What kinds of education, training, or certification are available or required for Pharmacy Technicians?
In the United States, there are no federal and few state requirements for formal education or training of pharmacy technicians. Informal, “on the job” training is still the most common training for pharmacy technicians. However, many employers can no longer afford to train technicians “on the job”, and are seeking formally educated pharmacy technicians. Formalized pharmacy technician training was first offered by the armed forces, but is now also offered by some hospitals, proprietary schools, vocational/technical colleges, and community colleges. Most formal pharmacy technician education programs include classroom and laboratory work in: medical and pharmaceutical terminology, pharmaceutical calculations, pharmacy recordkeeping, pharmaceutical techniques, and pharmacy law and ethics. Pharmacy technicians must also learn medication names, actions, doses and uses. Most formal training programs include clerkships or internships where students receive hands on training in actual pharmacy
