Pharmacy Technician Program
Pharmacy Technicians are a critical part of the health care team. Working closely with Pharmacists in hospitals and community pharmacies, they ensure that the highest standards of quality and accuracy are met in the compounding and dispensing of drugs that are vital to the survival and well-being of their clients.
We offer this program in two delivery formats.
- Our On-Campus program is offered twice each year and is 8 months long.
- Our Blended Learning program is offered twice each year and is 10 months long. Students take most of the program through distance learning. This option is designed for students who do not live in the Kamloops area, and who cannot move to Kamloops for six months to take our on-campus program. Students only have to come to Kamloops for six weeks of hands-on labs.
The next On-Campus class starts October 4, 2010
The next Blended Learning (mostly online) class starts September 20, 2010
This program has been awarded the status of Provisional Accreditation by the Canadian Council for Accreditation of Pharmacy Programs for a 3 year term 2009-2011.
Click here to read the press release.
Big changes are happening in pharmacies throughout Canada .
Pharmacy Technicians play a key role in assisting pharmacists in prescription processing and preparation, across all pharmacy settings - community, hospital and long-term care. Up to now, Pharmacy Technicians have been 'non-regulated' which means they have no direct autonomy, authority or responsibility over these duties and ultimately it is the pharmacist who is held accountable.
This is changing, and for those who want to get into the field the timing is excellent. Graduating from a recognized, accredited program will make you eligible to take the national Pharmacy Technician exam which will be available beginning in Fall 2010.
The regulation of Pharmacy Technicians is a national initiative which will result in the creation of a new healthcare professional, the Registered Pharmacy Technician. Pharmacy Technicians will have their own scope of practice for which they will be responsible and ultimately held accountable. It will take a considerable amount of time to educate, test and register a sufficient number of Pharmacy Technicians who meet the new standard, so those people who achieve this new status early in the process will have a major career advantage.
A standardized national exam will be available beginning in Fall 2010. Only graduates from schools accredited by the Canadian Council for the Accreditation of Pharmacy Programs (CCAPP) will be eligible to write this exam.
Thompson Career College is the first school in British Columbia to receive this accreditation. The process of applying for accreditation required our program to demonstrate that it complies with the latest standards defined by NAPRA (National Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities) , and CPTEA (Canadian Pharmacy Technician Educators Association) .
If you want to get in on the ground floor of the changes that are occurring in pharmacies across Canada , you should consider becoming a Pharmacy Technician. If you choose this career path, then Thompson Career College is your best choice for getting the training you need.
Refer to the College of Pharmacists of BC web site for detailed information on the regulation of Pharmacy Technicians.
Thompson Career College has been offering this program since 1999. Even though we focus on serving the population of British Columbia, our reputation has drawn students from several other provinces including Alberta, Saskatchewan and even Nova Scotia. We are very proud to have graduates working at pharmacies and hospitals in many different cities and provinces. Our best advertising is the references we get from our past students and their employers. |
