They have pharmacy camps now?

I just discovered that not only do you have the choice to study online to be a pharmacy tech, like I did, or go to a local college, that you can actually go to pharmacy camp too!

Now, I don't really know what goes on at Red Raider Pharmacy Camp, which is put on by the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Pharmacy (damn, that's a long ass title) but I like to imagine they are all sitting around a fire singing kumbaya but have changed the words for some of the longest drug names possible. Like this:

Sodiummetadiaminoparadioxyarsenobenzoemethylenesulphoxylate, my Lord, sodiummetadiaminoparadioxyarsenobenzoemethylenesulphoxylate. O Lord, sodiummetadiaminoparadioxyarsenobenzoemethylenesulphoxylate.

Yes, that is a real drug name. No, I don't think I've ever prescribed it. And yes, I did find it on Wikipedia.

Anyway -- I would have loved this camp because it seems like something totally different from the normal. I wonder how it would affect, if at all, the pharmacy technician salary you could get at the end of it?

Any ideas?

UK pharmacy technicians have to pay each year

Starting from today (the 1st of July), being a pharmacy technician in the UK will be a protected title available only to those who are officially registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC).

This means that if you work as a pharmacy technician in a hospital, community pharmacy in industry or any other setting, you gotta get registered.

They really should do this in the States too. The criteria is pretty simple, but would cut all the poor quality techs currently employed in America.

• You must be a certified tech (which in the UK is an NVQ level 3)
• You must have trained under supervision of a pharmacist
• You must pay registration fees each year

It's only small changes, but this will have a huge impact on their industry. One of my most important factors, apart from job satisfaction, is how much I'm getting paid and this is no doubt going to help those UK techs earn more money.

Those lucky limeys!

UC-Davis veterinary pharmacy technician in court today for embezzlement

It seems that every time I write a little something about the world of pharmacy technicians it has something to do with them indulging in illegal activities!

Well today a pharmacy technician from the University of California-Davis veterinary school will appear for their arraignment in the Superior Court. She (it always seems to be female techs!) was arrested and charged with 38 counts of embezzlement!

I couldn't find much information on exactly HOW she embezzled them, but then again I didn't spend too long researching it. What I do know is that the hospital have since updated their systems and access to prevent it from happening again.

The main thing I find interesting about this is that she posted her bond of $20,000. I guess she must have been making pretty good money as a tech anyway which begs the question, "Why steal money from them in the first place".

It's like I always say... some people are just plain stupid!

Pharmacy tech busted for selling drugs in the parking lot

You literally could not make this up, but some unqualified pharmacy tech in Greenacres has been arrested for selling prescriptions to "clients" in the parking lot.

Now I earn a pretty high salary and I know that many others do too -- so why was this woman so stupid as to sell a few hydrocodone pills? What makes it worse is she did it DURING WORK HOURS and she did it in the pharmacy PARKING LOT.

Average pharmacy technician salary: $30,000 a year
Potential future earnings as a pharmacist: $60,000+ a year
Getting caught with 235 illegal pills by the cops: Priceless!

To be fair, if you click through the link above to check out the article, she does look pretty dumb anyway.

Some people...

Pharmacist chases drug thief away with a gun

As a pharmacy tech, I have a sad little infatuation with keeping up with pharmacy related news and I have just come across an absolute doozy today!

According to the Daily Times:

A would-be robber looking for “hillbilly heroin” narrowly escaped capture after a local pharmacist chased him down with a gun, police said.

Longtime pharmacist Phil Frawley was finishing up filling a prescription when he overheard the conversation between the suspect and his pharmacy technician at the counter.

“He said to her, ‘Give me your Oxycotin and Oxycodone,’ and (she) said, ‘Do you have a prescription?’” Frawley said. “He said, ‘No, but I have a gun.’”

That’s all Frawley, a former Marine, needed to hear.

“I reached for my gun and within a second I was over the counter,” he said. “I told him I had a gun, then ran around and caught him by the front door.”

The story goes on to talk about how he ripped the shirt off the robbers back, revealing a bad ass tattoo beneath.

Anyway, this is just an awesome story and I for one think we should all have weapons ready in our pharmacy -- just in case some joker tries to rob us.

Have you ever been robbed in your pharmacy? Let me know in the comments.

So what is a pharmacy technician?

According to Wikipedia:

A pharmacy technician is a pharmacy staff member who works under the direct supervision of a licensed pharmacist, and performs many pharmacy-related functions. Job duties include dispensing prescription drugs and other health care products to patients, as well as working with doctor's offices and insurance companies to ensure correct medications are provided and payment is received.

I think it goes a little further than that though. Being a pharmacy technician is really about helping other people every day. Sure, the average pharmacy technician salary is pretty decent, but even that pales in comparison to seeing other people get better after you have filled their prescription.

I personally love my job as a pharmacy tech because I get to meet people every single day who really need my help.

I work in a hospital, so it's a lot more fast paced than in retail pharmacy's but it's all the same. The pleasure I get from helping these people every day makes it the most worthwhile job I have ever done.

Are you a pharmacy technician? If so, let me know in the comments what it is you enjoy about it and what it means to you to be one?

Not a pharmacy tech? That's cool. Just drop me a comment and tell me why you want to be one (which I'm assuming you do if you are reading this blog!).