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Date: 06/15/2025

Pharmacy Technicians

Prepare medications under the direction of a pharmacist. May measure, mix, count out, label, and record amounts and dosages of medications according to prescription orders.

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    Work Activities

    Work Activities

    • Restock intravenous (IV) supplies and add measured drugs or nutrients to IV solutions under sterile conditions to prepare IV packs for various uses, such as chemotherapy medication.
    • Enter prescription information into computer databases.
    • Clean and help maintain equipment or work areas and sterilize glassware, according to prescribed methods.
    • Establish or maintain patient profiles, including lists of medications taken by individual patients.
    • Transfer medication from vials to the appropriate number of sterile, disposable syringes, using aseptic techniques.
    • Restock intravenous (IV) supplies and add measured drugs or nutrients to IV solutions under sterile conditions to prepare IV packs for various uses, such as chemotherapy medication.
    • Receive and store incoming supplies, verify quantities against invoices, check for outdated medications in current inventory, and inform supervisors of stock needs and shortages.
    • Receive written prescription or refill requests and verify that information is complete and accurate.
    • Answer telephones, responding to questions or requests.
    • Order, label, and count stock of medications, chemicals, or supplies and enter inventory data into computer.
    • Prepare and process medical insurance claim forms and records.
    • Compute charges for medication or equipment dispensed to hospital patients and enter data in computer.
    • Order, label, and count stock of medications, chemicals, or supplies and enter inventory data into computer.
    • Prepack bulk medicines, fill bottles with prescribed medications, and type and affix labels.
    • Maintain proper storage and security conditions for drugs.
    • Mix pharmaceutical preparations, according to written prescriptions.
    • Compute charges for medication or equipment dispensed to hospital patients and enter data in computer.
    • Clean and help maintain equipment or work areas and sterilize glassware, according to prescribed methods.
    • Price and file prescriptions that have been filled.
    • Enter prescription information into computer databases.
    • Receive written prescription or refill requests and verify that information is complete and accurate.
    • Maintain and merchandise home healthcare products or services.
    • Price stock and mark items for sale.
    • Clean and help maintain equipment or work areas and sterilize glassware, according to prescribed methods.

    Skills

    • Troubleshooting

      Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.

    • Repairing

      Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.

    • Programming

      Writing computer programs.

    • Complex Problem Solving

      Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

    • Mathematics

      Using math to solve problems.

    • Judgment and Decision Making

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.

    • Active Learning

      Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.

    • Persuasion

      Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

    • Service Orientation

      Looking for ways to help people.

    • Technology Design

      Making equipment and technology useful for customers.

    • Systems Evaluation

      Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.

    • Negotiation

      Bringing people together to solve differences.

    • Systems Analysis

      Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.

    • Learning Strategies

      Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.

    • Critical Thinking

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

    • Operations Monitoring

      Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.

    • Active Listening

      Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

    • Speaking

      Talking to others.

    • Management of Material Resources

      Managing equipment and materials.

    • Social Perceptiveness

      Understanding people's reactions.

    • Equipment Selection

      Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.

    • Operation and Control

      Using equipment or systems.

    • Management of Financial Resources

      Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.

    • Coordination

      Changing what is done based on other people's actions.

    • Installation

      Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.

    • Operations Analysis

      Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.

    • Quality Control Analysis

      Testing how well a product or service works.

    • Monitoring

      Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.

    • Instructing

      Teaching people how to do something.

    • Reading Comprehension

      Reading work-related information.

    • Science

      Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.

    • Equipment Maintenance

      Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.

    • Writing

      Writing things for co-workers or customers.

    • Time Management

      Managing your time and the time of other people.

    • Management of Personnel Resources

      Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.

    WorkKeys®

    Applied Math
    5
    Workplace Documents
    5
    Graphic Literacy
    5

    Abilities

    • Written Comprehension

      Reading and understanding what is written.

    • Reaction Time

      Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.

    • Deductive Reasoning

      Using rules to solve problems.

    • Glare Sensitivity

      Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.

    • Problem Sensitivity

      Noticing when problems happen.

    • Dynamic Strength

      Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.

    • Inductive Reasoning

      Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.

    • Hearing Sensitivity

      Telling the difference between sounds.

    • Extent Flexibility

      Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Arm-Hand Steadiness

      Keeping your arm or hand steady.

    • Time Sharing

      Doing two or more things at the same time.

    • Wrist-Finger Speed

      Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.

    • Mathematical Reasoning

      Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.

    • Speech Recognition

      Recognizing spoken words.

    • Speech Clarity

      Speaking clearly.

    • Multilimb Coordination

      Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.

    • Perceptual Speed

      Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

    • Night Vision

      Seeing at night or under low light.

    • Spatial Orientation

      Knowing where things are around you.

    • Rate Control

      Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.

