How to Choose a Pharmacology Program

Some states will not require formal training in order to work as a pharmacy technician, however, by completing a training program you’ll have more experience in the field as opposed to new employees that require on the job training and you’ll therefore be more valuable to potential employers who will save money that will otherwise be used for training programs.

Some pharmacy technician schools will offer information sessions for potential students in order for the applicant to determine if a technician program is right for them before they commit to enrolling in a program.  The sessions will cover such topics as cost versus benefits, overall job duties, course curriculum and pharmacy technician certification options and responsibilities. Often admissions tests can be administered by the school during one of these sessions or it can be required before a student enrolls in order to evaluate a student for acceptance into the program.

Many of these schools will offer programs that will include internships that can help to prepare a student for immediate employment once they have completed the required courses. Through affiliations with local pharmacies a student is able to gain experience in the field by performing such duties as inventory control, recordkeeping, medication counting and physician order transcription. Every school will differ in this area as some will offer more lab time as opposed to more time spent in the field.

Pharmacy Technician Courses for Degree and Certificate Programs

Applicants for pharmacy tech programs will need to be 18 years of age and have their high school diploma or state equivalent. Students will need to complete an admissions application and provide school transcripts for the admissions department to review.

Training for this program can be found through degree or certificate programs, both of which will include field and classroom training. The associate’s degree program covers traditional courses which will include classes in social and behavioral science, mathematics, natural science and general elective classes. Students can also expect courses in anatomy, medication absorption, medical terminology, medical laws and ethics and medication dosage effects.

Certificate programs that are available for this field can be completed in one to two years and will also include an internship in a professional pharmacy setting and courses in drug interactions, medication absorption, anatomy, pharmacology laws and ethics and patient documentation.

After completion of either program the student will need to take certification exams through an accredited organization such as the PTCB, in order to obtain their licensure for this profession. To qualify for recertification the technician will need to earn twenty hours of continuing education every two years for license renewal.

As a professional, the technician can work in a number of environments such as retail pharmacies, dental offices, scientific research and development labs, private or public hospitals and medical clinics.

How to Find the Right Pharmacy Program Based on Specialty

The education program for the pharmacist will consist of four years after the student has completed a two year undergraduate studies program. After graduating from the program, the student will be required to take the pharmacist certification exam in order for the pharmacist to legally find employment in this field.

In pharmacology school many students will choose to have a specialty in a subdivision of pharmacology, such as healthcare administration, pharmaceutical administration, pharmaceutics or medicinal chemistry. Not every school will include all specializations so the student will need to ensure the school of their choice will include programs in their career path of interest.

An in-depth look at Pharmacology Programs: Courses and Internships

During the four year pharmacology program the student will be participating in several residencies during their final year of education.  This can require the student to travel in order to find a suitable place to work their residency. A student who does not wish to commute will need to find a school that has affiliations with local private or public hospitals, medical centers or retail pharmacies. The type of residency the student will participate in will also depend on their area of specialty and can include working in cardiology departments and infectious disease and critical care units.

The programs pharmacology courses will examine the effects prescribed medications will have on different systems in the body. A student will learn about the effects on the endocrine, central nervous and cardiovascular systems in addition to how medications are used to treat diseases such as cancer.

The pharmacist ethics course will teach students about ethics and laws that govern the profession. Students can expect to learn about the different drug agencies such as the drug enforcement administration, the federal drug administration and state pharmacy boards. Students will also learn how they can comply with the standards that are set forth by these different agencies.

The pharmacist and healthcare course will allow students to explore the roles of pharmacists in the health care industry. The class will also cover the relationships between patients and the pharmacist as they relate to insurance

During the pharmacist internship course students will be allowed to gain hands on experience through summer internships, or full year internships, depending on each individual school.

The biological statistics course teaches students the difference between dangerous and effective doses of medication and how to understand statistics and their relation to medications.  The course will also cover mathematical computations that are needed in order to serve patients appropriately and advanced techniques used such as hypothesis testing, regression testing and variance analysis.