If you are interested in a career as a Pharmacy Technician, Westervelt College will provide you with the training you need. With hands-on training in a state-of-the-art simulation lab and practicum terms in retail and hospital/institutional facility settings, you will learn the skills needed for this amazing career opportunity. *Pharmacy Technicians work collaboratively with Pharmacists and members of the health care team in the promotion of wellness, disease prevention, and the management of chronic diseases. Pharmacy Technicians are responsible and accountable for ensuring accuracy in product preparation and release. In Canada, Pharmacy Technicians are regulated in all provinces except Quebec.
Consider the Pharmacy Technician Program if you:
Are detailed-oriented and well organized
Enjoy working in a fast-paced team environment
Are self-motivated and is committed to lifelong learning
Have strong interpersonal communication and critical thinking skills
Enjoy computer technology
Have good manual dexterity
Are caring and empathetic
Compassionate
Westervelt College Pharmacy Technician Program will provide you with the specialized training you will need to work in a community, hospital, long-term care or other pharmacy settings. In addition, the program teaches students the knowledge and skills necessary to thrive in the ever-changing pharmacy industry.
Westervelt College London Campus Pharmacy Technician Lab
The program will help you enhance your skills by providing you with a comprehensive knowledge base in core subjects such as Pharmacology, Anatomy and Physiology, pharmacy calculations, pharmacy legislation, compounding, and sterile aseptic technique.
With hands-on training in a state of art simulation lab, you will learn to
read, understand and interpret medication orders
prescription data entry using current industry software
Prepare, package, label, and dispense medications
Perform sterile and non-sterile compounding
Inter-Professional collaboration, critical thinking and identify problems pertaining to drug therapy
Check out a tour of our Pharmacy Technician on Facebook Live
You will complete a total of 318 hours
Retail Community Pharmacy placement (168 hours)
Hospital Pharmacy placement (150 hours)
Graduates of this program will attain competencies specified in the National Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities (NAPRA) Professional Competencies for Canadian Pharmacy Technicians at Entry to Practice and the Canadian Pharmacy Technician Educators Association (CPTEA) Educational Outcomes for Pharmacy Technician Programs in Canada.
Once you have completed and graduated from the Westervelt’s Pharmacy Technician diploma program, you'll be eligible to write the Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada (PEBC) Qualifying Exam. Once you've completed the PEBC Qualifying Exam and other registration requirements set out by Ontario College of Pharmacists http://www.ocpinfo.com/registration/ such as the Jurisprudence exam and Structure Practical Training (SPT), you can apply to become a Registered Pharmacy Technician. We strongly encourage our graduates to pursue registration so that they can achieve their full potential.
* Graduates of the Pharmacy Technician program are not entitled to use the designation “Pharmacy Technician” until they are registered with OCP or other provincial regulatory authorities.
The Pharmacy Technician Program of Westervelt College has been awarded Accreditation Status by the Canadian Council for Accreditation of Pharmacy Programs for a five-year term January 1, 2019, to December 31, 2023.
The mission of the Pharmacy Technician Program is to provide a comprehensive, dynamic education designed to prepare graduates for their role as a Registered Pharmacy Technician.
To create an innovative and collaborative learning environment that fosters personal and professional development, appreciation for diversity, mentorship, and critical thinking.
Westervelt’s Pharmacy Technician program is divided into three components: classroom lectures for theoretical knowledge; labs where you will practice your skills in our fully-equipped pharmacy and sterile labs; and two field placements (hospital-based and community-based) where you’ll receive valuable training and experience.
Utilizing Microsoft Word, efficient word processing concepts to the core level will be applied to the production of business documents including memos, letters, simple reports, tables, and newsletters. This course will also build text and data input speed and accuracy required in further coursework and the student’s professional life.
Taught by our professionals in Graduate Employment Services, this course is designed to train students to research and how to obtain their desired career goals. Topics covered include: current employer expectations in the selection process, winning resume styles, interview skills and techniques, and successful strategies to develop and conduct their personal career search.
This course teaches the students the fundamentals regarding the pharmacy as a business. Students examine the supply of stock, purchasing decisions, ordering, space and personnel management in both the hospital and retail setting. Non-medicinal products such as homeopathic, naturopathic remedies, and various appliances sold in a community pharmacy are also studied. Clinic development is a major component of this course.
In this course, the emphasis is placed on communicating with pharmacy personnel, other healthcare professionals, and customers. Students learn to improve their written and verbal communications skills, the importance of effective listening skills, and strategies for handling difficult situations. Confidentiality is also stressed.
During this course, the students will learn the fundamentals of dispensing prescriptions. They will learn how to interpret prescriptions, analyze directions for patient use to calculate quantities, prepare labels, price, maintain accurate patient profiles, and ensure that all record keeping required by legislation is accurately maintained. Students are exposed to a very hands-on approach to filling prescriptions.
In this course, students will learn the processes of compounding utilizing the tools required to prepare a variety of extemporaneous mixtures including liquids, suspension, ointments, and creams. Accuracy in calculations, weighing and measuring is stressed. Also, emphasis is placed on accurate records and documentation.
In this course, students are exposed to various practical scenarios they could be exposed to on-the-job to better prepare students for their role. Students learn to think critically, analyze, react to, and resolve real-life situations, problems, and ethical dilemmas.