    • Information Ordering

      Ordering or arranging things.

    • Visual Color Discrimination

      Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.

    • Oral Comprehension

      Listening and understanding what people say.

    • Stamina

      Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.

    • Trunk Strength

      Using your lower back and stomach.

    • Depth Perception

      Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.

    • Flexibility of Closure

      Seeing hidden patterns.

    • Finger Dexterity

      Putting together small parts with your fingers.

    • Fluency of Ideas

      Coming up with lots of ideas.

    • Near Vision

      Seeing details up close.

    • Sound Localization

      Noticing the direction that a sound came from.

    • Originality

      Creating new and original ideas.

    • Manual Dexterity

      Holding or moving items with your hands.

    • Visualization

      Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.

    • Oral Expression

      Communicating by speaking.

    • Category Flexibility

      Grouping things in different ways.

    • Written Expression

      Communicating by writing.

    • Memorization

      Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.

    • Far Vision

      Seeing details that are far away.

    • Selective Attention

      Paying attention to something without being distracted.

    • Explosive Strength

      Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.

    • Speed of Limb Movement

      Quickly moving your arms and legs.

    • Speed of Closure

      Quickly knowing what you are looking at.

    • Gross Body Equilibrium

      Keeping your balance or staying upright.

    • Number Facility

      Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.

    • Dynamic Flexibility

      Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Gross Body Coordination

      Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.

    • Peripheral Vision

      Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.

    • Response Orientation

      Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.

    • Control Precision

      Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.

    • Static Strength

      Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.

    • Auditory Attention

      Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.

    Knowledge

    • Building and Construction

      Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.

    • Design

      Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

    • Law and Government

      Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

    • Public Safety and Security

      Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

    • History and Archeology

      Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

    • Administrative

      Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

    • Sales and Marketing

      Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

    • Engineering and Technology

      Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

    • Communications and Media

      Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

    • Customer and Personal Service

      Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

    • Education and Training

      Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

    • Production and Processing

      Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

    • Geography

      Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.

    • Telecommunications

      Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

    • Transportation

      Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

    • Mathematics

      Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

    • Personnel and Human Resources

      Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

    • Biology

      Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

    • Food Production

      Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

    • Physics

      Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.

    • Therapy and Counseling

      Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

    • Philosophy and Theology

      Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.

    • Economics and Accounting

      Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

    • Chemistry

      Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

    • English Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

    • Fine Arts

      Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

    • Psychology

      Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

    • Medicine and Dentistry

      Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

    • Foreign Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.

    • Administration and Management

      Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

    • Mechanical

      Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

    • Computers and Electronics

      Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

    • Sociology and Anthropology

      Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.

    Career Video

    Additional videos and more information available on CareerOneStop

    Pay

    • Ohio Annual Salary 38290/yr
    • Typical Salary
    • Ohio Hourly Wage 18.41/hr
    • Typical Hourly Wage

    Ohio Employment Trends

    • Currently Employed 17,180
    • Yearly Projected Openings 1580

    Typical Education

    Personality

    Conventional: People interested in this work like activities that include data, detail, and regular routines.They do well at jobs that need:
    • Attention to Detail
    • Integrity
    • Dependability
    • Cooperation
    • Self Control
    • Stress Tolerance

    Tools

    • Bar code reader equipment
    • Benchtop centrifuges
    • Bi distillation units
    • Cash registers
    • Compact disc CD or labeling printers
    • Desktop computers
    • Digital pen
    • Dry heat or hot air sterilizers
    • Filling or sealing auger dose machines
    • Forced air or mechanical convection general purpose incubators
    • Fume hoods or cupboards
    • Gas burners
    • Hydrometers
    • Intravenous infusion pumps for general use
    • Intravenous tubing with catheter administration kits
    • Laboratory balances
    • Laboratory blenders or emulsifiers
    • Laboratory graduated cylinders
    • Laboratory mills
    • Laboratory vacuum pumps
    • Laboratory washing machines
    • Laminar flow cabinets or stations
    • Laser printers
    • Medical syringes without needle
    • Medication or pill dispensers
    • Microscope slides
    • Multipurpose or general test tubes
    • Notebook computers
    • Personal computers
    • Petri plates or dishes
    • Pharmaceutical filters or ultra filters
    • Point of sale POS terminal
    • Steam autoclaves or sterilizers
    • Sterile or aseptic processing or filling machines
    • Tablet counters
    • Vacuum blood collection tubes or containers

    Technology

    • Accounting software
    • Data base user interface and query software
    • Electronic mail software
    • Enterprise resource planning ERP software
    • Inventory management software
    • Label making software
    • Medical software
    • Office suite software
    • Point of sale POS software
    • Presentation software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Word processing software

    Tags

    • InDemand occupations are considered a priority by the state of Ohio.
    • Apprenticeships are available for this occupation. These programs can help you get hands-on experience and build your skills.

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