Pharmacy Technician

12 Weeks / 15.5 Quarter Credit Hours

This course focuses on the basic concepts in the professional practice of medicine including the roles and functions of the medical assistant, pharmacy technician, medical biller and coder. The students will be introduced to computer usage, keyboarding, basic word processing concepts, and formatting documents. Included is a comprehensive study of medical root words, combining forms, suffixes, and prefixes. This course addresses terminology used in various medical specialties, as well as common medical abbreviations and symbols. An introduction to anatomy and physiology through the study of cell and tissue structure and function is also included. Lastly, the students are introduced to math for health care professionals including adult and child dosage calculations.

12 Weeks / 15.5 Quarter Credit Hours

This course is designed to introduce students to the elements of the retail pharmacy arena including the relationship between the pharmacist and the pharmacy technician. Also, the student will be researching the federal and state mandates for retail pharmaceutical organizations and ethical standards. In addition, the student will be exposed to the values of written/computerized, verbal and interpreted communications with the customers and other medical entities. Also, the students will develop a basic understanding of insurance billing purposes using the Pharmacy Management Program Software. During the mechanical structure of pharmacology, the student will be exposed to and demonstrate understanding of the anatomy and physiology of the human body. This will include the Integumentary, Musculoskeletal, Digestive and Nervous Systems. In correlation with the mechanical anatomy and physiology, medical terminology including abbreviations, the student will learn pharmacology classification, drug actions, interactions, indication, contra-indications, side effects and methods of administering therapeutic agents. Dosage calculation is mandatory in order to keep the students current with Adult and Child levels of medication preparation, dispensing and compounding for patients that buy products at the Community Pharmacies.

12 Weeks / 15.5 Quarter Credit Hours

This course is designed to introduce students to the elements of the hospital, Home Health, Hospice and Long-Term Care pharmacy systems including the relationship between the pharmacist(s) and the pharmacy technician. The student will be researching the federal and state mandates for institutional pharmaceutical organizations and ethical standards. Also, the student will be exposed to the values of written/computerized, verbal and interpreted communications with the medical institutional entities. During the visceral structure of pharmacology, the student will be exposed and demonstrate understanding of the anatomy and physiology of the human body regarding the cells, tissues, fluid and electrolytes balance including the organ systems such as Endocrine, Lymphatic, Cardiovascular, Respiratory and Urinary. In correlation with the visceral anatomy and medical terminology, the student will learn pharmacology classification, drug actions, interactions, indication, contra-indications, side effects and methods of administering therapeutic agents. Dosage calculation is mandatory in order to keep the students current with Adult and Child levels of medication preparation, dispensing, compounding and intravenous fluids including additive for patients in an institutional setting.

12 Weeks / 13 Quarter Credit Hours

During weeks one through five, the student will be in a classroom setting focusing on three areas: Career Prep, Pharmacy Technician Review Exam and Skills Review. Career Prep Week will include résumé preparation, job hunting techniques, interview preparation and employment expectations. Pharmacy Technician Review Exam Week prepares the students for The PTCB Pharmacy Technician Certification Examination. Skills review provides the students with continued instructional support, which the student will gain experience prior to entering the externship facility. Externship will consist of weeks six through twelve; while the student is at his/her externship site, he or she will experience real life practice in the actual pharmacy environment. Each student will complete 80 hours in the community sector and 100 hours in the institutional sector prior to graduating from WTI.