Selecting the Best Pharmacy Technician School for You

The first and arguably the most important step in your road to becoming a pharmacy technician is to enroll yourself in a suitable training program. Thankfully, there are a lot of pharmacy technician schools out there that can give you the education and training that you need – you can literally choose of dozens of schools, depending on the state that you are in.

The challenge then, lies in selecting the best and most suitable school for you. One important factor in choosing a pharmacy technician school is to choose a program that that is duly accredited by a nationally recognized agency. The American Societyof Health-System Pharmacists or ASHP is a good example of this. 

You can also choose between state-approved and nationally approved programs. While most statesrequire their pharmacy tech students to complete a state-approved program, it will be more advantageous for you in the long run to apply for the nationally approved one. This way, your certification can be and will be recognized anywhere in the country.

If you research around the web, you will find that there are also online programs available that offer a faster and cheaper certification process. It is important to take note that many of these programs do not have the necessary accreditation and recognition (whether regional or national) to make your certification legitimate. Be careful and avoid these kind of programs as they will not help you at all in reaching your goal of being a certified pharmacy technician!

Finding Legitimate and Reputable Pharmacy Technician Schools

With so many pharmacy technician schools out there, how can you spot a legitimate and reputable one? The good news is there are many ways to do just that. For one, you can use ASHP’s training program directory – an extensive list of all properly accredited pharmacy tech institutions – to know whether your chosen school is legitimate or not.

Another certification institution, the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board or PTCB, provides a list of different pharmacy organizations that provide and uphold the appropriate standards for the certification and education of pharmacy technicians.

Here is a list of some of the nationally accredited pharmacy training programs and schools around the country

• Institute of Business and Medical Careers – offers a PTCB Certification Program and Associate of Occupational Studies Degree for interested students.

• Kaplan College – offers Pharmacy Technician Diploma. They also partner with approved institutions to provide a much-needed externship opportunity for students for a more hands-on approach.

• Foothill College – Provides an ASHP-approved pharmacy technician program. Students can choose between a short 9-month program or a 2-year program that can be upgraded to an Associate in Science Degree in Pharmacy Technician.

• Ultimate Medical Academy – An NHA-recognized institution that provides training for students interested to take the CPhT certification. An Associate Degree program in health sciences concentrating on training for pharmacy technician students is also available from this academy.

• PIMA Medical Institute – Offers 20-month courses that focus on pharmacy technician training as well as the crucial IV training.

There are also many different colleges and universities that open their educational halls for their very own pharmacy technician training programs. You can also ask pharmacies as some offer courses and training as well.

The important part is to always inquire regarding the institution’s accreditation before signing up in their programs. Remember to ask about the accreditation of the program prior to signing up. Because when it comes to your future, there’s no harm in being sure.