Pharmacy Technician
720 Clock Hour Certification Program
Program Coordinator: Misti Essley
Monday - Thursday 5:30pm - 10:00 pm
Phone: 417.659.4400
Essley-m@mssu.edu

A technician is an individual
who, under the supervision of
a pharmacist, assists in the
performance of activities of
the pharmacy department not
requiring the professional
judgment of a pharmacist.

As with the medical field in general, the demand for pharmacy techs is expected to grow much faster than the average over the next decade because of the development of new drugs and the large aging population in the United States. With more and more pharmacists doing patient counseling and working directly with physicians, they are relying on the technicians to manage the daily activities of the pharmacy.

Pharmacy technicians have
varying responsibilities. Some
of those include, but are not
limited to:

• Preparing & filing prescriptions under the direction of a pharmacist
• Preparing medication for clients by compounding, counting pills & labeling bottles
• Labeling & storing supplies
• Preparing IV solutions
• Answering telephones
• Pharmacy administration
• Receiving & verifying prescriptions
• Operating healthcare information systems

Key attributes for success in the profession include: