Pharmacy Technology

Now is the time to pursue a career in healthcare. To get started, enroll at the college, then complete a program application using the instructions on this page. Program applications are currently being accepted by email only. Admissions Specialists are available to help you by phone or by email.

What You Will Learn

A career in pharmacy gives you the opportunity to be a part of one of the fastest growing fields in healthcare. Pharmacy technicians work closely with pharmacists to help ensure that patients have the medications they need.

A pharmacy technician works closely with pharmacists in hospitals, drug and grocery stores, and other medical settings to help prepare and distribute medicines to patients. In many pharmacies, technicians:

• screen prescription orders for accuracy and completeness
• prepare prescriptions--retrieve, count, pour, weigh, measure, and sometimes mix the medication
• perform calculations
• prepare medicines used to treat cancer
• assist in the management of investigational drug studies
• use technology to help maintain accurate patient records, prepare and package medications, and place orders

The Central Piedmont Pharmacy Technology program will prepare you to assist the pharmacist in duties that a pharmacy technician can legally perform and to function within the boundaries prescribed by the pharmacist and the employment agency. Coursework includes and builds upon the domains of healthcare and pharmaceutical principals. Content emphasizes the pharmacy technician as a member of the interdisciplinary team providing safe, individualized care while employing evidence-based practice, quality improvement, and informatics. You will learn to prepare prescription medications, mix intravenous solutions and other specialized medications, update patient profiles, maintain inventories, package medications, and gather data used by pharmacists to monitor drug therapy.

Graduates of the pharmacy technology program are eligible to apply to take the certification exam with the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB). Employment opportunities are vast within the global healthcare system. Employment opportunities include retail, hospitals, nursing homes, research laboratories and pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities.

Apply now

Why Choose Central Piedmont

Our program is accredited by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP). Successful completion of an ASHP accredited pharmacy education program will become a requirement for PTCB certification by 2020. Additionally, income potential is greater with an Associate in Applied Science degree, and the North Carolina Board of Pharmacy recognizes graduates with an Associate in Applied Science degree in pharmacy technology as Validating Technicians. Validating Technicians have an expanded role in pharmacy practice in North Carolina and will be allowed to validate certain stocking and unit dose packaging functions of other pharmacy technicians in the hospital pharmacy setting.

Real World Education

At Central Piedmont, your education goes beyond what you learn in class. We offer numerous opportunities for you to enhance your learning — and to make friends, network, and pursue your passions — through clubs and organizations, sports, events and activities, leadership opportunities, job experience, volunteer experiences, visual and performing arts, and even international experiences.