Dec 21, 2024

Catalog 2024-2025

Pharmacy Technician

Location(s): Essex, Randallstown, Online

Program Checklist (opens a new window) |

Program Description

The primary goal of The Community College of Baltimore County’s Pharmacy Technician Training Series is to adequately prepare students for an entry-level position in the pharmacy profession functioning as a Certified Pharmacy Technician. Technicians work in a variety of employment settings including retail, hospital, and long term care and government facilities. They are typically involved in customer interactions, insurance claim processing, maintaining inventories, and filling prescriptions.

This program features a course series that prepares students to take the national PTCB certification exam to become a Certified Pharmacy Technician. Upon passing the PTCB exam, students can register with the Maryland Board of Pharmacy as a Pharmacy Technician.

Students entering this program must have the ability to communicate with patients, family, and health care providers concerning inventory, insurance, medications, and the human body. Efficient computer, basic math, study skills, and test taking skills are desirable. Being multi-lingual is useful.

In a retail pharmacy setting, Pharmacy Technicians can advance through different levels of responsibility that vary by employer. In an institutional pharmacy setting, Pharmacy Technicians can be selected for additional training in specialized areas such as medication history reconciliation or compounding sterile preparations. A criminal history background check and registration with the state board of pharmacy are usually required for employment.

Program Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this Continuing Education Workforce Certificate, students will be able to:

meet the eligibility requirements to practice set forth by the Maryland Board of Pharmacy,
continue employment as a Pharmacy Technician or pursue options that require certification (PTCB) after passing the exam,
demonstrate effective skills to work in pharmacies, and
employ proper professional communication and employability skills in the workplace.

CCBC Pathway

Health Professions Pathway. Pathways are designed to help you meet your academic and career goals by aligning related courses and programs. Pathway students participate in a variety of activities that help explore career opportunities in their field of study. You can meet with a CCBC advisor who help align — or realign — your educational plan with the Pathway that best supports you and your goals.

Program Credentials

CCBC Credential: Students will be awarded a Continuing Education Workforce Certificate, and have access to a Continuing Education academic record (transcript). Students will be prepared to take the national certification exam through PTCB-Pharmacy Technician Certifying Board to become a Certified Pharmacy Technician.

Certifying Organization: Pharmacy Technician Certifying Board (PTCB)

www.ptcb.org

Certification exam cost: First exam attempt is covered in course fees. Any additional attempts for the exam are $129.00

Financial Aid and Payment Options

We offer financial aid by packaging public and private funding options to those who qualify, in select Continuing Education courses and programs. Additional opportunities for financial support include partial payment options through Nelnet Business Solutions and tuition waivers for those who qualify. Resources outside of CCBC may also be available through employer/sponsor paid tuition, the Department of Rehabilitation Services (DORS), and your local office of workforce development.

Some CE Workforce Development Certificate Programs are eligible for early high school funding through Maryland Blueprint for qualifying BCPS high school students. Please check with your School Counseling Office to determine your eligibility for the BCPS Tuition Benefit Program.

Length of Training

15-24 weeks

Program Requirements

High School Diploma or GED. All students must be computer literate and have Internet access.

Prior Learning Assessment

This program has potential options for waiving select courses based on previous coursework or articulated coursework from an approved curriculum, or demonstrated portfolio and/or prior occupational learning. A maximum of 60 program hours may be earned from prior learning.

Application Process

To apply, go to www.ccbcmd.edu/apply and complete the CCBC Non-Credit Workforce Training Certificate application. Then, please send an email to CEHealth@ccbcmd.edu for information about upcoming class options.

Open Entry – No screening or documentation required.

Program Course Sequence

Prerequisite

Course Number

Course Title

Course Hours

Textbook Information

(approximate cost; subject to change)

Costs

T=Tuition/F=Fees

WOS064

AHL217

Basic Math Skills for the Healthcare Worker

Basic Math Skills for the Healthcare Worker Online

Handouts online

$145

T-$44/F-$101

Course Series

Course Number	Course Title	Course Hours	Textbook Information (approximate cost; subject to change)	Costs T=Tuition/F=Fees
AHE739	Pharmacy Technician Training I	60	Books provided first day of class or mailed to home address for online classes	$1,495 T-$389/F-$1,106
AHE740	Pharmacy Technician Training II	60	Same as AHE 739	$685 T-$206/F-$479
AHL913	Pharmacy Technician Certifying Board Exam Review Course	15	Same as AHE 739	$229 T-$24/F-$205
*Course Series Totals:*		135	Textbooks included in the price of the course	$2,409 T-$619/F-$1,790
Course Series and Prerequisites Totals:		145		$2,554 T-$663/F-$1,891

All courses must be finished for successful program completion and for students to be eligible to apply to take the PTCB Exam.

