admissions
admissions
High School Diploma or GED/ High school equivalent
Completion Time
Completion Time
The average student completes in 4-12 months
Average Salary
Average Salary
According to Occupational Outlook Handbook, the median salary is $40,300
Certification
Certification
Pharmacy Technician Certification Exam (PTCE) through the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB®)
Accreditations
Accreditations
What you will do
Pharmacy Technicians work closely with pharmacists to ensure the health and safety of their patients. They locate, dispense, pack, and label prescribed medication for patients that is then reviewed for accuracy by a pharmacist before dispensing to the patient. Pharmacy technicians primarily work in pharmacies, including those found in hospitals, grocery, and drug stores. Pharmacy technicians:
- Collect information needed to fill a prescription from customers or health professionals
- Measure amounts of medication for prescriptions
- Package and label prescriptions
- Organize inventory and alert pharmacists to any shortages of medications or supplies
- Accept payment for prescriptions and process insurance claims
- Enter customer information, including any prescriptions taken, into a computer system
- Answer phone calls from customers
- Arrange for customers to speak with pharmacists if customers have questions about medications or health issues
Please refer to the PTCB®’s map for your states requirements.
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN
Pharmacy Technicians learn the essential skills needed to work in a pharmacy, process prescription medications and assist the pharmacist. Blackstone’s curriculum covers a range of topics including working knowledge of medical and pharmaceutical terminology, pharmacy calculations, pharmacology, body systems and disorders, ethics, and professionalism. To enhance your knowledge and skills Blackstone also includes prep materials and exam costs for PTCE certification.
Through established partnerships with Walgreens and CVS Pharmacy, our required externship allows students to apply the knowledge and skills learned through our pharmacy technician training program in a real-world environment.
The combination of Blackstone’s Pharmacy Technician Program and the 160-hour externship will prepare you to pass the Pharmacy Technician Certification Examination (PTCE), administered by the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB®), and earn national recognition as a CPhT (Certified Pharmacy Technician).
Program outcomes
- Define and explain different learning styles and learning strategies
- Identify the parts of speech, the parts of sentences, and sentence type
- Demonstrate knowledge of guidelines for grammar, punctuation, editing
- Identify and define common medical prefixes, suffixes, and roots
- Define anatomical and pharmaceutical terminology and identify relevant abbreviations
- Describe the duties of a pharmacy technician
- Identify the correct way to interact with customers and patients face-to-face and over the telephone, while protecting patient confidentiality
- Explain the various laws and ethical standards that affect the pharmacy technician occupation
- Explain the similarities and differences between retail and health-system pharmacies
- Identify the forms of technology utilized in the pharmacy setting
- Describe the process for inventory management and insurance billing
- Perform relevant pharmacy calculations, including dosage calculations and measurement conversions
- Explain dosage formulations and administration, as well as the effects of drugs on the body
- Identify drug classifications
- Describe the body systems and related diseases, disorders and treatments
- Identify the different needs of pediatric and geriatric patients
- Demonstrate knowledge of proper workplace etiquette
- Define and explain the importance of medical ethics
- Describe the process for writing effective resumes and cover-letters
- Describe how to proactively search for work as a pharmacy technician
externships
Through established partnerships with Walgreens and CVS Pharmacy, our required externship allows students to apply the knowledge and skills gained through the online Pharmacy Technician Program in a real-world setting.
what you will make
The expansion of the health services industry from technological advances in medicine and a growing and aging population creates an increasing need for those who want to work as a Pharmacy Technician.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the number of Pharmacy Technicians employed in the United States is expected to grow primarily due to the growth of the healthcare industry. According to Occupational Outlook Handbook, the median salary is $40,300
MEDIAN SALARY
$40,300
SELECT THE PAYMENT OPTION THAT WORKS FOR YOU
Blackstone Career Institute makes it easy for you to receive a quality education at an affordable price point. Everything you need to complete your online Pharmacy Technician Program with Blackstone Career Institute is included in your tuition. Choose the payment plan that best fits your needs and learn how to become a Pharmacy Technician today!
FULL PAYMENT
$
2,493
One time payment
-
Fastest completion time
-
Access to all lessons
-
Total $2,493
Full payment plan total costs includes $2,343 tuition and $150 registration fee.
PAYMENT PLAN I
$
133
Month
-
Most popular plan
-
$99 down payment, 18 monthly payments of $133
-
Total $2,493
18 month autopay plan requires a down payment of $99 with 18 monthly payments of $133. Total cost includes $2,343 tuition, $150 registration fee, and $0 finance fee.
PAYMENT PLAN II
$
99
Month
-
Lowest monthly payments
-
$99 down payment, 24 monthly payments of $99, final payment of $18
-
Total $2,493
24 month autopay plan requires a down payment of $99 with 24 monthly payments of $99, and final payment of $18. Total cost includes $2,343 tuition, $150 registration fee, and $0 finance fee.
