Become a Pharmacy Technician

This is a short lecture demonstrating how to count and pour in a pharmacy.  It is something that I would have at one time thought that was too simple a concept to even make a video on.  

After seeing too many first time technicians count their capsules by one or even count them with their bare hands, I have determined that a simple lecture like this is needed.  

Notice that I pour my liquid without checking at eye level - not a great practice.  

Use this lecture as a video flash card!  

Go back to your flash cards if needed.  They are your secret weapon in the war on pharmacy knowledge.  

I've got some real world stuff here for you.  These are actual prescriptions from the pharmacy.  No patient information is on these prescriptions (wouldn't want to violate HIPPA - more on that later in the class).  

Notice how the Dr's handwriting is pretty tough to read on some of these prescriptions.  Again, this is real world - that is a challenge in the pharmacy.  Not being able to read a prescription puts the whole pharmacy to a halt.  Usually the best move is to call the Dr. and ask what was intended to be written.  Some Dr's will take offense to you asking - don't worry about it.  Better for you to ask then to cause an error because of sloppy handwriting.  

It is an even tougher situation when you can't even read the Dr's name - then you don't even know who to call!!

Look for more of these real world prescriptions in the coming quizzes. 

This lecture primarily covers the prefixes and suffixes used in antibiotic medications.  Simply knowing that these drugs are antibiotic medications will be a big first step.  But the truly knowledgeable technician will be able to identify and antibiotic and tell what antibiotic classification it is in.  

Add to your ever growing pile of flash cards and immerse yourself in these medications.  Look into your medicine cabinet for any unfinished antibiotics and see if you can name their drug classification. 

Authors note:  You should have finished your antibiotics -- not stopped taking them when you felt better.  You didn't know I was going to get on to you did you? :)  

You will almost certainly see a question on the components of the NDC number.  Learn the 3 sections of the NDC number:

A)  5 digits - Manufacturer

B)  4 digits - Product

C)  2 digits - Package Size

As we get into inventory control this will become important.  Whatever NDC number is ran through the computer (in Data Entry) - needs to be the NDC number that is dispensed.  You can pick the correct drug but the wrong NDC number when dispensing/counting the medication.  Just make sure you are picking the same product that was entered into the computer.  This will keep your pharmacy's inventory correct.  

In this lecture I become your biggest fan.  This is simply a quick review over everything in the Medications section.  I hit on the topics that we just covered and make sure you are on track.  

This lecture is simply a review of common principles of algebra.  

Convert from a % to a decimal:   Move the decimal over 2 places to the LEFT (20% = 0.2)

Zeros are LEADERS not followers.  Look at my 0.2 above. .2 would have been confusing.  So would .20

Know how to round.  You may have to round occasionally in a pharmacy.  Usually you will round to the nearest whole number, but be able to round to other digits when needed

You may run into a medication that is expressed in a ratio.  The certification exam questions on this may be to just show an understanding of what the ratio is stating. A chemical that is 1:1000 is diluted by 1000 fold.

Solve for X -- This is the big one

One variable equations are all over the certification exam.  Know the principles of basic algebra to be able to solve for x.  Look at the example in the video lecture.  This skill needs to be mastered prior to proceeding.  

Its important to know the equipment that you may someday work with.  This lecture discusses both the equipment you may work with and the care of some of that equipment.  

The certification exam may ask about laminar flow hoods - pay special attention to that portion of the lecture.  Keeping your product sterile is incredibly important.  Should you go into institutional pharmacy - you will be asked to prepare an IV bag that is tested for sterility.  Those that can't follow the correct procedures do not get into the IV room.  

This lecture gives the basis for just about all pharmacy math.  You MUST know these measurements.  Not only should you know that 1 teaspoon is 5 mL, but you should be able to tell how many teaspoons are in 50 or 100 mL.  (its 10 or 20).  

Become an expert on converting between one unit to another.  Your technician exam will certainly give you the question in one measurement (such as grams) and ask for the answer in another measurement (such as milligrams).  Don't be fooled by this!

A quiz covering some of the common calculations you may encounter with volumes/measurements.  