Additional Information

Skills for Success:
See Technical Standards at the of this document.

Career Coach

Research your career interests, explore live job postings, take a career assessment, discover which companies in the Baltimore region are hiring, and more. View a brief tutorial video on how to use Career Coach at https://youtu.be/C7KpznbPYfA. Explore career and training opportunities at https://ccbcmd.emsicc.com/.

Program Contact Information

For more information email CEHealth@ccbcmd.edu

Technical Standards

Technical Standards for CCBC’s Pharmacy Technician Training Series

They must have the ability to communicate with patients, family, and health care providers concerning inventory, insurance, medications, and the human body. Efficient computer, basic math, study skills, and test taking skills are desirable. Being multi-lingual is useful.

The duties of a Pharmacy Technician require the ability to stand or sit for long hours while constantly being focused on the task at hand. They need to exercise safe practices while exposed to a work environment that may include unpleasant sights, odors, materials, and communicable diseases. Their duties also require them to be detail oriented, to work accurately, quickly, and utilize computers and telephones frequently. A high level of manual dexterity, psychomotor skills, communication skills, analytical skills, and integrity are vital.

A criminal history background check and registration with the state board of pharmacy are usually required for employment.

The following is a partial listing of the types of skills typically required for adequate job performance:

Physical Requirements:

A. Sufficient strength and mobility to:

Lift or otherwise maneuver cartons weighing up to 30 pounds
Stand or sit in one area for long periods of time
Work quickly and accurately to meet prescription delivery deadlines
Clean and maintain pharmaceutical preparation areas

B. Fine motor coordination sufficient to perform precise tasks such as:

Handle delicate pharmaceutical preparation instruments
Safely handle pharmaceutical ingredients including controlled and toxic substances
Handle instruments and ingredients that may be costly to replace if damaged

C. Adequate vision to:

Read and interpret digital displays on robotic equipment or paper documents such as hand written prescriptions
Adequate distinction of colors to read and interpret pharmaceutical container labels
Read instruction sheets, protocols, procedure manuals and computer screens

D. Sufficient hearing to:

Hear and understand verbal instructions in person and over the telephone
Interact successfully with professional colleagues, patients and customers
Hear alarms, alerts and other operating sounds of equipment

Interpersonal Skills and Professionalism:

A. Have the ability to:

Work in a professional manner under sometimes extremely stressful situations
Pay close attention to detail and recordkeeping, including keeping accurate inventory, and insurance and patient records
Commitment to learning and understanding new nomenclature, technologies, instrumentation and procedures
Commitment to following approved standards, guidelines, policies and procedures
Interact in a professional manner with many personalities and attitudes and with people from many different backgrounds
Respect and protect patient rights and confidentiality without regard to personal beliefs and judgments
Maintain proper certifications required to perform the duties of the profession
Commitment to professional morality in the application of prescription filling techniques and delivery of pharmacological patient care
Complete any career development training needed for obtaining and/or maintaining employment
Work with independent agencies such as the Maryland Criminal Justice Information System, Pharmacy Technician Certification Board, and the Maryland Board of Pharmacy
Participate in any liability insurance coverage that may be required
Willingness to precept (train) others
Commitment to working shifts as assigned; may include on-call, holidays and weekends

B. Sufficient communication skills to:

Give and receive accurate written and verbal instructions
Carry out all written and verbal instructions
Follow proper channels of communication
Communicate in a calm and professional manner
Communicate clearly and effectively to any team members regarding issues that may be difficult to address (i.e. problem with prescription accuracy that could affect the patient, admission of own errors, etc.)
Provide efficient customer service to patients, family members, coworkers and others

Intellectual Ability and Emotional Stability To:

Use critical thinking and problem solving skills
Accurate use of pharmacologic math
Exercise independent judgment to properly perform approved tasks at hand
Accurately utilize all resource material available (in print, digital, and online formats) to perform assigned tasks
Understand pertinent laws and which tasks can and cannot be legally performed by a Pharmacy Technician
Work calmly and efficiently in a fast-paced, stressful environment
Maintain calm during emergency situations
Perform duties while exposed to communicable diseases and unpleasant sights, odors and materials
Accept feedback from others

Environmental Requirements:

The Pharmacy Technician profession may involve risks and/or discomforts that require special safety precautions including, but not limited to:

Wearing gowns, caps, masks, gloves and eye protection
Working in an environment that may be noisy at times
Working in an environment that exposes one to potentially hazardous materials, such as cleaning agents and chemicals, cytotoxic agents, radiopharmaceuticals and blood borne pathogens
Providing proof of recent immunizations against infectious diseases such as measles, mumps and rubella
Receiving Hepatitis B vaccine and annual testing for exposure to tuberculosis
Submit to periodic drug screening
Complete any blood borne pathogen, universal and standard precautions training as needed