The job opportunities for pharmacy technicians are extensive due to their important role in the medical community. Assisting the pharmacist, the technician makes sure that the prescription bottles are filled in properly for the improvement of the patients health.
Job Positions
In the year 2014, there were roughly 372,500 pharmacy technicians working on the job. Their employers may vary but for the most part, youll find pharmacy technician jobs in pharmacies and drug stores. Hospitals, both private and public also employ numerous pharmacy technicians to help with proper dispensation of medicine.
A small portion of these technicians are employed in general merchandise stores, department stores, and grocery stores.
Note that pharmacy technicians work under the advisement of a pharmacist. Hence, theres usually a pharmacist in the area while there are several technicians that form part of a team.
Time of Work
Many pharmacy technicians are employed full time for the necessary 8 hours of work. However, due to the crucial nature of medicine, some of these technicians may be asked to work in shifts so that someone will always be ready to dispense medicine within a 24 hour period. This is especially true for pharmacy technicians in hospitals, or those that are employed in pharmacies.
Responsibilities of a Pharmacy Technician
The job of a pharmacy technician requires attention to detail and the ability to stay up to date when it comes to medication. Ideally, technicians should also have a good idea of what medications are used to treat certain diseases or health issues. Due to the hundreds of medications on the market today, pharmacy technicians should be able to differentiate one from the other so that they can quickly determine the prescriptions sent out by the doctor.
Some of the duties of a technician include, but are not limited to, the following:
* Making an inventory of the medications in storage
* Filling in and labeling medications and prescriptions for patients
* Collect patient information to fill in prescriptions, and for future reference
* Accepting payment for medications, and even processing claims against insurance companies when buying certain drugs
* Consulting with physicians regarding medications
Pharmacist technicians should stay updated about new medications in the market to help them better fulfill their jobs. More often than not, new inventories are added to the pharmacy every year and the technician must know exactly what these drugs are, and for what they are being used.
Job Outlook for Pharmacy Technicians
As the medical community needs growing help for the ballooning number of patients, the job outlook for pharmacy technicians looks very promising. According to statistics, the demand will grow by 9 percent per year starting from 2014, up until 2024. Hence, around 2024, there would be 407,200 jobs needing to be filled by technicians.
The job of the pharmacist is also changing as it now involves more direct patient care, instead of simply dispensing medications. The pharmacist technician may soon be filling in this role. Of course, the expected increase may also give rise to more stringent regulations for pharmacy technician qualifications. As of now, technicians must pass a licensing exam to practice in some states.
