Skills & competences

Description

Pharmaceutical technicians and assistants perform a variety of tasks associated with dispensing medicinal products under the guidance of a pharmacist or other health professional.
Tasks include -
(a) preparing medications and other pharmaceutical compounds under the guidance of a pharmacist or other health professional;
(b) dispensing medicines and drugs to clients and giving written and oral instructions on their use, as prescribed by medical doctors, veterinarians or other health professionals;
(c) receiving prescriptions or refill requests from health professionals and verifying that information is complete and accurate according to medical record-keeping standards;
(d) maintaining proper storage and security conditions for drugs;
(e) filling and labelling containers with prescribed medications;
(f) assisting clients by answering questions, locating items or referring them to a pharmacist for medication information;
(g) pricing and filing prescriptions that have been filled and establishing and maintaining patient records, including lists of medications taken by individual patients;
(h) ordering, labelling, and counting stocks of medications, chemicals and supplies, and entering inventory data into record-keeping systems;
(i) cleaning and preparing equipment and containers used to prepare and dispense medicines and pharmaceutical compounds.
Examples of the occupations classified here:
- Dispensing technician
- Pharmaceutical assistant
- Pharmaceutical technician
Some related occupations classified elsewhere:
- Pharmacist - 2262
- Pharmacology technician - 3141
- Pharmacy aide - 5329