The tasks and responsibilities of pharmacy technicians have increased greatly over the years that it's no longer enough to have an on the job training in most circumstances. Twenty, thirty years ago, it would have been possible to get by with no formal training but today, that is simply not the case anymore. And because pharmacy technicians have more responsibilities, they often expect to receive a more generous pharmacy technician salary. Often, employers are willing to give that, just to make sure they are employing those with the best credentials.
As pharmacists have become more involved in patient care, pharmacy technicians have assumed a much bigger role, often dispensing medication and other duties that are in the past, duties that only pharmacists can perform. This also means that pharmacists need more pharmacy technicians under their wings in order to serve more patients when it comes to medication-dispensing duties. There is also an increase in technicians seeking certification, not only because they can receive higher pharmacy technician pay, but also because employers prefer hiring certified technicians. This is so because these technicians will be taking on more complex responsibilities, thereby, a certification is needed as an assurance that the employees possess certain amount of knowledge and skills needed to perform those duties capably.
There is also a growing consensus for States to require certification from all of their pharmacy technicians. In Texas, their State Board of Pharmacy requires national certification in order to be registered as a pharmacy technician in Texas. Pharmacy technicians will only be allowed to assume more responsibilities if they're certified. In order to prepare intravenous medication, for example, pharmacy technicians must have advanced certifications as required by some State laws. Aside from the more common tasks of refilling prescriptions or labeling bottles, there are some technicians who have undergone training and certification in order to do compounding of IV and chemotherapy agents. As mentioned earlier, these added duties mean higher pharmacy technician salary. Technicians can also specialize in many different areas of medicine, like oncology and neonatal intensive care service. This added qualification also means higher pharmacy technician salary.
There are many avenues that technicians can take in order to receive higher compensation. Aside from the additional training, qualification, and certification, they can also choose to apply to a particular work setting that offers better pharmacy technician salary. Private retail pharmacies for example, normally receive lower salary compared to big hospitals. Being employed in these two work settings mean different tasks and responsibilities, and may require different types of training.
