Pharmacy Technicians should be certified but an institutional requirement, especially one that cannot be obtained without the student spending (very literally) $20,000 is absurd.
ASHP certification expense (for the educational institution) is what translates to these ridiculous costs for the student. The expense for the accreditation is carried forward to the student who takes Title IV loans. They spend the next few decades of their life paying off these loans.
A few excerpts from recent articles:
June 21, 2013 - Missouri woman awarded $13 MILLION from Vatterott Colleges. She was told that as a Medical Assistant, she would earn between $15 and $17 an hour. She took out $20,000 in student loans to do so, and enrolled in the 60 week course. As it turns out she was mistakenly(?) enrolled in the Medical Office Assistant Program (which DOESN'T EXIST in the real world, there is no certification for it) and to complete the Medical Assistant Program, it would take another 30 weeks and $10,000. Although she only sued for $2 million, the jury awarded her $13 million.
May 13, 2013 - Massachusetts Attorney General launched an investigation into University of Phoenix, Kaplan, and Everest Colleges claiming their deceptive practices are leaving students saddled with debt. This announcement comes after the laswsuit into Sullivan & Cogliano Training Centers, Inc.
May 30th, 2012 - American Career Colleges faced a class action lawsuit alleging that the school accepted Federal Title IV loans that they didn't dispense, and hid that fact from students. i.e. Tuition was $18,300 and they accepted on the student's behalf $32,500 in student loans. In addition, they didn't meet Federal Loan requirements.
August 8, 2011 - Education Management Corporation was handed a subpoena from the Department of Justice and 4 states alleging through deceptive techniques they would have to return the $11 billion in student aid they collected in the previous 8 years.
They operate 105 schools under 5 names:
Art Institute
Argosy University
Brown Mackie College
South University.
See more at: http://therxtechexam.blogspot.com/2013/07/lawsuits-career-colleges-deceive.html
The fact is that these institutions have to recoup the cost of the accreditation they obtain. This meaningless accreditation (I call it meaningless as the PTCB requires zero prerequisite education) costs hundreds of millions of dollars for students attempting to obtain a vocational education. Meanwhile the for-profit institution issuing those (highly suspect) Title IV loans are bringing in a tremendous amount of money each year.
Three years ago I began examining this issue as I worked for an ASHP Pharmacy Technician approved program in Virginia. The admissions department would admit anyone that they could that would qualify for federal grants. It was then my job, as the instructor, to mold those students into premier Pharmacy Technicians. There was no entrance exam. There was no prerequisite for the program. Around 60% of the students read at a middle school level. I did all that I could for them, many of them succeeded and some of them just didn't have what it took, but the administration made sure they (eventually) made it through.
Are these the people you want working in your pharmacy?
Are these the students you would expect to have graduated from an ASHP program?
My rant ends here. As I've said, the PTCB does not currently require any prerequisite. All that you (and likely your employer) requires is a National Certification. www.RxTechExam.com can offer that. That is to say, @ RxTechExam.com a prospective student can obtain a quality education written by a technician with 14 years experience and a Pharm D. studying to teach at a doctoral level, for a reasonable price (about $250).
Thanks for listening. :)
Showing posts with label Pharmacy Technician Job. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pharmacy Technician Job. Show all posts
Friday, February 7, 2014
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Step 2 - Pass The PTCE
Step 2 - Pass the PTCE
What's the PTCE?
The Pharmacy Technician Certification Exam.
It is the most widely accepted aptitude tests regarding the competency of Pharmacy Technicians. Most companies (like CVS, Walgreen, Kroger, etc.) require the PTCE regardless of the state that you live in (as they operate in most of the states listed below).
The following States require the PTCE:
Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wyoming.
What's on the PTCE?
- The PTCE contains 90 multiple-choice questions to be answered in 110 minutes.
- 10 of the 90 questions do not count toward candidates' scores.
- These 10 are generally new questions being piloted for possible inclusion on future versions of the PTCE. Candidates will not know which questions are unscored and are therefore encouraged to try their best and answer all questions.
- There is no penalty for guessing.
- A five minute tutorial will precede the start of the exam and a five minute exit survey will follow the exam, bringing the total test appointment to 120 minutes (two hours).
Currently the PTCE is made up of the following:
Assisting the Pharmacist in Serving Patients (66% of the Exam)
They do intend to switch the test up a bit, toward the end of this year (date undetermined):
How do I pass the PTCE?
See Step 1 - Training
The Definitive Guide to Pharmacy Technician Training.
Online. Self-Paced. Comprehensive.
Step 1 - Training
Step 1 - Training
3 Myths
#1 Myth: You have to attend a formal institution's Pharmacy Technology Program to become a Pharmacy Tech.
Fact: In most states, all that's required is for you to pass the PTCE (Pharmacy Technician Certification Exam). You can sign up for it online at the PTCB (Pharmacy Technician Certification Board) website.
#2 Myth: You can find everything you need to study for the PTCE online, for free.
Fact: There are a bunch of websites that offer free study materials pertaining to the PTCE, but there are reasons that they are "Free". They are riddled with errors, they are incomplete in scope, and they make money by putting ads all over their site. Here's a screen-shot of all three of those things.
Darvocet was taken off the market in 2010 (3.5 years ago).
They admit you'll need to take some sort of course, and their info is incomplete.
There is an ad in the middle of their paragraph.
#3 Myth: The externship element at a Pharmacy Technician School will help you get a job.
Fact: There is, at best, a remote chance that you'll be hired on at your externship site. With only a certain number of positions available (maybe none), how would they hire you? or your classmate? or all of your other classmates?
Training Options
Textbooks - Amazon lists 102 "Pharmacy Technician Textbooks", most of which claim to be the end all be all in PT training. I haven't seen all of them so I can't say that there isn't a good one in the bunch, but I can say there isn't one that I'd recommend. That being said, you can pick one up for about $30.
Schools - If you do decide to attend any of these school PLEASE ask how long the instructor that teaches the program has been there. I guarantee their response will be "less than a year but, [insert somewhat believable garbage here]". Also before you decide to take all of those Title IV Federal Loans and refunds, ask how much you can expect to pay monthly after you graduate, more than 50% of Title IV loans are in default.
There are 3 Tiers of Pharmacy Technician Schools. I put them into tiers based on cost, you're just as likely to get a good education at one you'd attend for less as a bad education at one that you pay more. The instructor makes all the difference.
- Tier 1 - These are local schools, probably at a professional center, that charge somewhere between $500 and $1000. Usually a 2-4 week program.
- Tier 2 - These are schools that are found locally, but owned nationally, that charge somewhere between $1500 and $3000. Most of these schools accept Title IV Federal Loans. Usually a 12-16 week program.
- Tier 3 - These are schools that have national affiliation, and typically offer a wide variety of programs, maybe even a bachelor's degree in something unrelated to Pharmacy Technician Training. All of these schools accept Title IV Federal Loans. They charge between $10,000 and $26,000. Usually a 12 to 24 month program.
The Definitive Guide to Pharmacy Technician Training.
Online. Self-Paced. Comprehensive.
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