Pharmacy Technician

Tasks & duties

Pharmacy technicians may do some or all of the following:

• receive prescriptions
• prepare and mix medicines under the supervision of pharmacists
• pack and label medicines 
• keep records of completed prescriptions 
• maintain stock levels 
• help in the day-to-day running of the pharmacy  

Community pharmacy technicians may also:

• serve customers
• issue completed prescriptions 
• price medicines and collect payments. 
• Hospital pharmacy technicians may also:
• organise and repack bulk supplies into smaller containers for hospital wards and departments
• deliver medicines to the wards

Specialisations

Pharmacy technicians may specialise in the following areas:

Community Pharmacy Technician

Community pharmacy technicians help pharmacists to deliver pharmacy services in community pharmacies.

Hospital Pharmacy Technician

Hospital pharmacy technicians help pharmacists to deliver pharmacy services in hospitals.

Skills & knowledge

Pharmacy technicians need to have:

• knowledge of medicines and the laws controlling their distribution
• an understanding of the human body and how it is affected by different medicines 
• knowledge of Ministry of Health regulations 
• good communication and people skills 
• maths skills 
• computer skills 
• organisational skills

Entry requirements

To become a pharmacy technician you need to have a National Certificate in Pharmacy (Technician). This can be completed while working (and must be done within three years), or as a one-year training programme that combines study with work placements.
The Open Polytechnic of New Zealand, and Academy New Zealand offer the course.

Secondary education

Sixth Form Certificate or NCEA equivalent English and maths is needed to enter further training.

Training on the job

Many skills are gained on the job.
Pharmacy technicians are required to attend continuing education courses to keep up to date with new medicines and drugs. 

Useful experience

Useful experience for pharmacy technicians includes pharmacy, health or laboratory work.

Related courses

Pharmacy

For more information, please refer to Career Services.