Working as a Pharmacy Technician

“What medications make your eyes stronger?”“Stare-oids!” Hahaha ;)Regardless of what path you take to becoming a physician, you need to get some exposure into the world of healthcare. You can do this through volunteering, shadowing, or working. There are endless options of employment such as becoming a EMT, medical scribe, medical assistant, etc. I chose a rather unique option of becoming a pharmacy technician and wow, has it opened up my eyes to an array of information that I could have not gotten through other fields. Working in the pharmacy exposes you to a different kind of environment not typically seen in a doctor-patient interaction. You get to see a continuation of care and a variety of processes that exists outside the clinic doors.When will you ever get the chance to experience other fields within medicine? You are already going to be in a hospital for the rest of your life, why not get the opportunity to thrive in a new environment and use those resources to further your education and understanding for your career. I learned a lot from my pharmacists and the patients I helped treat, as well as the behind-the-scene paperwork and reality of pharmacy rules.Two years ago, I started my first day on the job with an eight-hour shift in a short-staffed retail pharmacy (it was scary and it’ll be like that sometimes). I made lots of mistakes but I was a fast learner and adapted my skills accordingly.As a pharmacy tech, there are many responsibilities around the pharmacy that you have--- you actually do everything and the pharmacist is there to check your work and counsel patients about their medications. Everyone starts out with filling, which is finding medications on the shelves, counting them, and putting them into the prescription bottles. Other jobs include mixing medications (liquids/creams), ordering/tracking inventory, following up with patients on their adherence (making sure they are taking it when they are supposed to), dealing with insurance/billing (the worst!), etc. You build up to working drop off which is where you get to converse with the patient 1-on-1 through the process of getting their Rx ready: typing up prescriptions into the system, running their insurance, and updating their information/shot records, etc. (this is my favorite!). In 3 months, you should be able to do all the basics and gain insight on how to deal with more peculiar problems (how to run a claim for Medicare Part B, what to do with a prior authorization, complying with regulations for controlled medication).What I love about my job is I am the first contact with the patient and if I do it right, I can streamline the tedious chore of getting medication into something more pleasant. Working on the other side means getting a different perspective. My pharmacist have pointed out alternative drugs/combo that are cheaper for the patient and double checked the prescriptions written by doctors. I got to see all the different variations of how hospitals and offices are ran by the way they answer the phone or write their prescription. My time here as a tech has shaped my character and knowledge of pharmacology. I’ve grown to be more patient, sympathetic, and enthusiastic with each patient. In addition, I’ve learned so much about drug classifications/interactions, side effects, pill shape/color, dosing, pack sizes, etc. which will be useful in the future. If you were to give me the name of a random medication, more than likely I would be able to tell you if it was expensive or not. On fast-movers, the most dispensed drugs at the pharmacy, I can tell you what they are for, what strengths they come in, and the possible directions a doctor might write for you to take them -- that’s how experienced you can become.What’s real is that there are negatives too. Personally, I think that the system of communication between pharmacists and doctors need to improve; healthcare is still very manual and that means calling back and forth to insurance and faxing doctors’ clinics. On top of that, patients don’t understand what you do. They see medications on the shelves and they say “You’re going to need 30 mins to an hour to put a bottle in a bag for me?” It doesn’t matter how many problems you solved behind the counter, they just believe that when they come, they can pick it up. However, these challenges are what prepares you for the reality of pursuing medicine. You can treat and talk to patients all day, but the administration and third parties that you have to handle are the reason why professionals burnout. Having a feel for the constant influx of patients, not getting breaks when it’s too busy, and being exposed to the idea that you can’t please everybody is something you should find out now, instead of later.For someone looking to get started in this field, I suggest self-studying for the exam and getting certified (it’ll be easier to find a job than starting as a pharm-tech-in-training). The exam is ~$150 and you have to register nationally and then within your state. When you start, ask lots of questions on top of the explanations your supervisor gives you. They can only cover so much but you don’t know anything so you are able to find details they’ve missed ;). Working a few hours a week might not be enough for you to learn and retain everything you need to so I suggest starting during school breaks so you can be committed for a time period and decrease your hours as needed. In addition, make sure you take lots of notes and never reach a plateau mindset where you are not open to improving. With any skill, you have to practice to perfect it.I highly encourage trying this profession out and if you have any questions for me, feel free reach out to me/hit me up.I can talk to you about this for hours! I hope y’all find something that speaks to you and most importantly, something that makes you happy.Join the pharm tech fam so you can laugh at this pun with me! (cringe I know)Pharmacist says to the new tech: “Walk silently when you walk past the first aisle.”Pharmacy technician, “Why?”Pharmacist: “So you don’t wake up the Ambien”lub dub,Shanon