How to Become a Pharmacy Technician in Florida

Career Overview

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Pharmacy Technicians receive written or electronic prescription requests from patients and then verify that the information on the prescription is complete and accurate. To prepare the prescription, technicians retrieve, count, pour, weigh, measure, and sometimes mix the medication. Then they prepare the prescription labels, select the type of container, and affix the prescription and auxiliary labels to the container. Once the prescription is filled, technicians price and file the prescription, which must be checked by a pharmacist before it is given to the patient. Technicians may establish and maintain patient profiles, as well as prepare insurance claim forms.

Although the majority of pharmacy technicians work in retail stores, there are also job opportunities available in such other settings as hospitals, nursing homes, assisted-living facilities, pharmaceutical warehouses, mail order pharmacies, research labs, as well as federal agencies (e.g. Food and Drug Administration).

Pharmacy technicians are often detail oriented and excel at customer service and communication.

Career Growth

There is also opportunity for pharmacy technicians to specialize in one area such as chemotherapy or nuclear medicine.  Those with strong performance records in larger-size companies may be promoted into such supervisory roles as Senior Pharmacy Technician, although they will still be under the direct supervision of pharmacists. Another avenue of career growth is for pharmacy technicians to continue their education to become a pharmacist (typically through a five year undergraduate program).

Work Environment. As noted, pharmacy technicians work in a variety of settings. They often have scattered schedules with evenings, weekend and holiday work often required, especially within health care settings, such as hospitals, that are open 24 hours. Physical stamina is important as the work requires standing for long periods, along with the need to lift sometimes heavy boxes of medication and using stepladders to retrieve supplied from higher shelves.

Career Outlook

As the aging of the population continues to grow with new families of drugs being introduced on a fairly regular basis, greater numbers of people are using prescription medication to treat illness and disease. In tandem with this trend, cost-minded health insurance providers are calling upon pharmacists to expand their role into direct patient care and education. Pharmacists, in turn, are relying upon pharmacy technicians to meet the increased demand for medications while maintaining high levels of safety and accuracy. Arising from this, there will continue to be a strong demand for pharmacy technicians.  The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that the field of pharmacy technician is expected to increase by 31% from 2008 to 2016, reflecting a much faster rate of growth than the average for all occupations.

Training and Registration Requirements

As per the Florida State Board of Pharmacy (FBP), effective January 1, 2011, any person who wishes to work as a pharmacy technician in the State of Florida must register with the Board of Pharmacy. To register with the Board of Pharmacy, an applicant must submit an application for registration, pay a fee ($105.00 as of January 2012), and provide proof that they completed a board-approved pharmacy technician training program.

• Learn more about the the registration process by reading the document Pharmacy Technician Registration Application and Instructions.
• Browse a list of FBP-approved pharmacy technician programs.
• Read answers to Frequently Asked Questions provided by FBP.

Many training programs will include a clinical component during which students will have the opportunity to work in a pharmacy setting under supervision of Pharmacist.  Programs will cover content such as pharmacy law, confidentiality, pharmaceutical-medical terminology, medication labeling, controlled substances, and ethics.

View a list of pharmacy technician programs in Florida.

Continuing Education Requirements

Per the FBP, registered Pharmacy Technicians are required to obtain a minimum of 12 contact hours of continuing education (CE) of which 2 hours must be via live presentation and 2 hours must be related to the prevention of medication errors and 1 hour must be in HIV/Aids education for the first renewal if they are licensed more than 12 months before the expiration of the license. If they are licensed less than 12 months they are only required to obtain 1 contact hour in the prevention of HIV/Aids.

In order to renew your registration, you must also pay a $55 biennial renewal fee.

You can read more about the renewal process in the document provided by FBP.

Salary for Pharmacy Technicians

Below are the median annual salaries for Pharmacy Technicians-Level 1 (Entry-level) in major metropolitan cities of Florida:

Salary.com, updated May 2011

View a list of pharmacy technician programs in Florida.