To meet the demand for certified pharmacy technicians, Moraine Valley Community College is offering a Pharmacy Technician Review Program with classes starting Sept. 1. Pharmacy technicians help licensed pharmacists prepare prescription medications, provide customer service, and perform administrative duties in retail, hospital or business pharmacy settings.
The 13-week class will be offered on the main campus, 9000 W. College Pkwy., Palos Hills, on Tuesdays from 6 to 10 p.m., starting Sept. 1, or Mondays and Fridays from 8 to 10 a.m., starting Sept. 4. The cost to attend is $1,200.
The Bureau of Labor and Statistics projects pharmacy technician employment is expected to increase 20 percent by 2020. The Bureau also suggests pharmacy technicians with formal education or training, previous work experience and national certification will be sought after to meet these demands. The average salary for pharmacy technicians in the Chicago area is $36,000.
Moraine Valley’s review program provides a review of pharmacy principles and procedures to prepare entry level pharmacy technicians to take the PCTE – National Pharmacy Technicians Exam. Course content includes reviews of various disease states, basic physiology, pharmacy law, ethics, mathematics, and the fundamentals of technician training. The courses will introduce students to various settings in pharmacy practice, including the community, hospital, managed care, mail order, and long-term care. Information on qualifying for the pharmacy certification examination also will be provided. Concurrent registration in Pharmacy Mathematics is recommended, but not required.
To be eligible for the exam, candidates must have a high school diploma or its equivalent and no felony convictions of any kind. In addition, applicants for the PTCE exam must not have had any drug-related or pharmacy-related convictions, including misdemeanors. Many employers will reimburse the cost of the exams.
For more information, call Moraine Valley’s Corporate, Community and Continuing Education area at (708) 974-5735 or email ccce@morainevalley.edu. To register online, go to Web Advisor, then click Register and Pay for Noncredit Classes, and enter the keyword pharmacy.
For news media inquiries, call Jessica Crotty, coordinator of College and Community Relations, at (708) 974-5281, or e-mail her at crotty@morainevalley.edu.
