Pharmacy Technician Certificate

Our Pharmacy technician certificate program will equip students with the essential knowledge and skills required for effective pharmacy practice. This is an online asynchronous learning course and will cover:

• Legal and Ethical Standards: Understanding and adhering to the legal and ethical guidelines governing pharmacy practice.
   
• Medication Knowledge: Gaining proficiency in the use and side effects of both prescription and over-the-counter medications for common health conditions.
   
• Prescription Processing: Developing the ability to accurately interpret and process prescription orders.
   
• Business Operations: Learning the fundamentals of pharmacy business operations, including billing, reimbursement, inventory management, and information systems.
   
• Compounding Skills: Demonstrating proper techniques in preparing both sterile and non-sterile compounded medications.
   
• Communication: Effectively communicating with patients and other healthcare professionals to ensure optimal patient care.
   

For instance, Kirkwood Community College's Pharmacy Technician program outlines these learning outcomes to prepare students for roles in various pharmacy settings. citeturn0search5

Similarly, the University of Iowa Health Care's Pharmacy Technician Training Program emphasizes knowledge in medication dispensing, compounding, and pharmacy law, among other areas. citeturn0search2

These programs are designed to prepare students for certification exams, such as the Pharmacy Technician Certification Exam (PTCE), and to ensure they are well-equipped to support pharmacists in delivering safe and effective patient care.

Certification is a voluntary process by which a non-governmental body grants time-limited recognition and use of a credential to individuals who have demonstrated that they have met predetermined and standardized criteria for required knowledge, skills, or competencies. To retain the credential, certificants must meet requirements for renewal. The credential awarded by the certifying organization denotes that the participant possesses particular knowledge, skills, or competencies.

An Assessment-Based Certificate Program is a non-degree granting program that provides education/training to participants to aid them in acquiring specific knowledge, skills, and/or competencies associated with intended learning outcomes, evaluates participants’ accomplishment of the intended learning outcomes, and awards a certificate only to those participants who meet the performance, proficiency, or passing standard for the assessment.

Iowa allows for persons who have completed a certificate program to work for 500 hours and then sit for the certification exam. Pharmacy Technicians are earning greater than $21/hr in the Des Moines area and are working in clean, team-based work environments!