and declare program of study as “Pharmacy Technician”
- Submit a completed Pharmacy Technician Application
- Submit to an FBI/BCI background check
- Obtain a satisfactory drug screen – the cost is $35
- Complete the current Health Record Requirements – TB skin test and immunization records
- Register as a Pharmacy Technician Training with the Ohio State Board of Pharmacy
Tuition for the program is $1,359. Books and supplies will cost an additional $515.
- Website: https://www.cscc.edu/academics/departments/pharmacy-technician/
- Address: 5100 Cornerstone Dr., Delaware, OH 43015
- Phone: (740) 203-8345
- Email: delaware@cscc.edu
Eastland-Fairfield Career Center
The pharmacy technician program at Eastland-Fairfield Career Center teaches basic pharmacy concepts to prepare students for work in various pharmacy settings. Course topics include pharmacology, medical terminology, pharmacy law, drugs and their effects, professionalism, communication, reading and interpreting prescriptions, billing and insurance, drug packaging and labeling, aseptic techniques, non-sterile compounding, medication errors, dispensing medications, and inventory control. The training will include hands-on experiences in a real-world pharmacy to prepare for the Certified Pharmacy Technician exam.
Admission criteria:
- Have a high school diploma or GED
- Submit a completed Pharmacy Technician Application
- Submit to an FBI/BCI background check
- Obtain a satisfactory drug screen
- Complete the Health Requirements – TB skin test and immunization records
- Register as a Pharmacy Technician Training with the Ohio State Board of Pharmacy
There is no cost for residents of the associate school districts.
- Website: http://www.eastlandfairfield.com/Pharmacy.aspx
- Address: 4300 Amalgamated Place, Groveport, OH 43125
- Phone: 614-836-4530
- Fax: 614-836-0203