One of the best things happening in the pharmacy industry is that more and more states are providing Pharmacy Technician training licenses so that prospective pharmacy technicians can gain professional working experience prior to taking the test or spending the money to become a certified pharmacy technician. A long-lasting career in pharmacy is nothing without the PTCB or ExCPT, and with the implementation of pharmacy technician in training licenses in several states, it is becoming easier to obtain the experience needed to become a nationally certified technician. One of the states that have implemented this trainee license is Texas.
So what is a Pharmacy Technician Trainee? “A Pharmacy Technician Trainee is an individual who is registered with the board as a pharmacy technician trainee and is authorized to participate in a pharmacy’s technician training program.” Essentially it allows individuals who are not certified with the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board to work in Texas as a pharmacy technician. This is beneficial for multiple reasons, notably because it allows prospective pharmacy technician’s gain experience in the field before taking the PTCB exam. On top of this, it allows professionals who may not necessarily know that they want to work as a pharmacy technician, work as a pharmacy technician and see for themselves if they would like to pursue a future career and their PTCB.
Before you apply for a Pharmacy Technician Trainee Registration in Texas you should know a few things:
The registration is issued for 2 years
It is NOT renewable, meaning once you have received your license, after the expiration, you can not apply again.
All application fees are non-refundable, even if there are mistakes made on the application
You must complete a fingerprint session after the application is sent to the Texas State Board of Pharmacy
To apply for the trainee license please go to the Texas Board of Pharmacy, and follow the steps in applying:
Register for an account with the Texas Board of Pharmacy
After registration, follow the links to apply for the Initial Technician Trainee license. The board of pharmacy notes that the address entered at this step should be an address where you receive mail from the US Postal Service.
Pay the application fee with a debit or credit card. The accepted brands are MasterCard, Visa, Discover, and American Express.
Once you have completed your application, you will be sent an email to complete a fingerprinting session. Applicants will be responsible for paying any fees involved with the fingerprinting process, the fees amount to less than $50. To summarize, applicants will pay the fee to apply for the trainee license AND the fingerprinting process.
Unless there is something on your criminal background check, your license will be issued after a minimum of 3 weeks.
5 easy steps! Truly all you need to become a pharmacy technician trainee in Texas are the fees for fingerprinting and the application, and a clear criminal background. If you have any questions or concerns, you can check out the Texas State Board of Pharmacy website.