Anne Nguyen - Pharmacy Technician Certified Board Preparation: Comprehensive Review Manual: Comprehensive Review Manual

Pharmacy Technician Certified Board Preparation:
Comprehensive Review Manual

Anne Nguyen

Copyright 2011 by Anne Nguyen, Thanh Nguyen and Christina Pham.

All rights reserved. No part of this work covered by the copyright herein may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or information storage and retrieval systems without written permission from PTCBPrep, LLC.

DISCLAIMER: The authors and the publisher make no warranties of any kind and shall not be held liable for any special, consequential, or other damages that result in whole or in part from the readers use of, or reliance on, this material. By following the guidelines and instructions contained in this material, the reader willingly assumes all risks incurred in connection with such instructions. Further, none of the products or services described in this manual are warranted or guaranteed by the authors or the publisher.

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Rev. date: 10/29/2016

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Contents

Purpose

The intention of this textbook is to assist students who wish to become pharmacy technicians with or without any experience. Careers in the pharmaceutical industry are consistently in high demand. Becoming a nationally certified pharmacy technician is not that difficult. One would need to pass the national board exam with a 70 percent in all the following areas:

1. Assisting the pharmacist in serving patients: 66 percent of exam
2. Maintaining medication and inventory control systems: 22 percent of exam
3. Participating in the administration and management of pharmacy practice: 12 percent of exam

This book is designed for any student wanting to advance or change their career to become a national board certified pharmacy technician. Students who intend to buy this textbook also need to attend the preparation classes (see our class schedule lists on our Web site at www.ptcbprep.com). It is vital to attend these weekend PTCBPrep classes. In these classes, the instructor(s) will go over everything in this textbook and answer any questions. Students who use the textbook and attend the preparation classes will have greater chances of passing the board exam. Passing the exam depends on the students time spent in studying and the materials provided. This book has thirty-six short chapters, which cover all areas of pharmacy practiceretail, hospital, mail-order, and other pharmaceutical areas.

Many students, who have purchased our textbook and have taken the two-day course, have passed with a high score. This textbook is provided by the PTCB Preparation team to interested individuals pursuing a rewarding career as a Certified Pharmacy Technician.

About the Authors

Anne Nguyen, RPh, Pharm D, has over 19 years of experience as a pharmacy clinician. She has practiced in retail, institutional, home-health care, and mail orders. She was a co-salutorian in Miami High School, Oklahoma and decided to go into pharmacy profession after working in a local pharmacy. She graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from Southwestern Oklahoma University in 1992 and a Doctor of Pharmacy from Idaho State University in 2010.

Mrs. Nguyen has practiced in retail as Pharmacist-in-charge and pharmacy manager. Her pharmacy served as a training store in the district for newly hired pharmacists. She also worked an OBRA Counselor for Medicare Part D for Blue Cross/Blue Shield at a mail-order pharmacy.

Mrs. Nguyen received a distinguished Service Award for Pharmacist of the First Quarter in the North Texas Region of Eckerd Pharmacy, 1999. She is certified as an immunizer from APhA, and ACLS, BLS and Pharmacist Preceptor for state of Texas since 1993. She is a Member of American Society of Health System Pharmacists, American Society of Parenteral & Enteral Nutrition. She is a certified instructor for IV certification classes through University of Houston College of Pharmacy.

Co-author Anne Nguyen notes that her husband, Chi-Man D Lau, with help of his critiques of ideas, providing guidance and support throughout the project.

Thanh Nguyen, RPh, Pharm D has more than 14 years of experience as a clinically oriented pharmacy leader. She has practiced in retail, institutional, home-health care, and mail order. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from Southwestern Oklahoma University of Oklahoma and a Pharm.D. from Idaho State University. She earned Honors (Cum Laude) at both Southwestern Oklahoma University of Oklahoma and Idaho State University.

She has authored the following articles: Fact or Fallacy: A Nutrition Course Should Be Required in Pharmacy Curricula and Results of a nutritional questionnaire administered to registered pharmacists , Fisher E, Nguyen T.P, Mossa S, Fourth Annual Student Research/Scholarly Activity Fair, March 19, 1997, Weatherford, Oklahoma.

Thanh is a member of ASHP and APhA. She was a Rho Chi member during her Pharmacy years. During her pharmacy school years, she received several scholarships and awards, such as Facts and Comparisons Excellence in Clinical Communication Award and Joseph Schwimen Scholarship.

Ms. Nguyen has held position as Pharmacist-In-Charge and clinical pharmacist. She has been actively training and teaching pharmacists and pharmacy interns for the APhA Pharmacy-based Immunization Delivery program and IV Aseptic Technique Training for Pharmacists and Technicians. She is actively involved in pharmacy wellness programs such as cholesterol management, diabetic management, and travel vaccines and consultations.

Christina Pham , CPht has been practicing as pharmacy technician in Texas for more than 4 years. She has practiced in retail and on-call customer service at PharMerica After Hours. She is a certified instructor for IV certification classes for pharmacy technicians.

We acknowledge Caitlin Nguyen, Bachelor of Science, CPht , for her assistance in reviewing and researching materials for the book.

Accordingly, Ms. Pham and Ms. Nguyen were pleased to have the opportunity to co-author this book for the use in the pharmacy profession.

Acknowledgment

To our families for the time that they have sacrificed so that
this first edition would become a reality.

To our mentors and advisors, whose vision provided education and motivation that encouraged our professional growth and challenged us to be innovators in our educational endeavors.

Chapter 1
Introduction to Pharmacy

Pharmacy technicians today play a vital role in the pharmacy business and at other pharmacy practice sites. Technicians interact with patients, physicians, nurses, and health insurance providers. They work under the pharmacists supervision and are allowed to assist in pharmacy activities that do not require the professional judgment of a pharmacist. Technicians are becoming more involved in the production and technical aspects of pharmacy, while pharmacists have become more involved with patient-care activities and have become the dispensers of medicine.

There are many different specialized areas of pharmacy today. If you have excellent customer service skills, ambulatory care is for you. This work is challenging, but provides you with great knowledge and benefits as well as the possibilities of furthering your education in the future. Outpatient clinical pharmacies and retail pharmacies (e.g., your neighborhood CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, etc.) are a part of community pharmacy (also known as ambulatory care). If you prefer a more relaxed, yet professional atmosphere with less consumer interaction, mail order and nuclear pharmacies should be your choices. Nuclear pharmacy technicians require extra training since it is a specialty. The institutional pharmacy technician works closely with clinical pharmacists to supply orders to hospitals. There are many different roles of the pharmacy technician. Some areas of pharmacy practice require similar roles.