By Amber Schappaugh, MA, RMA (AMT), Midstate College
Midstate College is a regionally accredited four year institution that has been serving Central Illinois for over 125 years. Midstate College is proud of its tradition of assisting individuals in becoming successful in their chosen careers. The campus is unique due to the individual attention students receive from staff and faculty. Students at Midstate College are provided with a family, work, and school life-balance to help each one be successful. Midstate College is pleased to announce the launch of the Pharmacy Technician Diploma Program, and students can register now for the program beginning in February.
The Pharmacy Technician Diploma is designed to prepare students to work as entry-level pharmacy technicians or assistants under the direction of a licensed Pharmacist. The duties carried out by a pharmacy technician include both clinical and administrative activities such as filling, labeling, and accounting for prescription medications. A pharmacy technician may be employed in a variety of settings including a pharmacy, a department store, hospital, ambulatory care settings, and nursing facilities. The pharmacy technician field is very rewarding. This career allows a person to work in a helping profession with many advancement opportunities. It is a profession in healthcare that doesn’t require clinical duties yet still serves an important role.
The Midstate College Pharmacy Technician Diploma will provide the student with an understanding of the responsibilities and duties of a technician, basic anatomy relating to pathological conditions, terms and abbreviations as they relate to pharmacy, an understanding of law and ethics, skills in preparation, filing, calculations and handling of medications, medication names (both trade and generic), side effects and storage of medication, as well as the importance of customer service. Courses in the program will ensure that graduates are trained to work in both clinical and administrative settings to provide maximum support to pharmacists, customers, and physician offices. Mike Johnston, Chairman and CEO of the National Pharmacy Technician Association says “the majority of your customers that you’re going to be dealing with are sick; whether it be a cold or a much more serious, chronic condition. So it takes a lot of compassion and empathy (U.S. News, 2015).” Midstate College has heard this and requires students in this program take a course specifically on customer satisfaction. Graduates will possess interpersonal skills, professional comprehension and abilities, aptitude to process and handle medication orders as well as the ability to prepare medications and compounds. They will have knowledge of patient and medication safety, quality assurance standards, technology, and professional regulatory standards. The graduates will be eligible to take the National Pharmacy Technician Certification examination.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the employment of Pharmacy Technicians is expected to grow 20% by 2022, which is faster than the average occupational growth rate of 11 %. Certification can be transferred to other states as well. This rise in need for Pharmacy Technicians is due to population aging, higher rates of chronic disease, advances in pharmaceutical research, and an increase in health insurance coverage. Currently the fastest growing segment of the population is that of the 85 years and older, it is projected that this segment will quadruple in the next 40 years. This population has more medical needs that require pharmaceutical interventions which increases employment growth rate for pharmacy technicians. Pharmacists are also taking more of a patient care role leaving technicians to perform some tasks that have been done previously by the Pharmacist.
Additionally, students interested in completing a Bachelor degree, the Pharmacy Technician program is a great place to start. Midstate College has many programs in which the curriculum is designed to “stack” into higher degrees. The Pharmacy Technician program would stack into the Bachelor of Science in Health Service Management allowing the student to transfer all of the credits received in the diploma program into the bachelor program; without losing any courses taken. This allows a student the opportunity to work in a career of their choice while continuing on for a higher degree.
Registration is going on now for the new quarter starting February 22nd, 2016.
Amber Schappaugh, MA, RMA (AMT) is the Director of Allied Health and Externship Coordinator at Midstate College in Peoria, Illinois. For more information, please contact Midstate College at 309-692-4092 or midstate.edu.
Sources upon request
Photo credit: Wavebreakmedia, Cathy Yeulet — iStock