Millions of Americans depend on prescribed medications to eliminate and manage diseases, injuries, and illnesses. To receive their medications, these people typically are assisted by a pharmacy technician. People who work pharmacy technician jobs help licensed pharmacists with a number of tasks including filling customer prescriptions, processing insurance claims, and updating patient records.
Is A Pharmacy Technician The Right Career Option For Me?
A desire to help others is just one quality that is needed to succeed at pharmacy tech jobs. Additional qualities that a great pharmacy technician possesses include:
1. Organizational Skills
At a busy pharmacy or medical facility, a pharmacy technician might process several customer orders an hour. Strong organizational skills can help the technicians to complete assignments on time and accurately while supporting busy pharmacists.
2. Customer Service
Customer service is a large part of pharmacy tech jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Contact with customers could occur face-to-face in a retail setting or over the telephone. Politeness, patience, and a willingness to help others, even in a busy work environment, are hallmarks of great pharmacy techs.
3. Communication
Strong oral communication skills are needed for a pharmacy technician to communicate effectively with customers, insurance company representatives, pharmacists, and other professionals. These strong oral or verbal communication skills should be accompanied by active listening skills. For example, technicians may only have a few minutes to speak with physicians and address questions that customers have about certain medications.
4. Math Abilities
A reason why pharmacy technician training focuses on processes that use math abilities is because in addition to interacting with the public, a pharmacy technician measures prescribed medications and conducts inventory management. By managing inventory, a pharmacy tech can let pharmacists know when supplies are running low.
5. Attention to Detail
Attention to detail can help a pharmacy technician to ensure that he or she gets all required information from customers and healthcare and insurance representatives to fill orders. This way, techs and pharmacists will not have to reach out to customers or insurance companies for missing or updated information. Cleaning and maintaining equipment like automated dispensers are other times when attention to detail pays off.
6. Research Skills
Times when a pharmacy technician uses research skills include searching for patient history in computer systems and confirming when payments were received. Research skills and job knowledge can also help techs process prescriptions according to current regulatory requirements.
7. Time Management
Hospitals, nursing homes, private physician offices, and individual customers may need orders processed quickly. Time management skills, particularly when combined with organizational skills and attention to detail, could make it easier for people working pharmacy tech jobs to fill orders accurately and in a brief amount of time, shortening customer wait periods.
Dorsey Schools Pharmacy Technician program
Instructors for our Pharmacy Technician program at Dorsey Schools are ready to connect with you and answer your questions. Dorsey Schools’ pharmacy technician training program prepares adults to work at the front of pharmacies under the supervision of licensed pharmacists.
Contact us to learn more about our pharmacy technician diploma program. During the program, students can learn about important processes and procedures such as billing, measuring and dispensing medications, medical terminology, and working in ambulatory pharmacy.
Skilled and experienced instructors at our Dorsey Schools campuses provide training in specific areas such as pharmacology, conversion measurements, pharmacy operations, and pharmacy law and ethics. Contact us today to speak with one of our experienced admissions representatives.
Let us support your pharmacy technician training goals. Call us at 1-888-422-1188 or request info online today to learn how our team can help provide you with important pharmacy technician training, knowledge and skills.
Pharmacy Technician FAQs
Want to learn more about…
- What Pharmacy Technicians Do
- Becoming a Pharmacy Technician
- The Dorsey Schools Pharmacy Technician Program
Pharmacy Technician Program – Gainful Employment Disclosures
For more information about our graduation rates, the median debt of students who have completed the program, and other important information, please visit www.dorsey.edu/disclosures.
Sources:
- https://www.dorsey.edu/pharmacy-technician/
- http://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/pharmacy-technicians.htm#tab-4
- https://www.onetcodeconnector.org/ccreport/29-2052.00
