How Long Does It Take To Become A Pharmacist Technician?

For a layman, a pharmacy is a place where the medicines are dispensed as prescribed by the physician. But a pharmacy has its own levels of responsibilities to be carried out in order to function well. The job profiles include pharmacists, pharmacy assistants, and a pharmacy technician who works for the pharmacist. 

A pharmacy technician is one who is responsible for handling the technical work to handle operations such as recording data, maintaining records, management of inventory, sales, demands, stocks, payment information, insurance claims, attending calls, and various other roles. 

To become a Pharmacist, there are no technical education requirements but requires you to get trained at specific pharmacy tech programs. To pursue a flexible and rewarding career, you must meet the training requirements and before that understanding the outcomes is important. 

In this process, you seek to learn about how long it takes to become a pharmacist to become qualified and to gain the necessary skills. 

How long does it take to become a Pharmacist Technician?

As mentioned earlier, there are necessary qualifications, however, you will require a high school diploma or an associate’s degree or get a certification. You may take about 2 to 3 years to meet these requirements for a pharmacy technician’s job.

• A GED is a high school program that typically lasts for about 15 weeks to 2 years long. It mainly concentrates on the necessary prerequisites to get trained and become qualified.

• The associate’s degree takes about 2 years which offers 60 credits to complete the coursework related to pharmacy. Also completing a program accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE)  gives you better authority among the applicants in getting hired. Some programs also offer internship opportunities which is an added advantage in gaining experience. 

• Gaining experience is a must to get hired for this profession. You could gain experience through internships, on-the-job training programs, part-time jobs, work, and others. It is necessary to gain eligibility for a certification program. 

• Certification for pharmacy technicians can take about a year to complete which are conducted by the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) and the National Healthcareer Association (NHA). Also, the requirements to get certified is to be aged 18 years or above, complete a formal training program or a minimum of 1 year of work experience. 

Conclusion

Planning your career well after deciding on entering this profession will help you figure out the odds and choose the right option that aligns with your goals. The time and financial investments to become a pharmacy technician is lesser and don’t take long unless you are dedicated to becoming qualified. Choosing the right program and certification saves time and leads you to success sooner.