Pharmacy Technician

Pharmacy Technicians work under the supervision of pharmacists, who must review prescriptions before they are given to patients. In most states, technicians can compound or mix some medications and call physicians for prescription refill authorizations. Technicians also may need to operate automated dispensing equipment when filling prescription orders. Pharmacy Technicians and aides work in clean, organized, well-lighted, and well-ventilated areas. Most of their workday is spent on their feet. They may be required to lift heavy boxes or to use stepladders to retrieve supplies from high shelves. Pharmacy Technicians and aides often have varying schedules that include nights, weekends, and holidays. In facilities that are open 24 hours a day, such as hospital pharmacies, technicians and aides may be required to work nights. Many technicians and aides work part time.

Graduates of the program often find employment at:

The Pharmacy Technician training program at Nevada Career Institute is a hands-on, career-focused program designed to educate and teach you the fundamental skills needed begin a new career working as a Pharmacy Technician. The program is divided into eight class course modules plus a 240-hour clinical internship where students apply the skills they learn in the classroom in an actual practice setting.

This course offers career students an orientation and includes tips for succeeding in the program. It includes a review of basic math, language, vocabulary, and writing skills. It also introduces students to core career classes, explains the availability of community resources, and goes over outlining, summarizing, managing credit, and other life skills.

In this course, students cover trade/generic drugs, along with a basic review of math. The material also includes the use of electrolytes in the pharmacy, how to use drug dosage forms, and how to compound medicines. In addition, students will learn to use balances, measuring devices, and other pharmacy equipment. Lastly, they will cover how to fill cassettes and the different drug distribution systems (unit dose vs. traditional).

Along with building on their knowledge of trade/generic drugs, and basic math, this course covers the different working conditions and schedules technicians have, along with the variety of tasks technicians must know how to handle. Students will be taught aseptic technique along with an introduction to working with vertical and horizontal flow hoods.

Students will dive into aseptic technique and go over additional responsibilities technicians are tasked with taking on. The course will also cover how to make sterile IV additives, how to administer chemotherapy drugs, and additional material related to working with vertical and horizontal flow hoods.

This course includes instruction on trade/generic drugs and basic math, along with the Theory of Molecular Combination and basic anatomy. Students will cover where different classes of drugs act on the body and the typical reason and dosage for using that classification of drug. Course material also includes medical terminology and Arabic and Roman numerals.

Students will cover the history of the pharmacy, and study effective communication techniques and theories along with different ways of speaking with professionals and patients. Curriculum includes pharmacy law, information related to the Uniform Controlled Substances Act and Drug Schedules, an introduction to the apothecary, and Avoirdupois and Metric Systems. They will also learn how to transcribe doctors’ orders, type pharmacy labels, and price prescriptions. Information related to Third Party, Medi-Cal, and Medicare Insurance Billing for Prescriptions, along with verifying insurance and maintaining accurate pharmacy records will also be presented.

Students will cover significant numbers, diabetes drugs and treatment, and Celsius and Fahrenheit temperature conversions. The course also includes the types of durable medical equipment pharmacies supply, drugs and treatment for AIDS, how to configure body surface area, compounding, and hormone replacement therapy.

This course includes an internship workshop along with career readiness workshops. It also offers a New Student Orientation and CPR Certification.

This is the hands-on, practical internship where students have the opportunity to put what they have learned in the classroom into practice in a real health care setting.

As a Pharmacy Technician, your job tasks and responsibilities may include: receiving incoming prescriptions, transcribing physician’s orders, calculating doses, using drug distribution systems, preparing IVs, packaging medications, filling patient cassettes, labeling prescriptions, and interfacing with patients. Best of all, your career skills will travel with you wherever you go.