You see the news reports every day. You see the numerous infomercials on the exciting and rewarding career as a pharmacy technician. This career choice is in high demand. If you want to become a great pharmacy tech where employers are knocking down your door, you need to follow these steps to achieve the much needed success you desire and deserve.
We live in an era where litigation cases have doubled. If you want to protect yourself, you must educate yourself and stay current on every aspect of your career field. Becoming a pharmacy tech has many benefits, but it also comes with a boat load of responsibility. Over the years, I have seen many organizations formed to protect the consumers and patients from the careless behavior of many health care workers. In order to protect you and get the much needed credibility that you deserve, many states are requiring that an exam is passed to work behind the counter of a pharmacy.
If you want to go from good to great, the first step is to get formal training that offers hands on learning experiences and provides you with all the information needed to pass the pharmacy technician certification exam. Passing the pharmacy technician certification exam places you in an elite group of individuals. You may now practice in states that previously wouldn’t even allow you to apply. This exam goes in depth about many areas of pharmacy. Passing the exam lets employers know that you are competent and you take the profession serious. There are many areas of pharmacy that you may venture into, but the actual exam covers topics from every area possible. Whether you are going to practice in a retail setting or practice in an institutional setting, the exam will cover topics in both areas.
Passing an exam gives you the mental knowledge, but getting hands on training puts you in the line of fire. You get to “get your hands dirty” so to speak. When making your decision, only consider schools that are accredited. So you have your certification out the way, you took your formal training at an accredited school for pharmacy, now for the final piece of the puzzle.
The final piece of the puzzle is staying up to date on your CE requirements. CE requirements or also known as continuing education credits are credits that Certified Pharmacy Technicians must complete in a timely manner in order to stay in good standing or remain Certified. These CE credits can take the form of online quizzes given by accredited organizations, or it can even be lectures and seminars that are given all across the country. Although these requirements can be completed in a short amount of time, they are normally packed with enormous amounts of information that will be beneficial to the pharmacy tech.
So there you have it. Some basic steps to take that can have a huge impact on your career as a pharmacy technician. Don’t be your average pharmacy technician. Go above and beyond on what the everyday pharmacy technician does to get a paycheck. Stand out from the crowd and be different. Take the simple steps to advance your career. Doing this will allow you to reap huge rewards in the near future.