Pharmacy Technician

Get the Prescription for a New Career in Health Care
Pharmacy technicians work with pharmacists in drug preparation, distribution and management in a variety of health care settings. A vital member of the health care team, their duties include:

• Drug and sterile product preparation
• Counting, pouring and labeling of pharmaceutical products for distribution
• Data entry
• Inventory control and management
• Customer service

Pharmacy technicians work in retail and chain; hospital; nursing home and mail order pharmacies as well as education and training programs. Currently, pharmacy technicians can specialize in compounding and sterile IV preparation with more specializations developing each year.

Career opportunities in the Houston and surrounding areas, and nationally, remain strong. According to Salary.com the median salary for an entry-level pharmacy technician is $27,807 to $34,524 per year. The intermediate salary range is $32,378 to $40,336 and supervisory-level salaries ranging from $42,527 to $54,713 annually.

The demand for the highly-skilled pharmacy technician is high. In fact, ACC is regularly contacted by pharmacies that are looking for qualified students to fill job openings. 

The ACC Pharmacy Technician Program is a two semester program for full-time students, or it can be completed in three semesters as a part-time student. The program includes online and hybrid courses (Internet and classroom); laboratory classes; and a clinical internship in community and institutional pharmacies. Upon completion of the program, you will be prepared to take the national Pharmacy Technician Certification Exam.

Pharmacy Technician Courses

The Pharmacy Technician program consists of 768 hours of classroom, online, laboratory and internship hours. Beginning in the fall, you will also earn 26 credit hours towards an Associate’s degree.

Please check back soon for upcoming sessions of the Pharmacy Technician program.

Online Courses
Pharmacy Terminology
This class introduces you to the prefixes, suffixes, and root-words used in the pharmacy field. There is also a focus on translation and recognition of commonly used pharmacy abbreviations.

Introduction to Pharmacy
This course is an overview of the qualifications, operational guidelines and job duties of a pharmacy technician. Topics include:

• Definitions of a pharmacy environment
• Profile of a pharmacy technician
• Legal and ethical guidelines
• Job skills and duties
• Verbal and written communication skills
• Professional resources
• Safety techniques
• Supply and inventory techniques

Drug Classification
This online course is an introduction to the study of disease processes, pharmaceutical drugs, abbreviations, classifications, dosages, action in the body and routes of administration.

 Hybrid Courses
Community Pharmacy
The lecture portion of this class will be online and the lab will meet in the ACC Pharmacy Technician lab.

Community pharmacy will introduce the skills necessary to process, prepare, label and maintain records of physicians’ medication orders and prescriptions in a community pharmacy. It is designed to train individuals in supply, inventory and data entry. The course includes information on:

• Customer service
• Count and pour techniques
• Prescription calculations
• Drug selection and preparation
• Over-the-counter drugs
• Record keeping
• Stock level adjustment
• Data input and editing
• Legal parameters

Institutional Pharmacy
The lecture portion of this class will be Online and the lab will meet in the ACC Pharmacy Technician lab.

This class will explore the unique role and practice of pharmacy technicians in an institutional pharmacy with emphasis on daily pharmacy operation. Topics include:

• Hospital pharmacy organization
• Work flow and personnel
• Medical and pharmaceutical terminology
• Safety techniques
• Data entry
• Packaging and labeling operations
• Extemporaneous compounding
• In-patient drug distribution systems
• Unit dose
• Cart fills
• Quality assurance
• Drug storage
• Inventory control

Pharmacy Drug Therapy and Treatment
The lecture portion of this class will be Online and the lab will meet in the ACC Pharmacy Technician lab.

This course focuses on the study of therapeutic agents, their classifications, properties, actions and effects on the human body and their role in the management of disease. It will also provide detailed information regarding drug dosages, side effects, interactions, toxicities and incompatibilities.

Intravenous Admixture and Sterile Compounding
The lecture portion of this class will be Online and the lab will meet in the ACC Pharmacy Technician lab.

This class serves as a study of:

• Sterile products
• Legal and regulatory guidelines
• Hand washing techniques
• Pharmaceutical calculations
• References
• Safety techniques
• Aseptic techniques in parenteral compounding
• Proper use of equipment
• Preparation of sterile products
• Safe handling of antineoplastic drugs

This course includes a $298.00 optional additional fee that covers certification in IV Admixture and Sterile Compounding (two certifications) through the NPTA.

Traditional Lecture Classes
Pharmaceutical Mathematics
The course will introduce pharmaceutical mathematics, which includes reading, interpreting and solving calculation problems encountered in the preparation and distribution of drugs.

Conversion of measurements within the apothecary, avoirdupois and metric systems will be discussed, with emphasis on the metric system of weight and volume. Other class topics include:

• Ratio and proportion
• Percentage
• Dilution and concentration
• Mill equivalents and units
• Intravenous flow rates
• Solving dosage problems
    

Internship
Practicum
The Pharmacy Technician Practicum (field experience) consists of a total of 256-hours of on-the-job training in a pharmacy. You will encounter practical, general workplace training supported by an individualized learning plan developed by the employer, the college and you.