Equip yourself with knowledge and the ability to have a successful future as a pharmacy technician with Oklahoma City Community College’s (OCCC) Pharmacy Technician Course Apr. 18 to Jun. 15, 2016.

The nine-week course will be 6 to 8 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays at the Professional Development Institute, Room 129, 7124 S. I-35 Service Road. At the end of the course, a certificate of completion will be awarded based on attendance and class assignments.

Curriculum for the course will be engaging and thorough and include: instruction in state regulations and insurance restrictions; mathematics relating to job performance; applicable law; nomenclature; basic IV admixture; computerized pharmacy systems; basic skills needed to work in retail pharmacies and hospitals; and classroom exercises and competency reviews.

Since completing the Pharmacy Technician course, students have consistently and successfully put to use their newly developed skills. For instance, Brenda Hansel has utilized what she learned to advance her career as an administrative assistant with the Fortune 14 company OptumRx.

Hansel said she enjoyed learning about the brand name, generic name and therapeutic name of top drugs in addition to gaining an in-depth understanding of existing regulations and laws.

Other students like Farhayah Zahid were most grateful for the preparation they gained to deal with real world problems.

“The pharmacy tech class offered by OCCC exceeded my expectations. I learned an exceptional amount in just eight weeks. The instructor shared many real life problems that we may encounter in the workforce and we discussed how we could prepare and handle them. I am very excited and confident about my new career,” Zahid said.

The majority of pharmacy technicians work in pharmacies and drug stores, while many more work in hospitals and grocery stores. With part-time and full-time job opportunities, pharmacy technicians help licensed pharmacists dispense prescription medication; record information needed to fill a prescription; count tablets and measure amounts of other medication for prescriptions; compound or mix medications; package and label prescriptions; accept payment for prescriptions and process insurance claims; and perform routine pharmacy tasks including answering phone calls from customers.

Howard Turner, CPhT, who has been a pharmacy technician for over 21 years with the United States Air Force, Trinity Medical Center in North Dakota, UniMed Medical Center in North Dakota, VA Hospital, and various other medical facilities; will teach the course at OCCC.

Turner has been an honorable mention winner for the ABHES/Elsevier Master Teacher Award 2011. He attended technical school in the United States Air Force and received his pharmacy technician certification from the National Pharmacy Technician Certification Board. As a pharmacy technician instructor in Oklahoma City, Turner has integrated hands-on activities and real-life experiences in order to engage students in his classroom. He connects with students and encourages them to take an active role in their learning experience by using “brainstorming sessions” where students ask questions and develop new ideas to use in the classroom. Howard Turner’s outstanding work and dedication reflect his commitment to improving his students’ educational experience and patient outcomes in health care for years to come.

A prerequisite for the course is a high school diploma or GED. In addition, good math skills are recommended. Cost for the course is $480, which is due at time of registration and includes two textbooks approved by the American Pharmacists Association.

For more information about the course or the Professional Development institute, please visit /pdi or contact Francine Gissy at (405) 682-7856.

OCCC enrolls more than 20,000 students and has more than 90,000 participants in its various community programs annually. OCCC offers a full range of associate degree programs that prepare students to transfer to baccalaureate institutions while other degree and certificate programs prepare students for immediate employment. At OCCC, students receive a quality education with small class sizes, dedicated professors and leadership opportunities. Students can choose from more than 80 major fields of study and participate in any of the 40+ clubs and organizations. For more information about OCCC, visit www.occc.edu.