As healthcare jobs go, working as a Pharmacy Technician offers you the chance to make a real impact in people’s lives on a daily basis. By becoming a Pharmacy Technician, you’ll get the opportunity to genuinely aid in a patient’s recovery and play a big part in assisting in the overall operation of a pharmacy.
At the core of any Pharmacy Technician’s job description is having a compassionate nature and the desire to want to help people. While it forms the backbone of any Pharmacy Technician skills checklist, there are additional attributes that further enhance this chosen career path.
Working on the frontline to help manage a patient’s road to recovery, some of the additional skills needed to be a Pharmacy Technician include;
- Attention to detail
- Customer service and communications skills
- Math and counting skills
- Computer skills
- Organization
- Problem-solving
At Dorsey College, we pride ourselves on educating and training tomorrow’s Pharmacy Technicians. So we’ve created our Top 6 Pharmacy Technician skills checklist that helps future Pharmacy Techs like yourself to excel in your newly chosen career path. Keep in mind, there are many skills needed to be a great Pharmacy Technician, but today, we’re highlighting these 6 important skills.
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#1. Attention to Detail and Accuracy
Possibly the greatest required attribute of all the skills needed to be a Pharmacy Technician is a focus on accuracy and attention to detail. These skills are essential when processing, combining, and reviewing patient prescription requirements and information.
Pharmacy Techs will have to learn and comply with federal and state laws in their care of duty to every patient. A constant awareness helps prevent errors such as incorrect labeling or other mistakes that may impact a patient’s medication. A Pharmacy Technicians’ attention to detail can also help identify potential issues.
#2. Exceptional Communication and Customer Service Skills
Pharmacy Technicians are consistently interacting with customers, which is at the core of their daily routine. Therefore, providing excellent customer service and possessing excellent communications skills are vital components of the skills needed to be a pharmacy technician.
These customer service skills can provide comfort to patients under stress from their symptoms by understanding an individual’s needs and medication issues. Other benefits include identifying possible drug abuse issues and spotting illegal prescriptions.
Pharmacy Techs regularly become the primary interface between many different parts of the healthcare system, as they frequently communicate with:
- Patients
- Doctors and Physicians
- Medical Suppliers
- Insurance companies
#3. Math and Counting Skills
As part of the job description, it’s important that candidates have a good understanding of math. Pharmacy Technician skills require this, as it is often needed when:
- Calculation of treatment dosages
- Reviewing and filling prescriptions
- Compounding medications
Because of the importance of accurate measurement of prescription requirements, mathematics is one of the most critical pharmacy technician skills needed.
#4. Excellent Computer Skills
On a day-to-day basis, Pharmacy Technicians will utilize a range of computer software to complete many of the required duties. Therefore, Pharmacy Tech skills must obtain a fitting level of computer literacy for tasks that involve:
- Drug and dose calculations
- Prescription and inventory ordering
- Documenting and updating patient records
- Customer billing
- Filing of online insurance claims
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#5. Outstanding Organizational Skills
For this role, it’s important for Pharmacy Technicians to be incredibly organized due to the varying responsibilities of the position. This ranks high on the Pharmacy Technician skills checklist as it helps to manage the multiple layers involved in the patient care process when communicating with;
- Patients
- Doctors, physicians, and nurses
- Laboratory operatives and consultants
- Insurance companies’ representatives
Organizational skills are also pivotal for tasks such as inventory management, helping to maintain pharmacy stock levels, and identifying and replacing out-of-date drugs.
#6. Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
Critical thinking is essential due to the fast-natured pace of a busy pharmacy to prevent potential errors. This involves ensuring each task is performed with the necessary care and attention required when managing patient needs, calculating prescriptions, or communicating with insurance companies.
Problem solving also ranks highly with pharmacy tech skills to help identify and correct mistakes, as well as resolve patient inquiries. Occasionally prescriptions may not be available, or an incorrect insurance or billing issue may arise, so as good problem solvers, Pharmacy Technicians are great at finding solutions.
Master the Required Skills Needed to Be A Pharmacy Technician at Dorsey College
Our Pharmacy Technician program at Dorsey College has been designed by healthcare industry experts. Our instructors are committed to teaching the necessary skills for Pharmacy Technician students to pursue their Pharmacy Technician Certification and a thriving career within the industry.
At Dorsey College, we help students combine our in-class learning curriculum with hands-on training, and an externship at the end of the program. This allows students to apply the skills learned in the classroom in a supervised, real-time pharmacy environment before taking a certification exam.
The externship also provides an excellent grounding to start a new exciting career in the healthcare industry.
Pharmacy Technicians work in a variety of workplaces, including;
- Private and hospital pharmacies
- Military facilities
- Higher Education and training institutions
- Long-term care and retirement homes
- Veterinarian pharmacies and practices
Start your new career off on a solid footing with training from Dorsey College, so you can start providing great day-to-day service and assistance that can improve so many people’s lives for the better. Our industry-expert teacher can guide and train you to ensure you get the most out of this exciting new profession.
Enroll at Dorsey College’s Pharmacy Technician Program Today!
