If your aspiration is to become a pharmacy technician, you will need to pass the certification exams for a pharmacy technician. There are two nationally accepted certification exams and they are offered by the National Healthcare Association (NHA) and Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB).The goal of the examination is to assess your knowledge before you become a pharmacy technician. Once you pass the pharmacy technician exams you earn the Certified Pharmacy Technician or CPhT title.It is very possible to pass a pharmacy tech certification exam. All that is require of you is to understand what the important points are. To pass the exams you need to understand what the exams consists of and understand how to prepare for the exams. The guidelines below will explain these two points further:Understanding the Pharmacy Tech Certification ExamPTCB exam has ninety multiple-choice questions and takes a maximum time limit of two hours to finish. The exam is computer based and therefore provides instant results once you are done. The exam is available all year round and offered every day of the week.Passing the Pharmacy Technician Certification ExamThe test consists of ten pre assessment test questions. These questions do not add towards the final results. The remaining questions test your knowledge of skills in the 10 knowledge domains. These domains are:Sterile and Non-sterile Compounding
Pharmacology for Technicians
Pharmacy Law and Regulations
Pharmacy Quality Assurance
Medication Safety
Pharmacy Billing and Reimbursement
Medication Order Entry and Fill Process
Pharmacy Information Systems Usage and Application
Pharmacy Inventory ManagementThe NHA pharmacy tech exam has 110 multiple-choice questions. It is a computer-based exam that takes about 3 hours to finish. When you are done with the exam, you will get the results immediately and know whether you have passed or failed.The exam questions on 3 areas: the dispensing process, drugs and products of drugs and regulations of technicians.Questions for the dispensing process include the following (52% of exam):Prescription information
Calculations
Preparation and dispensing prescriptions
Sterilization of products, unit dosing and repackagingQuestions for the regulation and duties of technicians include (25% of exam):Overview of technician duties and general info
Controlled substances
Other regulations and lawsQuestions in the area of drugs and products of drugs consists of (23% of exam):Classification of drugs
Most frequently prescribed medicationsHow to Prepare for the Pharmacy Technician ExamPreparing for exams has become simpler this is because there are various available resources and studying guides. The best studying guides have math calculations and evaluation of regulations.The exam questions are on medications, contra-indication and side effects of medications. You should therefor have a basic comprehension of medication and dosage requirements. PTCB website provides various pharmacy technician study guides that will help you through the exams.Pharmacy Technician Certification Exam Taking TipsWhen doing the exam carefully read through the questions. Get rid of the choices that are clearly incorrect and then pick the best answer from the rest of the choices. The exam takes 2 hours so you have plenty of time to complete. If you not sure of an answer you can always return to do it. Avoid spending a lot time on a single question. With these tips you will most definitely maximize your scores.Before applying for a particular pharmacy tech exam make sure you meet the necessary qualifications.Passing certification exams whether by the PTCB or the NHA it’s a major step towards advancing your career. Make sure you prepare yourself before taking the exams for the best performance.

A career in pharmaceutical science is always rewarding and pharmacy technicians are the leading professionals in the pharmaceuticals industry. Generally pharmacy technicians do a lot more than pharmacy aides, so the rewards, benefits, and career chances are brighter for pharmacy technicians.Pharmacy technicians should hold a national pharmacy training certificate. Pharmacists usually prefer to employ certified pharmacy technicians. The regular course and learning procedure during their certification, molds them to be dedicated in their job. Pharmacy technicians are given due respect by all the patients for their sincere advice and service. With the increase in population and hospitals, the need will increase and pharmacy technicians will be in large demand.To pursue pharmacy technician as a career, one has to pass the licensing exam and should be ready to answer all the queries from the patients and guide them perfectly. Licensed pharmacy technicians are called Certified Pharmacy Technicians (CPhT). The license is issued by the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board. Exams are conducted at various centers nationally and there are also employers who give on-the-job training for people and then recruit them as pharmacy technicians. Pharmacy technicians must invariably advise regarding their diet and other regular health activities. Their role is not limited to the prescription. Adding to this, they should be aware of all the latest medicines and their availability.Pharmacy technicians who hold a certificate become perfect technicians, only if they communicate effectively. They should be precise communicators. Pharmacy technicians must ascertain that people understand their instructions. Pharmacy technicians should be knowledgeable in respect to the effects and ill effects of medicines. Technicians good in mathematics and science can perform these duties excellently as they can cater to people’s requirements immediately.Pharmacy technicians can get themselves trained perfectly by working at health clinics and hospitals. They should also do some voluntarily work during calamities. This will help them do their job in an effective way. Advances in science and medicines will surely create lots of requirements for pharmacy technicians. Technicians can work in evenings or during weekends to earn some money. The average pay per hour for pharmacy technicians would be around $12. Pharmacy technicians are always sought by people and will be in high demand during the next decade.