Pharmacy Tech

Pharmacy technicians assist and support licensed pharmacists in providing health care and medications to patients.  Pharmacy technicians must have a broad knowledge of pharmacy practice and be skilled in the techniques required to order, stock, package, compound, and otherwise prepare medications.  Pharmacy technicians are responsible for assisting the pharmacist, processing prescriptions, entering patient data into a computer and preparing some medications.

Program Objectives

• Demonstrate ethical conduct in health care. 
• Describe the role of the pharmacy technician in the medication use process. 
• Assist pharmacists in screening prescriptions/medication orders for accuracy and authenticity. 
• Prepare medications for dispensing. 
• Demonstrate basic understanding and skills in sterile and non-sterile compounding. 
• Discuss effective inventory control processes in hospital and community practice. 
• Describe the process of billing and reimbursement for prescription drugs in a variety of practice environments (e.g. community, hospital, specialty). 
• Maintain pharmacy equipment using appropriate procedures for cleaning and maintenance. 
• Describe proper disposal procedures of hazardous and non-hazardous materials. 
• Demonstrate ability to utilize technology and informatics related to the dispensing of medications. 
• Demonstrate knowledge of pharmacy law. Define basic medical terminology and apply to related pharmacy topics. 
• Describe body systems as they relate to medications on a basic level. 
• Perform pharmacy calculations with accuracy to ensure patient safety. 
• Describe the pharmacy technician’s role in medication safety. 
• Demonstrate proficiency in utilization of drug names, descriptions and classifications.

Curriculum Overview

The curriculum for the pharmacy technician program includes 6-months of courses. Upon completion of the program, the student is eligible to take the pharmacy technician certification exam.

Clinical Experiences

Students will participate in a minimum of 80 hours of simulated training occurring in the Simulation Center at San Manuel Gateway College. The clinical experiences will include a minimum of 160 hours of education and training. Practicm hours will take place at the SACHS clinic pharmacy located on the same campus as San Manuel Gateway College. Additional clinical experiences may occur at other local retail pharmacies.