Pharmacies: Retail moneymaker makes for job stability

A pharmacy technician works closely with the pharmacist in various settings. There is a growing trend in the retail pharmacy industry. Pharmacies are no longer just located in drug stores. Now, you can find them in chain grocery stores such as Safeway and Wal-Mart. Under the supervision of the pharmacist, you will perform almost every function in the pharmacy including clerical, tasks, measure liquids and count tablets, provide customer service to the client by receiving and verifying prescriptions, processing insurance forms, stock inventory of prescriptions and over-the-counter drugs, prepare labels and containers, and sometimes mix medications. It is essential to have excellent organizational and administrative skills, because you are required to do a great deal of data entry, filing, and pulling prescriptions, which requires absolute accuracy.

You have a great deal of responsibility as a pharmacy technician because mistakes could lead to potential injury to the patient should the drug be incorrectly administered. A pharmacist must review all prescriptions that go to a patient, but because of the sheer volume of medications that are administered, there will typically be two to three pharmacy technicians for every pharmacist.
Although, some stores will accept individuals with on the job training, because of the increased demands of the job, growing numbers of stores are requiring certification. Specialized training will include learning about HIPA rules, several hundred different types of medications, as well as processing insurance claims.

Individuals that work in a pharmacy are respected for their knowledge and the public is dependent upon you to know a great deal about working with both prescriptions and over the counter drugs and healthcare products. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, job prospects as a pharmacy technician is expected to be very good especially for technicians with formal training. With the growing population of aging baby boomers, there will be a high demand for retail pharmacies, which will lead to a greater demand for pharmacy techs.