Pharmacy Technician Job Description

Owing to the surge of growth in the pharmaceutical industry in the recent years, making a career in pharmacy now presents hosts of career opportunities for pharmacy students. And the pharmacy industry has expanded by leaps and bounds leading to various elementary and higher designations in pharmacy shops and pharmaceutical companies. Pursuing a career as a pharmacy technician hence presents great opportunities for growth and development.

Job Description
Simply put, the job of a pharmacy technician includes activities like helping pharmacists fill prescriptions and count medications however, the job description is not restricted just to these activities. The activities also involve job duties that beyond counting medicines. In variety of set ups, pharmacy technicians assume different sets of responsibilities which form an integral part of their job. Providing assistance to senior pharmacists in daily work activities is an integral part of the pharmacy technician's job description. Here are the various duties.

• Help the patients who visit the chemist stores, pharmacy shops pick up or drop subscription orders.
• Entering detailed information about the patient prescription's into the computers.
• Maintain regular medical records of patient's health and insurance information into the computer. Produce it whenever required for use of investigation matters.
• Work under a registered pharmacist and be aware about the local, state and federal laws.
• Placing orders on the desks, presenting patients and customers with the required medicines.
• Handle telephone calls for pharmacists and take orders for medicines from customers through telephone calls.
• Assist the pharmacists in managing the work and handling customers.
• Keep themselves updated about latest pharmaceutical changes in firms and companies.
• Preparing bulk medicines offers for firms and companies.
• Advise patients about health related issues and about proper method of intake of medicines.
• Package required medication as per requested by the pharmacy technicians.

The job description of a pharmacy technician also depends on the type of health care one is employed with. For example, pharmacy technicians working in nursing home and hospitals have various other responsibilities besides the normal duties of a pharmacy technicians jobs. They have to often assist patients in minor sicknesses and suggest them medicines, although this requires some seniority and work experience. Another facet of their job is that they have to maintain the stock of medicines and preserve them safely. They have to be aware of the supply and demand of medicines. Before the stock gets over, pharmacy technicians have to ensure that the hospital unit is able to meet the daily requirements of the medicines.

Educational Requirements
Educational requirements for pharmacy technicians are very few. Generally, pharmacy technicians degree are available at associate's level and there are various pharmacy schools that offer these degrees. There are various levels of education in this field and that can invariably effect the growth of a pharmacy technician. For instance, pharmacy technician certificates usually require less than a year and they impart basic skills in this field. On the other hand, pharmacy technician diploma programs and pharmacy technician associate's degrees take a year to complete. During these study years, the pharmacy technicians are given training and practice of the work they are entitled to do during the job.

Salary
The earning potential of a pharmacy technician has been mentioned below.

Pharmacy Technician Salary
Years of Work Experience	Salary (in US$ approx.) per year
Less than 1 year	20,000 to 30,000
1 - 4 years	20,000 to 35,000
5 - 9 years	23,000 to 40,000
10 - 19 years	25,000 to 45,000
20 years +	Above 45,000

The career development path for pharmacy technicians is bright and with increasing work experience in this field, one can move on to handle larger duties in this field. The pharmacy technician job description as mentioned in this article, includes all these mentioned responsibilities and they require good communication skills and knowledge about the subject.