Pharmacy Technician
Certificate
Program Start Date: Fall, spring, summer terms
Minimum Program Length: 2 consecutive terms, day; clinical may involve evening or weekend hours.
Program Description
The Pharmacy Technician Program prepares graduates to perform essential functions in various areas of pharmacy practice including retail, hospital, long-term care, home-health care, physician office pharmacies and specialized areas of pharmacy. The program provides employers with a competent technician to assist the pharmacist within their scope of practice and to perform necessary unsupervised daily tasks including basic to extensive medication preparation, dosage calculations, compounding, IV admixture patient information maintenance, inventory and quality control.
Gainful Employment Disclosure information
This program falls under Gainful Employment Disclosure regulations, a
rule by the U.S. Education Department. Each program that falls under these regulations is required to report:
- Occupation, SOC code, and links to profile on O*NET
- Costs – tuition/fees and books/supplies
- On-time graduation (completion) rate for program.
- Job placement rate for students completing program
- Median
loan debt incurred by students as provided by ED (identified separately
as Title IV loan debt and private educational loan debt)
Practical Experience
Students in a pharmacy lab and in local pharmacies build proficiency in pharmacy processes and procedures such as procuring, manipulating, and preparing drugs for dispensing.
Professional Opportunities
Pharmacy technicians can obtain employment in retail, hospital, nursing homes, physicians' offices, home health pharmacies, as well as sales and technical support positions for drug manufacturers and software companies
Unique Aspects
The Pharmacy Technician Program is nationally accredited by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. Graduates are eligible to apply for state certification after completing 1,000 work hours and passing the Pharmacy Technician Certification Exam given by the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board.
Registration and Certification
Pharmacy Technician students are required to be registered with the SC Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation Board of Pharmacy prior to beginning clinical rotations. This involves completing a registration application and paying a $40 fee. The application includes the following two questions:
1) During the past five years, have you been treated for any condition, be it physical, mental, or emotional that could impair your ability to serve as a pharmacy technician?
2) During the past five years, have you been convicted of any criminal or civil charges (other than minor traffic ticket); is any legal action pending against you or are you currently on probation for any charges or legal action?
If the answer is yes to either of these questions, applicants are required to attach a full written explanation and the State Board of Pharmacy will review each situation s eparately to determine if applicants will be allowed in a clinical site.
The application for taking the national certification examination from the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board also states that the eligibility requirements to sit for the exam include the statement you must “have never been convicted of a felony”. Therefore students who have been convicted of a felony will not be eligible to take the national certification examination. Students who have been convicted of any criminal or civil charges (other than a minor traffic ticket), have any legal action pending against them, are currently on probation for any charges or legal action, or have been treated for any condition, be it physical, mental, or emotional that could impair their ability to serve as a pharmacy technician during the past five years may not be able to attend clinical rotations and could not complete the program.
EEDA Career Cluster
Health Sciences
Course Requirements for Pharmacy Technician
Prerequisites (followed by number of credit hours)
• One unit of high school biology or chemistry or equivalent
• AHS 104 Medical Vocabulary/Anatomy (3)
• MAT 101 Beginning Algebra (3)
A. General Education (followed by number of credit hours)
None
B. Major Courses (followed by number of credit hours)
PHM 101 Introduction to Pharmacy (3)
PHM 110 Pharmacy Practice (4)
PHM 112 Pharmacy Math (2)
PHM 113 Pharmacy Technician Math (3)
PHM 114 Therapeutic Agents I (3)
PHM 124 Therapeutic Agents II (3)
PHM 164 Pharmacy Technician Practicum II (4)
PHM 173 Pharmacy Technician Practicum III (3)
C. Electives and/or Other Additional Courses Required for Graduation
• No electives required for this program.
• Graduates of the program must be at least 18 years old.
Minimum semester credit hours required for graduation: 31