Pharmacy Technician

Return to: Programs of Study

School of Health, Wellness & Public Safety

CONTACT INFORMATION

Program information is available from the School of Health, Wellness & Public Safety office at (505) 224-4111 or Academic Advisement and Career Development (505) 224-4321 or from Program Director/Chair at (505) 224-5487.

cnm.edu/depts/hwps/progs

Program Description

The program is designed to prepare students for careers as pharmacy technicians in hospital, retail, mail-order pharmacies and other pharmacy related industries. Students receive classroom, laboratory and practical experience covering all aspects of the profession. Included in the laboratory portions of the program is a 45-hour content-specific block of instruction dealing with the preparation of sterile intravenous products as required by the New Mexico Board of Pharmacy.

Special Requirements

Students are required to have a New Mexico driver’s license and current immunizations (including DTP and MMR).

Criminal Background/Drug Screen: Students are required to undergo a routine drug screening and a state and federal criminal background check with fingerprints prior to starting the program or prior to beginning their clinical experiences. For information on the criminal background check, please note the complete description on page 56 under the School of Health, Wellness & Public Safety description. Students with a disqualifying conviction will not be allowed to start or remain in the program; additionally any student found to have a disqualifying conviction will not be allowed to register for any Allied Health or Nursing programs. Students interested in certain School of Health, Wellness & Public Safety programs must be in good physical and psychological health. Students may be required to provide documentation of a recent health screening from a licensed health care provider confirming the ability to safely perform program specific activities and lift a minimum of 50 pounds. Reasonable accommodations are made for those students with disabilities. However, some disabilities may prohibit students from completing program specific competencies or gaining employment.

Career and Educational Opportunities

The Pharmacy Technician program typically has a 100 percent placement rate for its graduates. Jobs are available in hospitals, retail and specialty pharmacies. Graduates are eligible to take the National Certification exam for pharmacy technicians. Graduates who have taken the certification exam have consistently scored higher than the national average.

Exit competencies (see Program Exit Competencies ) for this program of study are available at cnm.edu/exitcomp.

For the graduation policy refer to the Moving On  section, cnm.edu or the Students tab in my CNM.

Special Notes

Students should have reliable transportation while in the program. Clinical assignments are given to students requiring travel throughout the metropolitan area.

Students planning to continue their educations at higher education institutions are encouraged to take CHEM 1410 /CHEM 1492  and COMM 2221 .

Students must meet prerequisites by placement scores or specific course work. Please see Course Descriptions for prerequisite(s) information.

See  Prerequisite Requirement Guide   for Accuplacer score equivalencies.

Return to: Programs of Study