Pharmacy Technician

Campus: Sudbury (SU) - The Pharmacy Technician program is accredited by the Canadian Council for Accreditation of Pharmacy Programs (CCAPP).

(www.ccapp-accredit.ca)
Program coordinator:
Caroline Legault, ext. 4641

Program code:

PHAQ

Admission code:

PHAQ

Title:

In January 2010, the Pharmacy Technician program was given provisional accreditation by the Canadian Council for Accreditation of Pharmacy Programs (CCAPP) for a three-year period, from 2010 to 2012.  This status allows graduates of this program to sit for the certification examination by the Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada (PEBC) and the College of Pharmacists of Ontario (OCP) in order to obtain the title of Certified Pharmacy Technician.

Length:

4 semesters

Description:

This diploma program allows the student to learn and develop the professional aptitudes and attitudes required to provide administrative support and technical services to pharmacists working in the community or in hospital settings. The aims of the program are to:

• Develop the capacity to communicate in a clear, concise, and correct fashion either verbally, in writing, over the telephone and by electronic means.
• Acquire a thorough knowledge of theory and the fundamental principles and processes for the technical and legal procedures of prescriptions, inventory control, preparation, double independent verification and distribution of pharmaceutical products.
• Develop critical thinking methods to perform functions efficiently and safely.
• Use sterile and non-sterile compounding techniques.
• Use software commonly used in pharmacies.
• Learn about new technological trends in the pharmaceutical field.

Tuition fees (approx.):

$3,146.23 (1st year)

Other fees (certificate, field activities, etc.):

$950 (approximate)

Admission requirements:

• Ontario high school diploma or its equivalent from another province, or mature student status
• 2 French credits (at least 1 mandatory group course) : grade 11 or 12, pre-college or pre-university
• 1 biology credit: grade 11 or 12, pre-college or pre-university
• 1 English credit: grade 11 or 12, pre-college or pre-university
• 1 chemistry credit: grade 11 or 12, pre-college or pre-university
• 1 mathematics credit : grade 11 or 12, pre-college or pre-university
• Language proficiency is an essential skill required for all pharmacy technicians.  A pharmacy technician’s ability to communicate is critical in the delivery of safe and effective patient care.  For this reason, applicants whose first language is not French must demonstrate their French language proficiency with a minimum level 6 from the Canadian Language Benchmarks

Other requirements:

• Standard first aid certificate (before internship in semester 4)*
• Emergency first aid certificate in cardiopulmonary resuscitation CPR (before internship in semester 4)*
• Current immunizations (including 2-step tuberculin test)
• Criminal record check before start of semester 4

*First aid and CPR courses are offered several times throughout the college session by the Adult and Continuing Education Service of Collège Boréal.

Work environment (type of employer):

• Community pharmacies
• Hospital pharmacies
• Insurance companies

Candidate profile:

• Organized
• Responsible
• Team worker
• Customer service skills
• Math skills
• Tactful and discreet
• Eye for detail and accuracy

Academic qualification:

Ontario college diploma

Note:

• It is essential to be able to communicate orally and in writing in both French and English during clinical internships.
• The student may be required to travel outside the region for clinical internships at his own expense.
• Some specialized manuals in the Health Sciences are only available in English.  As much as possible, the College will recommend the use of appropriate French-language manuals.

This program is part of the “Consortium national de formation en santé” a project made possible with the financial contribution from Health Canada.  For further information about the Consortium national de formation en santé at Collège Boréal, please visit the following link (www.collegeboreal.ca/programmes-cours/cnfs) or please visit the national website at www.cnfs.net.