Refund Policy
At Blackstone, our Student Service team focuses on student satisfaction. However, if you choose not to continue your studies, we offer a refund policy. Cancellations within the first 5 days of enrollment receive a full refund. After the first 5 days, your refund amount is based on tuition collected, lessons completed and enrollment date. Learn more about our refund policy.
Program Materials included
Blackstone’s Pharmacy Technician Program includes resources from publishers – Pearson and Elsevier using VitalSource platforms all accessed through your Online Student account. Additionally, you will receive customized study guides directing you through all of your coursework.
- PTCE Practice Bank
- Pre-PTCE Exam
PTCE CPhT Certification Application Fee Voucher
$197.00 Value
Meet Your Instructor
Laura Zagnoni, Pharmacy Technician Consultant
Doctor of Pharmacy
Laura graduated with both her Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of Arizona. Over her career in Pharmacy, she has experience in a variety of roles in several different clinical practice settings. Although most of her experience has been as a pharmacist, Laura was a Pharmacy technician and a Pharmacy intern before becoming a pharmacist, working in a retail pharmacy, as well as the inpatient and outpatient pharmacy of a large community hospital. As a pharmacist, she has worked in a dispensing role in Community Retail, Inpatient, and Outpatient Hospital pharmacies, as well as in a consultant role at Maricopa Medical Center, a large, teaching, county hospital in the Phoenix area. While there, she was an integral member of the clinical teams on the Burn Unit, the Medical and Neonatal Intensive Care Units and covered clinical consultations throughout the rest of the hospital. Additionally, she was also a clinical practice instructor for Pharm.D. students electing a Clinical Pharmacokinetics Rotation in their final year of school. Laura left Maricopa Medical Center to accept an adjunct faculty position at the College of Pharmacy at Midwestern University in Glendale, AZ where she taught Clinical Pharmacokinetics and the Infectious Disease section of the Integrated Pharmacy Practice course. While in this position, she also served as a student liaison and valued advisor. For the last 18 years, Laura worked in a medical position with the Pharmaceutical Industry. She worked as a Medical Science Liaison for Bristol-Myers Squibb in both their Infectious Disease and Cardiovascular divisions. In this role, she educated physicians, nurses, and pharmacists on the company’s medications in venues ranging from one-on-one meetings in an office to presentations at large meetings and clinical congresses. In her retirement, Laura enjoys learning about wine, traveling and is an active volunteer with the Maricopa Medical Reserve Corps.
Blackstone participates with the My Career Advancement Account (MyCAA) program. MyCAA provides military spouses with an incredible opportunity to pursue licenses and certifications necessary for gainful employment in high-demand, high-growth portable career fields.
AS FEATURED IN
FAQs
Blackstone offers a clear pathway with few hurdles to successfully complete your training and externship, take the certification exam, and secure a position at a pharmacy near you. Please refer to the PTCB’s map for your states requirements.
You’ll be a critical part of keeping the pharmacy running smoothly. A typical day will include assisting and working under the guidance of a pharmacist to fill prescriptions, manage patient records, and submit insurance claims. Over time, you’ll likely take on more responsibilities, for example, a more active role with patient consultations.
Yes, to be employed in the pharmacy field, you cannot have been convicted of a felony or Medicare fraud. As a pharmacy technician, you’ll be handling medications and providing patient care, therefore you can’t be addicted to medications to work in this environment.
Healthcare is one of the nation’s fastest-growing industries which includes pharmacy technician jobs, especially for those with training and certification. Labor experts estimate 4% growth in pharmacy technician jobs over the next 10 years.*
Possibly – regulations and requirements vary by state (please refer to your state’s Board of Pharmacy website for guidelines.) The good news is the combination of Blackstone’s Pharmacy Technician coursework, and the 160-hour externship, prepare you to pass the Pharmacy Technician Certification Examination (PTCE) and earn national recognition as a CPhT (Certified Pharmacy Technician).
Blackstone’s Pharmacy Technician program includes practice tests—take advantage of these to get an idea of where your strong and weak areas lie. Practice tests are highly effective as a learning technique to prepare you both mentally and emotionally for the real exam.
*All available job market and salary data is pulled from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and is updated annually to reflect industry changes.
As a true distance education school, we are unable to provide job placement. We do feel confident that our online career programs that align with a certification give our graduates a leg up in finding entry-level employment. Our Career Center offers students and graduates resources to prepare an interview including writing a resume and cover letter. It also offers blog articles and networking insight.
YOUR FUTURE STARTS HERE - REQUEST INFO TODAY!
BCI is committed to providing quality, relevant and affordable distance education programs that focus on the knowledge and skills needed for entry-level careers, professional development or personal goals.
