PTCB requires applicants for PTCB Credentials, including CPhT, CSPT, and specified Assessment-Based Certificate Programs, to complete a PTCB-Recognized Education/Training Program for their chosen credential, except when they select another pathway to eligibility.
Education/training programs that are ASHP/ACPE and/or ABHES-accredited, and other programs that submit an attestation form for PTCB recognition, are accepted as PTCB-recognized for the CPhT Program.
If you have thought of becoming a pharmacy technician then you probably like math. Did you know that a Pharmacy Technician must use their math skills to calculate medication dosages and prepare both solutions, suspensions and elixirs?
Were you one of those people who loved their high school chemistry and biology? Then yes, you will make a great pharmacy technician. What you need to do is research your career choice and understand what core knowledge you need before embarking on a new career.
Of course, the program will teach you what you need to know, but you need to ask yourself if this is a program that will hold your interest.
Do you know what a pharmacy technician does all day? Well for one, they deal with people all day, fill prescriptions, check on prescriptions, talk to physicians, interact with insurance companies over the phone and mix, count, and prepare medications based upon what the pharmacist tells them.
This is a job where you are on your feet all day. Like any job, it can be challenging, fun and has its ups and downs. But you need to be confident in your math skills. That is why there is a board licensing exam for pharmacy technicians. The PTCB exams don’t leave any stone unturned with regards to math calculations. Bottom line, you need to know your math and memorize medications.
You may be asking yourself right now just how many medications you have to remember. On the low side it is probably around 160.
Keep in mind though, this is not just memorizing the medications, but their generic counterpart names, dosages, reactions, what they are prescribed to treat and any notable side effects.
We are not telling you all this to scare you but instead to make you aware of what will be expected of you when you take your Pharmacy Technician Board Exams.
You will want to go to a school that has a program which will teach you all of the above mentioned skills.
Phlebotomy Career Training has an online pharmacy technician course that is $500. Students have up to six months to complete the course. The PTCB is also included in the course fee. Are you ready for Pharmacy technician School? Learn more here.