Im interested in possibly doing an online course to get pharmacy technician certified. Do you have any recommendations on which online college to go through, and the pros and cons?
2007-12-10 17:19:57 · 3 answers · asked by Anonymous in Education & Reference ➔ Higher Education (University +)
I would also like to know an estimate as far as costs, and about how long the course will be.
Thanks
2007-12-10 17:20:34 · update #1
I would say to not waste your time. Many pharmacies like Wal-Greens, Rite-Aid, etc. will do on the job training. Additionally, pharmacy technicians, on average, only make about $9/hour, which is $3 less an hour than I make working at a coffee shop, which is sad for the medical field.
That said, if you chose to go that direction, make sure that the online courses you would be taking are from an accredited school. When classes are taken at technical/community colleges, it takes about 2 years to complete with pre-requistes that include Anatomy and Physiology, math, speech, and English.
2007-12-10 18:17:38 · answer #1 · answered by drunkenlovesong 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You will have to find your board of pharmacy for the state you are in. Then you will have to find a job that will train you. The you have to fill out a technician in training application. In doing this, you will have a certain amount of time to get experience before you will have to take the liscensing exam. Each state's fee are different. Most States have a website for their board of Pharmacy where you can get online applications. Also I have heard that some states will soon be changing this to where technicians must complete a program so that the training each technician will get will be standarized. If you want to be progressive about this I would suggest enrolling in a technician program to got to school, some are only about 9 months long, then trying to get a job and become liscensed. I hope this helps. Here is a link to the Nation Boards of Pharmacy Association. This should help you with finding your state board and finding out what their requirements are.
2007-12-11 07:41:30 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Perhaps the local community college has an online course (if even non-credit course). The county vo-tech school may offer such a course though not sure about online. Please stay away from those online, for-profit schools such as university of phoenix and strayer u and beware of penn foster which is said to have been under several different names and has numerous complaints lodged to the bbb (better business bureau). There is a website http://www.ripoffreport.com where former students of penn foster have posted their complaints and dismay with the school, just fyi. Former students of university of phoenix started this site: http://www.uopsucks.com
For general career info: http://www.bls.gov/oco and search 'pharmacy technician' or such.
2007-12-10 17:25:37 · answer #3 · answered by jannsody 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There is no need to take the classes. You don't need to take any classes to take the certification exam. It is very simple. All pharmacists care about is if you are certified or not. We don't care if you went to community college; it won't make you any more competitive. Starting salary for a certified retail tech in my market is about $10 per hour. Hospitals do pay more, but you will need experience and certification. They start closer to $14 per hour.
2007-12-11 01:12:16 · answer #4 · answered by Lea 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