Pharmacy Technician Certificate Health Sciences Total Units: 23.0

Term Effective: Fall 1981

The requirements for this program of study are effective beginning the semester shown above. If you began working on this program before the effective semester, you may not be affected by the changes. Consult with the program contact person or the department chair to determine your eligibility to complete the program under previous requirements.

Term Inactive: Spring 2007

Description:

The Pharmacy Technician Career Certificate prepares students to be registered pharmacy technicians and for employment in a variety of pharmacy settings. Upon successful completion of the program, students will be awarded the Pharmacy Technician certificate and are qualified to apply to the California State Board of Pharmacy for registration as a pharmacy technician. Registration is a legal requirement for employment. Graduates of the certificate program are also encouraged to sit for the National Pharmacy Technician Certification Exam. While not currently a state requirement for employment, many employers provide increased compensation to pharmacy technicians once they become nationally certified.

For students interested in an Associate Degree, a Pharmacy Technician major is available.

Pharmacy technicians work under the supervision of licensed pharmacists to perform technical duties in the systematic operation of the pharmacy--providing health care services and medications to patients. Technicians may perform many of the same duties as pharmacists; however, all of a technician's work must be checked by a pharmacist before medicine can be dispensed to a patient.

Duties may include, but are not limited to: 1) compounding (measuring, weighing, and mixing) medicinal drugs; 2) preparing and labeling medicines; 3) filling bottles and capsules with the correct quantity of medicine; 4) issuing medicines to customers; 5) stocking and taking inventory of prescription and over the counter medications; 6) maintaining patients' medication profiles on computerized or written records or forms; 7) filling orders for unit doses and prepackaged pharmaceuticals; and 8) preparing insurance claim forms. Depending on the position, the technician may also manage third party billing, answer telephones, direct customers to items or to the pharmacist for medication consultation, receive written prescriptions, clean and sterilize dispensing bottles and instruments, answer questions regarding non-drug products, and operate a cash register. Since pharmacy technicians interact daily with co-workers, patients and health care professionals, good communication and interpersonal skills are essential.

A licensed pharmacy technician can find employment in retail pharmacies, hospital pharmacies, home health care pharmacies, nursing home pharmacies, clinic pharmacies, mail order prescription pharmacies, and with pharmaceutical companies. Employment opportunities for graduates of community college Pharmacy Technician programs are excellent. Changes in the California State Pharmacy Law requiring registration have created an increasing demand for trained pharmacy technicians.

Students interested in a suggested order for taking classes in this program, can view the recommended course sequence. Click here for more information about the program, or contact the Health Sciences Department.

Program Requirements:

The requirements for the Pharmacy Technician program are:

  • Complete 23.0 units from
    • Pharmacy Technician Requirements

Pharmacy Technician Requirements - complete 23.00 units
Complete any combination totaling at least 2.00 units from the following:
CourseDescriptionUnits

Course Prerequisites and Advisories:

Courses in a program of study may have prerequisites or advisories; that is, courses that must or should be completed before taking that course. Please check for prerequisites or advisories by clicking on the course numbers in the Program Requirements section.

It is important that students who are completing an Associate Degree and desire to transfer to a four-year institution meet with a counselor to plan their lower division coursework. While many majors at SRJC are intended to align with lower division major preparation required by California public universities, specific lower-division major requirements vary among individual campuses. See a counselor, visit the Transfer Center, and check Guides For Transfer in Specific Majors, and ASSIST to review transfer preparation guides for specific schools and majors.

Notes:

PHARM/CSKL 100 is the prerequisite course to PHARM 153.
All courses must be completed with a C or better.
PHARM 150 (delivered online) must be taken before students take other courses in the Pharmacy Tech program.
It is suggested that students take CSKLS 334- How to Take an Online Class, before enrolling for PHARM 150.

Contact
Information
Phone Email Website
(707) 527-4271
srjccertificate003251@santarosa.edu