Pharmacy Technicians
Prepare medications under the direction of a pharmacist. May measure, mix, count out, label, and record amounts and dosages of medications according to prescription orders.
Also Known As:
Accredited Pharmacy Technician
Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT)
Chemotherapy Pharmacy Technician (Chemo Pharmacy Technician)
Compounding Technician
OR Pharmacy Tech (Operating Room Pharmacy Tech)
RPhT (Registered Pharmacy Technician)
Job Outlook
Bright
New job opportunities are very likely in the future
Texas's
2034 Projected Employment
42,980
21% Change From 2024
United States
2034 Projected Employment
521,800
6% Change From 2024
Explore Pharmacy Technicians video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Deliver medications or pharmaceutical supplies to patients, nursing stations, or surgery.
- Compute charges for medication or equipment dispensed to hospital patients and enter data in computer.
- Clean and help maintain equipment or work areas and sterilize glassware, according to prescribed methods.
- Price stock and mark items for sale.
- Compute charges for medication or equipment dispensed to hospital patients and enter data in computer.
- Supply and monitor robotic machines that dispense medicine into containers and label the containers.
- Receive written prescription or refill requests and verify that information is complete and accurate.
- Receive written prescription or refill requests and verify that information is complete and accurate.
- Enter prescription information into computer databases.
- Establish or maintain patient profiles, including lists of medications taken by individual patients.
- Mix pharmaceutical preparations, according to written prescriptions.
- Order, label, and count stock of medications, chemicals, or supplies and enter inventory data into computer.
- Maintain and merchandise home healthcare products or services.
- Deliver medications or pharmaceutical supplies to patients, nursing stations, or surgery.
- Restock intravenous (IV) supplies and add measured drugs or nutrients to IV solutions under sterile conditions to prepare IV packs for various uses, such as chemotherapy medication.
- Maintain proper storage and security conditions for drugs.
- Assist customers by answering simple questions, locating items, or referring them to the pharmacist for medication information.
- Enter prescription information into computer databases.
- Operate cash registers to accept payment from customers.
- Answer telephones, responding to questions or requests.
- Clean and help maintain equipment or work areas and sterilize glassware, according to prescribed methods.
- Prepack bulk medicines, fill bottles with prescribed medications, and type and affix labels.
- Price and file prescriptions that have been filled.
- Order, label, and count stock of medications, chemicals, or supplies and enter inventory data into computer.
- Clean and help maintain equipment or work areas and sterilize glassware, according to prescribed methods.
- Transfer medication from vials to the appropriate number of sterile, disposable syringes, using aseptic techniques.
- Assist customers by answering simple questions, locating items, or referring them to the pharmacist for medication information.
- Receive and store incoming supplies, verify quantities against invoices, check for outdated medications in current inventory, and inform supervisors of stock needs and shortages.
- Operate cash registers to accept payment from customers.
- Prepare and process medical insurance claim forms and records.
- Supply and monitor robotic machines that dispense medicine into containers and label the containers.
- Restock intravenous (IV) supplies and add measured drugs or nutrients to IV solutions under sterile conditions to prepare IV packs for various uses, such as chemotherapy medication.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")