Pay attention to the factor label method. If you know of an equality (i.e. 1 g = 1000 mg) than this method can be useful.  

How would we ever know what Super Bowl it is without Roman Numerals?  You may run into Roman Numerals in the quantity portion of many prescriptions.  Most of the time it will be a multiple of 5.  

These are easy to learn and should be an easy question for you on the exam.  Don't blow off this lecture just because it seems easy though.  

This lecture is for the kids.  

Young's rule and Clark's rule are both simple estimations of what a pediatric dosage should be.  Be able to use them if called upon to on the exam.

Be very familiar with mg/kg.  You will almost certainly have a question on your exam giving you the child's weight in Lbs.  Convert to kg by dividing by 2.2.  

Look for the word trickery of mg per DOSE or mg per DAY.  They may ask for mg/day and put the answer for mg/dose in the multiple choice answers.  

The attached document has several terms you will need to be familiar with as you prepare for your technician exam.  Many of these terms could be used in a word problem that needs calculations performed.  Usually these type of questions concern third party insurance payment, tax, or discounts taken at the register. 

Like many of the other questions - they are simply trying to make certain you can think on your feet.  

This is a good opportunity to learn one equation and walk away from the lecture one exam question smarter.  

5F = 9C + 160

Fill in the temperature you are given and plug into the above equation.  For reference points you will learn that 0 degrees C is freezing and 100 degrees C is boiling.  (32 and 212 for Farenheit)

This is one of the most useful math lectures you will come across.  Ratio and Proportion math problems occur in most pharmacies daily.  

It is the longest lecture for a reason.  

The biggest hurdle most students face on this lecture is getting the same unit on the top and the bottom of EACH side of the equation.  Grams on the top of one side and mg on the top of the other side just simply won't work.  Convert your numbers to make them match the other side.

For example:  If you have 5 grams/mL = 400mg/XmL your first move should be to convert the grams to milligrams.  (you could also change the mg to grams).  Just make certain the top number (numerator) has the same unit on both sides.  

Know this lecture well.  

We are now getting deep into the depths of pharmacy math.  There is a decent chance that you won't see this type of problem often in your pharmacy career.  There is also a very decent chance that you WILL see this type of math problem on your technician exam.  

Remember to put your known values (What you have and what you want) in their correct boxes in the TIC TAC TOE box.  As you go across the grid diagonally you will find the difference between what you have and what you want.  This difference will get your how many "parts" of your final solution you will need.  

Add the parts together to get the total parts of the wanted solution.  

Then you can find out how many mL of each solution are needed by multiplying  (parts/total parts) x Final volume.

This is easiest to learn when seeing it done.  Look at the blackboard examples.  

Also remember that 0% can be one of your solutions on hand. 

Having accurate inventory is so important to a pharmacy.  I have seen so many times where a patient was told to come on to our pharmacy to get a medication.  They drive an hour to my pharmacy for the hard to find drug only to get there and realize that we really DON'T have the medication.  The computer was just incorrectly saying we DID have it.  

In that scenario the computer was wrong but it was most likely wrong because of a user error.  We have to watch our inventory in a pharmacy.  

1. We have to receive our orders from our medication distributors properly.  
   
2. We have to send back expired or recalled medications properly
   
3. We have to dispense the exact medication (NDC number!) that was ran though the computer system
   

Simple paper math quiz here.  Slow and steady wins the race -- no need to rush through this one.  

This lecture covers the absolute basics of your pharmacy interview.  You didn't take this class to simply get your certification, you took the class to lock up a job.  The best move you can make is to get working in a pharmacy right now.  You can do that before you have your certification as a pharmacy clerk.  Some states will allow you to be classified as a "tech in training" which will give you more of a legal foothold to start practicing what you have learned.  

I only cover a few important interview tips here:

• Show up early
  
• Dress better than the job asks you to
  
• Speak confidently – even if you are nervous
  
• Look up!
  
• Diminish your weaknesses 
  
• Make your strengths apparent
  

35 questions here.  

Don't take this quiz until you are prepared and have the time to take it!!!