If your dream is to become a Pharmacy Technician but lack the funds to pay for expensive training. You can train yourself to pass the exam without ever stepping foot in a class room.
I decided recently to become a Pharmacy Technician and was presented with a few options in my area. One was to pay over $10,000 to go to a local school in my area. The other was to pay $2,000 and take an online course. The third option of self training was not apparent to me until I tried option two.
I paid my $2,000 and started working on my new career path. Unfortunately the online schools choice in training books was horrible to say the least. The school had me use a book called Pharmaceutical Calculations for Pharmacy Technicians by Jahangir Moini. It was the worst math book I have ever read. Many examples were flat out incorrect. The author would skip steps and present the information poorly.
Finally I could not take it anymore and demanded that I be given another book. That is when I found out about Pharmacy Calculations for Technicians written by Don A ballington and Mary M. Laughlin. The book was incredible I stopped taking the class and focused on the math book.
Important note I am in no way affiliated with the authors of the book and am not being paid to promote their book. It was just the one I used to pass my test.
Steps to achieve your goal to become a Certified Pharmacy Technician.
Learn and understand keywords doctors use on their prescriptions. A quick Internet search provided this resource.
http://drugs.about.com/od/medicationabcs/a/How_To_Read_Rx.htm
You will need to know what the abbreviations mean. Once you have a clear understanding of how to read the prescription you are ready to begin training yourself on the math portion of the test. I highly recommend buying books written from Don A. Ballington and Mary M. Laughlin because I had a good experience with them though I imagine there are many other good resources out there that would accomplish the same goals.
Work every problem including the examples. Make a "cheat sheet" When you find an important conversion or formula that you need to know (example: Young's rule and Clark's rule.) Put it on your cheat sheet. My cheat sheet had all the conversions that I learned. Review the sheet regularly so the items stay fresh in your mind.
Stay organized and on track. Make a schedule for learning and stick to it set aside time to study. Try and study based on the schedule that you created. Don't burn yourself out by over-studying or study too little and then cram for the test. If you are organized and take it one step at a time you will achieve your goal. After studying for about two weeks set a date for the exam based on how well you are progressing based on the schedule you have chosen. Be honest with your self set a goal that is reasonable and stick to it.
I personally passed the test knowing only the math concepts on the test. I did not bother studying the drug side of the test. If you want to spend the time to study the drugs the authors above had written a good looking book on the subject you can also make flash cards based on the top 200 drugs. If you decide to study the drugs which is probably a good idea. Study them the entire time you are studying the math portion. Every day learn a few drugs.
http://www.drugs.com/top200.html
Test taking techniques that I used.
Get a good nights sleep the night before. Eat a good meal before the test but don't over eat. First thing that I did when I sat down to take the test was to write everything that I could remember off my "Cheat sheet" The test was multiple choice. Don't look at the answers until you have one. If you don't know the answer quickly chose an answer and move on mark it as one you want to review if you think that you can come up with an answer. If its a drug that you have never herd of just choose and move on. Don't worry about the previous questions focus on the question that you are working on. If you come up with the answer on your first try don't recheck your work, choose the answer look at the question to make sure your answer makes sense then move on. Don't panic! If you feel yourself starting to panic close your eyes and take a deep breath. Don't take too long on one question. You can mark it for review.
If you manage your time and are comfortable with the math concepts on the test you should pass it. I personally just guessed on the drug questions and didn't spend any time trying to figure them out. If you studied the drugs then you will have an edge. I would also study the proper use of laminar flow hoods and how drugs are metabolized in the body. Understand what half life means.
If you fail its ok you can retake the test for a fee (Remember you saved a lot of money by not taking classes). Learn from your mistakes and try again.
If you feel like you really can't do this on your own then I suggest taking an online course it was a lot cheaper than the traditional school option. Paying a lot of money for a certification seems silly when you can get it yourself or get it at a discount. If you stay focused and stick to your goals you will be able to pass the certification and feel good doing it.
