Certificate of Completion: 80 credits
Enrollment Point: Fall Quarter
This ASHP (American Society of Health-System Pharmacists) accredited program prepares students for practice as Pharmacy Technicians performing a wide variety of tasks in both retail and hospital pharmacies under the supervision of a pharmacist.
Students develop skills in all areas of pharmacy practice such as computer order entry, pharmaceutical calculations, record keeping, mixing intravenous solutions, and compounding of products to be dispensed. Special emphasis is on product knowledge and learning detailed information regarding drugs. Externship experience in retail and hospital pharmacies is included.
A state license is required of all those who work in this field and is obtained after passing the required National Certification exam and applying to the Washington State Board of Pharmacy.
A Certificate of Completion is awarded upon successful completion of core course requirements (two [2] attempts per course only). To earn an Associate of Applied Science (AAS) or Associate of Applied Science-Transfer (AAS-T) degree, students must complete all requirements for the certificate program plus 20 credits of General Education.
Program Learning Outcomes:
- Work under the supervision of a Pharmacist in the pharmacy day-to-day operations, using interpersonal skills, critical thinking, negotiation, conflict resolution, teamwork, creativity, innovation, and customer service skills to problem solve with diverse populations.
- Demonstrate ethical conduct, active and engaged listening skills.
- Communicate clearly and effectively, both verbally and in writing.
- Demonstrate a respectful and professional attitude when interacting with diverse patient populations, colleagues, and professionals.
- Apply self-management skills, including time, stress, and change management.
- Compound products, mix intravenous solutions, apply math for pharmaceutical calculations and use computers to process prescriptions, medication orders, quality assurance and inventory management.
- Exhibit detailed knowledge of pharmacy products and the Top 200 drugs.
- Earn a Washington State Board of Pharmacy license by passing the PTCB national certification exam.