MAC seeks Hybrid Pharm Tech students
Mineral Area College’s Career and Technical Education Division is now recruiting students for the Hybrid Pharmacy Technician program beginning Jan. 6 on the Park Hills campus.
The hybrid version of the standard Pharmacy Technician program is designed for current PTs who would like to prepare for the national Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) exam. Of the two national certification agencies, program coordinator and instructor Jenny Majeske said the pharmacies on her advisory board all favor the PTCB certification and some even require it within one year of hire. Additionally, the PTCB claimed that the number of states now requiring national certification is 23 and that number is rising.
Majeske said current PTs must have a minimum of 240 hours of pharmacy experience to be admitted to the hybrid program. Most of the course is delivered online, but students will be required to come to the campus for the technology orientation and for three labs held one Saturday per month.
Majeske added that she employed competency-based methodologies in the development of the program which allows students to move through the course at a quicker pace.
“Students may test out of material in which they are already competent and move on to the next chapter,” she said. “They will also be allowed to apply for prior learning credit to fulfill the clinical requirements since they already have 240 hours of experience.”
In all, students may earn up to 20 credit hours and earn a Pharmacy Technician Certificate in 9 to 12 weeks.
The pilot program is 100 percent funded by the MoSTEMWINs $19.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration. As such, qualifying students may be eligible for free tuition.
Several steps must be completed before the Dec. 8 application deadline and space is limited, so interested parties should not wait to contact MoSTEMWINs Program Support Specialists Stacey Wideman at swideman@MineralArea.edu, 573-518-2145 or Tina Miller at tmiller@MineralArea.edu, 573-518-3840.
Pharm Tech program coordinator Jenny Majeske, right, watches as a student practices her compounding skills. Mineral Area College’s Career and Technical Education Division is now recruiting students for the Hybrid Pharmacy Technician program, which begins Jan. 6. Students may qualify for free tuition.
