Pharmacy Technician
Certificate of Completion
Pharmacy Technicians are Allied Health professionals who assist Licensed Pharmacists to provide health care and medications to patients. They must have a broad knowledge of pharmacy practice and techniques required to fill prescriptions, constitute IV solutions, and prepare medications. Typical job duties include reading and interpreting prescriptions, preparing and packaging medications, managing pharmacy inventory, and mixing non-sterile and sterile pharmaceuticals. Good communication and interpersonal skills are essential to interact with patients and other health care professionals on a daily basis. Students accepted into the program will attend specialized classes and complete clinical rotations. Upon successful completion of the program, graduates will be eligible to take the National Pharmacy Technician Certification Examination administered by the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) or the Exam for the Certification of Pharmacy Technicians (ExCPT) administered by the National Healthcareer Association (NHA) to become a Nationally Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT).
Certified Pharmacy Technicians can find career opportunities in community pharmacies, drug manufacturing companies, drug wholesale companies, home-health care, hospital pharmacies, nuclear pharmacies, nursing homes, mail-order pharmacies, pharmacy state board and educational institutions.
The Vernon College Pharmacy Technician Program is fully accredited by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP)/Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the classes are designed in accordance with their guidelines.
For further information, contact the Program Coordinator at 940.696.8752 ext. 3231.
Program Requirements
Pharmacy Technician Program
- Complete the Vernon College admission procedure. A student must be first accepted by the College before being considered for the Pharmacy Technician Program. Admission to the college does not guarantee enrollment in the program.
- Submit a Pharmacy Tech New Student packet to the program. Deadline is July 30 for the day program beginning in August of each year and November 30 for the night program beginning in January of each year. Packets are available from the program coordinator and on the Vernon College web site.
- Take the Next Generation Arithmetic exam for benchmarking assessment. If student has taken other assessment tests, these will be reviewed in place of the Accuplacer.
- The potential student needs to register with Texas State Board of Pharmacy as a pharmacy technician trainee at www.tsbp.state.tx.us. There is a non-refundable on-line processing fee of $52.00 (this fee can change). Applicants will also have to have fingerprints taken and this will cost approximately $45 to $50. The Texas State Board of Pharmacy will complete a criminal background check and persons with felony convictions or drug and alcohol charges may be denied registration. The potential student will not be able to enter the program without this registration.
- Provide evidence that the following immunization requirements have been met prior to enrollment in the Pharmacy Technician Program: tetanus/diphtheria toxoid/pertussis (Tdap), Tuberculosis test (TB), and Hepatitis B (three shots). Bacterial Meningitis vaccination is also required for students younger than 22 years of age (read the vaccine requirement and exemptions on the VC website). For immunizations exclusions and waivers and acceptable documentation of immunizations see shot records on the Pharmacy Technician home page.
- Once all the forms have been sent to the Pharmacy Technician Program Coordinator and the student meets the requirements for the program, an interview will be scheduled with the Program Coordinator.
- The Pharmacy Technician Review Committee will rank students to determine placement into the program based upon the completion of the new student packet, completion of the technician trainee registration process and interview.
- In the event the potential student is rejected by the Pharmacy Technician Review Committee, the student may request a hearing before the College Admissions Committee. Such a request is to be submitted in writing and include reasons why the College Admissions Committee should review the petition.
- Information regarding program standards and policies is printed in the Pharmacy Technician Handbook.