Utilizing Microsoft Outlook, this course introduces students to integrated electronic mail, calendar functions, and task management. These skills will be used to efficiently communicate with others, schedule appointments and tasks, record information about personal and business contacts, and organize electronic records.
This course will provide the student with an understanding of the body. Students will acquire the basic knowledge of anatomy and physiology as each body system is studied. Topics include Cells and Tissues, Blood Cells, Skin and Body, Membranes, Musculoskeletal, Nervous, Cardiovascular, Lymphatic and Immune, Respiratory, Endocrine, Digestive, Urinary, and Female/Male Reproductive Systems.
This course takes the student through the general concepts of pharmacology and defines drug classifications as related to their functions and action on various body systems. The student will become familiar with therapeutic classifications as defined in the Ontario Drug Benefit Formulary according to ASHP outline.
Students expand on the knowledge gained in Fundamentals of Pharmacology II. Students learn about the mechanism of action, possible reactions, and interactions of various drugs. Students become familiar with therapeutic uses and gain the ability to identify cautions, side effects, and drug interactions.
The student will be familiarized with hospital organizations and the roles and relationships of different health care professionals. The legislation governing hospital operations will be presented. The course includes a detailed review of drug distribution systems including ward stock, unit dose, etc. Emphasis is placed on accurate dispensing techniques, including methods of checking work for accuracy.
In this course, the student will develop a general understanding of the law system within Canada. Students acquire a full comprehension of the federal acts that govern the practice of pharmacy in Canada, federal and provincial legislation, and proper standards of practice.
This course introduces the student to all aspects of the retail pharmacy including generic and brand names, schedule N and G drugs, health care in Ontario, drug plans, managed care, pharmaceutical care, privacy legislation, guidelines for the practice of pharmacy, the role of the pharmacist, regulated pharmacy technician, and pharmacy assistant. Students learn about confidentiality, written and verbal prescription orders, fraud, forgery, and standards of practice.
This course is designed to introduce students to the classification of drugs, routes of administration, and dispensing techniques. Topics include oral dosage forms, topical, optic, ophthalmic, IV and more. Students will gain an understanding of their usage, stability, storage conditions and correct handling of each and will become familiar with the different therapies that can be used and how the appropriate form of drug is chosen for each disease state.
Upon completion of this core course, students will have gained a full understanding of the mathematics involved in the preparation of a prescription. Careful attention to accuracy prepares the student for the proper measuring and calculations for dispensing. The student will understand short forms and symbols, metric measures, as well as, imperial measures and their conversion. Experience is gained through the practice on various equipment and materials used for measuring in the dispensary.
In this course, students are trained on today’s industry based dispensary software systems. This training provides the student with the knowledge to prepare all basic prescription filling requirements utilizing Kroll software system.
This course prepares students to utilize Microsoft Excel at the core/expert level. Students will learn to work with various functions and formulas, create charts, and design and create reports utilizing numerical data.
In this course, students learn the theory and step-by-step preparation of aseptic technique. Students will produce products commonly encountered in a health care facility. Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to identify routes of administration, solutions, packaging, labelling, types of parenterals, products, solvents, and alternate vehicles. Students will gain the knowledge and technical skills to prepare sterile products with care and accuracy.
This course offers the student the opportunity to gain added experience to the materials learned in class and in the lab. This internship requires satisfactory completion of all skills related to a community pharmacy setting as outlined by the CPTEA and NAPRA standards.
The hospital field placement portion of the Pharmacy Technician program is designed to provide students with an opportunity to integrate their studies with related work experience. Students are oriented to hospital policies and procedures and exposed to the duties expected of a hospital pharmacy technician. This internship requires satisfactory completion of all skills related to a hospital pharmacy setting according to the CPTEA and NAPRA standards.
Admission into a CCAPP-accredited Pharmacy Technician program should be limited to candidates who provide documentation of one of the following as evidence of language proficiency:
Where a student is not educated in Canada and English is not their first language, students must provide an English literacy standard (TOEFL or ILTS)
Additional admission requirements for entry into the Pharmacy Technician program are:
Pharmacy Technician Diploma Program tuition fees for Canadian citizens or Permanent Residents.
| Program Code | PT |
|---|---|
| Tuition | $13,995 |
| Books | $1,200 |
| Fees | $2,280 |
| Total | $17,475 |
Includes tuition, books, supplies, and uniform. Financial assistance is available to students who qualify. Please note, above total is effective as of August 1, 2018. Current program total cost is $17,475.
Sue Pfeifer is a Registered Pharmacy Technician who brings over 25 years of experience in long-term care and retail pharmacy setting. She is a member of CPTEA, OPA, CAPT and is currently employed in a long-term care and casual retail pharmacy setting.
Marianne Jay is a Registered Pharmacy Technician with over 25 years of experience in the retail, hospital and long-term care settings. Outside of the classroom, Jay is currently employed in the field in a community pharmacy and also works casually in a hospital-affiliated Long-Term care setting. She is currently a member of the Canadian Association of Pharmacy Technicians (CAPT), the Ontario Pharmacists Association (OPA) and the Canadian Pharmacy Technician Educators Association (CPTEA).
