Pharmacy technicians, sometimes called pharmacy assistants or aides, are
professionals who work with pharmacists to ensure patients and consumers have
their drug prescription needs met as safely and as quickly as possible.
"The patient always comes first," says pharmacy technician Andrew Cordiale.
"We must have the necessary drugs available at all times."
Pharmacy technicians work in general hospitals, specialized care hospitals,
long-term care facilities and retail pharmacies.
People who work in this field are responsible for a wide range of duties.
Their level of responsibility is close to that of a pharmacist. But it's the
pharmacist who has the last word on the prescriptions that go out.
"New responsibilities have been added to the pharmacist's plate lately,"
says Ruth Tucker, pharmacy technician. "With the exception of counseling patients,
pharmacy technicians do almost all the tasks a pharmacist used to do."
Pharmacy technicians may be responsible for receiving and interpreting
prescriptions. They are the ones who take a customer's prescription and enter
it into the computer. The computer will then check for possible drug and food
interactions.
After they've ensured the prescription is safe for the patient to use,
the pharmacy technician will fill the order, either by measuring the correct
quantity of pre-manufactured medication (usually by counting out a predetermined
number of pills) or by mixing the medication (concocting a cough syrup, for
example).
The pharmacy technician's job may also involve paperwork, such as filling
out insurance forms for patients, doing inventory, ordering products and doing
accounting for the pharmaceuticals stocked in the pharmacy. And the job involves
constant learning.
"In addition to our day-to-day work, we also have to stay on top of new
medications, their generic names, categories, special precautions, indications
for use and regular dosing requirements," says Bob Silverman, a pharmacy technician
in Arizona.
The work a pharmacy technician does is crucial to patients' health. Mistakes,
such as an incorrect order or mixing of medications, can mean the difference
between life and death. So, people in this field do face some stress.
"A mistake on the job for me means putting someone's life in jeopardy,"
says Tucker. "That's constantly on my mind, every day, every minute I'm at
work."
The work schedule will depend on where a pharmacy technician is employed.
Hospital technicians can count on rotating shifts, day or night, seven days
a week. Retail pharmacies have more regular hours, but sometimes the stores
open weekends or evenings. A technician in this setting will have to do shift
work.
"The point is that being a pharmacy assistant is not a Monday-through-Friday
job," says Silverman.