Requirements to be certified as pharmacy technician CPHT and regulatory laws.

Background

Two organizations, the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board and the Institute for the Certification of Pharmacy Technicians, administer national certification examinations. Certification is voluntary in most States, but is required by some States and employers. Some technicians are hired without formal training, but under the condition that they obtain certification within a specified period of time.

Pharmacy technician licensure issue should be directed to individual state of residence due to state specific regulations.

Requirements

• A person is not eligible to sit for the PTCE, or to recertify for the CPhT credential, if convicted of a felony that occurred within the last five (5) years, and/or if the conviction was drug or pharmacy-related.
• High school diploma or GED by the application receipt deadline. Individuals who do not meet the eligibility requirement for education by the application receipt deadline may request an exemption.

Recertification Requirements

• PTCB certification must be renewed every 2 years.
• 20 hours of continuing education (CE) are required for recertification; 1 hour must be in pharmacy law

Examination

• The PTCE contains 100 multiple-choice questions. Ten of the 100 questions are pre-test questions and will not count toward your final score. The pre-test questions provide statistical information for possible use on future examinations; this information is vital in building a quality test. The pretest questions are randomly placed throughout the exam. Candidates are encouraged to answer all questions. Each question provides four choices, with only ONE designated as the correct or best answer. The questions from the three functions tested are distributed randomly throughout the total exam (see below for the function areas). It is to your advantage to answer every question on the exam since the final score is based on the total number of questions answered correctly. Candidates will have 2 hours to complete the exam tutorial, the PTCE, and exit survey.
• The content of the exam is characterized under three function areas: I. Assisting the Pharmacist in Serving Patients – 66% of exam II. Maintaining Medication and Inventory Control Systems – 22% of exam III. Participating in the Administration and Management of Pharmacy Practice – 12% of exam

(Added: 15-Dec-2007 Rating: 0 Votes: 0) Rate It
[0] View Comment