How to Become an Oregon Pharmacy Technician

A pharmacy technician packages, prepares, manipulates and performs other durg-related tasks under the supervision of a licensed pharmacist. In Oregon, the state policy is aimed at protecting the public by ensuring that all Oregon pharmacy technicians are competent to perform this important and potentially dangerous task. To achieve this end, the state requires all pharmacy tech applicants to get national certification. The basic process for getting certified is to take a pharmacy technician certification test. After passing that test, an applicant then registers with the Oregon pharmacy board.

Step 1:

Determine your preferred method for getting certified so that you can register as a certified pharmacy technician in Oregon. There are two primary national organizations for certification. The first, and probably most prevalent, is the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board. You can find this certifying organization’s website here. The second organization is the Institute for Certification of Pharmacy Technicians. That certifying body’s website can be found here. Oregon accepts certification from either one of these organizations. You do not need to be certified by both.

As to which organization to choose, this depends on your personal situation. For starters, consider the price. The cost of getting certified through PTCB is $129, while the cost of taking the pharmacy tech certification exam through ICPT is $105. Based on just that, ICPT is cheaper. But this is only one factor.

An important thing to consider is whether you intend to stay in Oregon. If you thínk you might be moving, then you will want to check the pharmacy board’s rules in that state to see what kind of registration requirements exist. Although the Oregon Board of Pharmacy accepts ICPT, it is not as widely accepted as PTCB. Thus, if you anticipate moving around, it might be better to pay the slightly higher price to get certified through PTCB.

In terms of prestige, PTCB probably has a bit higher reputation, but this does not necessarily matter to you on a personal level. If you intend on working in Oregon indefinitely as a pharmacy technician, then ICPT might be better for you since it is fully accepted by the Oregon pharmacy board for certification purposes.

Another thing to consider is the difficulty of preparing for the exam. PTCB makes it rather difficult to prepare on your own, as there is a very long list of bibliography books that are supposedly used to create the test. On the other hand, ICPT has one study guide that presumably is enough if you can master the material inside that guide. So it would appear that those taking the self-study route may have an easier time getting ready for the pharmacy technician certification test administered by ICPT.

Step 2:

Prepare for your Oregon pharmacy technician exam. There is no separate exam. You simply prepare for either the PTCB or ICPT exam. You may access the PTCB exam bibliography online. As mentioned previously, this is a long list and may prepare you better to work as an Oregon pharmacy tech. But it is also expensive. On the other hand, you can purchase the “National Pharmacy Technician Training Program” study guide from ICPT.

Step 3:

Register to take the certification test. You can do this at the PTCB website registration page or call 800-211-2754 to register for the ICPT exam.

Step 4:

Once you pass, then register with the Oregon pharmacy board. There is a $35 fee, as of 2010, and this is an annual registration that expires on the 30th of September each year. Access and fill out the Oregon pharmacy technician license application. Send it in to the pharmacy board using the address on the form.

Sources:

Oregon Pharmacy Technician License Application