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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

    • Clean and help maintain equipment or work areas and sterilize glassware, according to prescribed methods.
    • Enter prescription information into computer databases.
    • 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.
    • Establish or maintain patient profiles, including lists of medications taken by individual patients.
    • Answer telephones, responding to questions or requests.
    • Compute charges for medication or equipment dispensed to hospital patients and enter data in computer.
    • Receive and store incoming supplies, verify quantities against invoices, check for outdated medications in current inventory, and inform supervisors of stock needs and shortages.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.
    • Order, label, and count stock of medications, chemicals, or supplies and enter inventory data into computer.
    • 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.
    • Prepare and process medical insurance claim forms and records.
    • Order, label, and count stock of medications, chemicals, or supplies and enter inventory data into computer.
    • Maintain proper storage and security conditions for drugs.
    • Clean and help maintain equipment or work areas and sterilize glassware, according to prescribed methods.
    • Price and file prescriptions that have been filled.
    • Prepack bulk medicines, fill bottles with prescribed medications, and type and affix labels.
    • Mix pharmaceutical preparations, according to written prescriptions.
    • Compute charges for medication or equipment dispensed to hospital patients and enter data in computer.
    • Price stock and mark items for sale.
    • Receive written prescription or refill requests and verify that information is complete and accurate.
    • Maintain and merchandise home healthcare products or services.
    • Clean and help maintain equipment or work areas and sterilize glassware, according to prescribed methods.
    • Enter prescription information into computer databases.

    Skills

    • Judgment and Decision Making

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

    • Troubleshooting

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

    • Repairing

      Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.

    • Complex Problem Solving

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

    • Mathematics

      Using math to solve problems.

    • Active Learning

      Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.

    • Programming

      Writing computer programs.

    • Persuasion

      Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

    • Systems Analysis

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

    • Operations Monitoring

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

    • Systems Evaluation

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

    • Learning Strategies

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

    • Service Orientation

      Looking for ways to help people.

    • Technology Design

      Making equipment and technology useful for customers.

    • Negotiation

      Bringing people together to solve differences.

    • Critical Thinking

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

    • Management of Material Resources

      Managing equipment and materials.

    • Equipment Selection

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

    • Active Listening

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

    • Social Perceptiveness

      Understanding people's reactions.

    • Speaking

      Talking to others.

    • Equipment Maintenance

      Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.

    • Time Management

      Managing your time and the time of other people.

    • Operation and Control

      Using equipment or systems.

    • Quality Control Analysis

      Testing how well a product or service works.

    • Management of Personnel Resources

      Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.

    • Management of Financial Resources

      Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.

    • Installation

      Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.

    • Science

      Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.

    • Monitoring

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

    • Instructing

      Teaching people how to do something.

    • Writing

      Writing things for co-workers or customers.

    • Coordination

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

    • Operations Analysis

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

    • Reading Comprehension

      Reading work-related information.

    WorkKeys®

    Applied Math
    5
    Workplace Documents
    5
    Graphic Literacy
    5

    Abilities

    • Mathematical Reasoning

      Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.

    • Extent Flexibility

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

    • Inductive Reasoning

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

    • Arm-Hand Steadiness

      Keeping your arm or hand steady.

    • 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.

    • Hearing Sensitivity

      Telling the difference between sounds.

    • Wrist-Finger Speed

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

    • Deductive Reasoning

      Using rules to solve problems.

    • Written Comprehension

      Reading and understanding what is written.

    • Time Sharing

      Doing two or more things at the same time.

    • Reaction Time

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

    • Speech Recognition

      Recognizing spoken words.

    • Spatial Orientation

      Knowing where things are around you.

    • Stamina

      Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.

    • Oral Comprehension

      Listening and understanding what people say.

    • Perceptual Speed

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

    • Multilimb Coordination

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

    • Information Ordering

      Ordering or arranging things.

    • Night Vision

      Seeing at night or under low light.

    • Rate Control

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

    • Speech Clarity

      Speaking clearly.

    • Visual Color Discrimination

      Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.

    • Written Expression

      Communicating by writing.

    • Trunk Strength

      Using your lower back and stomach.

    • Sound Localization

      Noticing the direction that a sound came from.

    • Manual Dexterity

      Holding or moving items with your hands.

    • Fluency of Ideas

      Coming up with lots of ideas.

    • Originality

      Creating new and original ideas.

    • Visualization

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

    • Finger Dexterity

      Putting together small parts with your fingers.

    • Flexibility of Closure

      Seeing hidden patterns.

    • Oral Expression

      Communicating by speaking.

    • Category Flexibility

      Grouping things in different ways.

    • Near Vision

      Seeing details up close.

    • Depth Perception

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

    • Selective Attention

      Paying attention to something without being distracted.

    • Speed of Closure

      Quickly knowing what you are looking at.

    • Speed of Limb Movement

      Quickly moving your arms and legs.

    • Peripheral Vision

      Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.

    • Number Facility

      Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.

    • Gross Body Coordination

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

    • Control Precision

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

    • Explosive Strength

      Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.

    • Response Orientation

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

    • Auditory Attention

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

    • Far Vision

      Seeing details that are far away.

    • Memorization

      Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.

    • Gross Body Equilibrium

      Keeping your balance or staying upright.

    • Dynamic Flexibility

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

    • Static Strength

      Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.

    Knowledge

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • History and Archeology

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

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • Telecommunications

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

    • Biology

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

    • 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.

    • Food Production

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

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • Economics and Accounting

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

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • Fine Arts

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

    • Mechanical

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

    • English Language

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

    • 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.

    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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