Pharmacy Technician Professional Interview

Interviewee: Randy Brown
Title: Pharmacy Technician Program Director
Place: MedVance Institute - Houston, TX

What started as a teenage boy's way to collect a little extra pocket money after school turned into a career for Randy Brown. Brown, a practicing pharmacy technician for ten years, is now director of the Pharmacy Technician program at MedVance Institute.

"A pharmacy technician is there to serve the pharmacist," Brown explained. "You can do just about everything a pharmacist does from start to finish as long as you're supervised by the pharmacist."

Pharmacy Technician Duties

Brown explains that the job description includes everything from receiving prescriptions, to mixing medications, creams and ointments, to preparing IVs and transcribing data. The few boundaries that pharmacy techs are not allowed to cross are very specific. "Techs are not allowed to do consultations on specific medications or take new prescriptions on the phone. But as far as all other work is concerned, techs can do everything," Brown said.

When Brown entered the job force, pharmacy technicians were not required to have any sort of certification. The training was all on-the-job. Today, however, many states, including Texas, require that students pass the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) exam. According to Brown, it is quickly being picked up by states around the country. "There may soon be legislation requiring certification in all states," Brown said.

Education Prepares You for Work

MedVance's program, like other pharmacy technician programs, prepares students for work as well as the certification exam. While a high school diploma or a GED is required to enroll, MedVance equips students with a variety of basic skills. "We have computer applications classes where students learn to type, general anatomy and physiology classes, basic math classes that teach pharmacy calculations, and practical applications such as how to dispense medicine," he said.

The program is eight months long and can either be completed during the daytime or evening. Many students work their way through school. Some students are aspiring pharmacists and for them, a pharmacy tech job provides a source of income during pharmacy school and a glimpse of what life as a pharmacist is like.

The MedVance program requires a 160-hour externship program where students get hands-on training. At the end of the program, MedVance is able to place more than 80% of its students in full-time jobs at pharmacies and hospitals.

Job Opportunities for Pharmacy Technicians

"This is a stable job," Brown said. In Texas, fresh graduates usually earn hourly wages between $8-$16 an hour. With experience, pharmacy technicians can aspire to earn about $22 or $23 dollars an hour, according to Brown. And another plus is the benefits. "All the jobs I've seen have had a multitude of benefits," Brown said, "including insurance, a 401K and tuition reimbursement."

As a career pharmacy technician, Brown does not even know what it's like to feel unemployable. Finding a job has never been a problem for him. "For somebody who's worked in this field for this long, I just can't relate to people who say they can't find any job at all," Brown said.

It isn't easy starting out, but Brown believes it's better than the alternative. "Financially it might be hard to raise a family on $25,000 or $30,000 a year, but it's better than raising a family on minimum wage. The bulk of the students that we get don't have a lot of other opportunities. They are doing minimum wage-type jobs. From the point they leave MedVance, they will always find a decent paying position."

Pharmacy Technician Personality - You Do the Math.

This isn't a job for everybody, Brown said. "It's for self-starters, people who are easily motivated. Being science and math oriented is a plus, since that's the bulk of what we deal with. It isn't calculus we're doing, but you need to be able to do simple multiplication and division in your head."

For example, how many pills does John Smith need if he's taking 3 pills a day for 45 days? Brown says, "if that kind of math doesn't suit you, this might not be right for you." This is also a job that requires strong people skills. "You have to have a general liking for the public. When you're working in retail pharmacy, you have to deal with patients all day long."

Nearly every job in the health care field requires working flexible hours, and careers in pharmacy tech are no exception. "Hospitals and pharmacies for the most part never close, so you have to be willing to give up a holiday or work late," Brown said.

Perhaps the most encouraging and attractive draw that a pharmacy tech career has to offer is opportunity. Brown concludes that, "in general, there is so much opportunity and stability in health care. It's not going anywhere anytime soon. That's the biggest selling point to this type of career."