Pharmacy Technician Course Outline

Introduction to the practice of pharmacy and explanation of terms that are commonly used in the pharmacy profession.

Definitions, uses, and sources of the basic tools of pharmacy – drugs.

Ways to get medications into the body. Introduction of the basic measurement systems and mathematical techniques used in pharmacy.

Dispensing medication, mechanics of billing, purchasing, receiving, and inventory management in a pharmacy setting.

Pharmacy operations in hospital settings.

Pharmaceutical equipment and techniques required for proper compounding of ingredients; providing first-rate customer service.

Protecting patients and healthcare providers from infectious diseases. Techniques used to prepare sterile intravenous products.

Prevalence and potential adverse effects caused secondary to medical errors. Processes and procedures which may be implemented to prevent medical errors within the healthcare system.

Process of getting drugs approved for general use by physicians. Issues related to the administration of drugs to individual patients.

Infectious bacteria and the antibiotic drugs that have been developed to treat them. Introduction to fungi and viruses.

How the human nervous system is affected by the various classes of pain relievers.

Pharmacology of respiratory and gastrointestinal drugs.

Diseases and disorders of the cardiovascular and urinary systems, including the drug therapies that are used in prevention and treatment.

Study of the nature, uses, and side effects of medicinal drugs in the classes of muscle relaxants, nonnarcotic analgesics, hormones, and topicals.

Chemotherapeutic and biologic drugs as well as substances such as vitamins, herbs, and antidotes.