Your program at Mohawk College offers an exciting opportunity to discover the wide array of career paths available to you. When Erin started the Pharmacy Technician program at Mohawk College, she was surprised to learn just “how many options there are for careers for pharmacy technicians.”
“I really had no idea when I started,” Erin explains. “I knew there were pharmacy techs in the community, but I didn't know how much they did and how much responsibility you could have. It's really amazing.”
In Mohawk College’s Pharmacy Technician program, students get a full view of the many options available to them and learn all the skills they need to pursue whatever interests them the most.
Pharmacy Technician Diploma
Pharmacy Technician - 407 is a two-year diploma program that prepares students for their career as a pharmacy technician, learning how to work in multiple pharmacy settings. “You learn about all aspects of community pharmacy, hospital pharmacy and also long-term care pharmacy,” Erin says.
Topics covered in the program’s curriculum include:
- Legislation surrounding the preparation, prescribing and dispensing of medications.
- The uses and cautions of prescription and non-prescription pharmaceuticals.
- Compounding and preparing various kinds of pharmaceutical products.
- Professional practice and communication when working with patients as a regulated health care professional.
Pharmacy Technician students will graduate from the program with all the knowledge and experience needed to complete their licensing exams and become registered pharmacy technicians with the Ontario College of Pharmacists.
Mohawk College also offers Pharmacy Technician - 607, which is a fast-track version of Pharmacy Technician - 407. Pharmacy Technician - 607 students complete the program over four continuous semesters (through the summer months), starting in September and finishing in December of the following year.
Learning through labs
Pharmacy Technician students experience the full scope of the role of a pharmacy technician throughout multiple settings in the program’s various labs. One of these labs is the hospital pharmacy lab, where students learn the fundamentals of working in a hospital pharmacy. Some of these skills include how to prepare crash carts and chemotherapy medications.
“We also have compounding lab where you can create drugs that aren't manufactured commercially,” Erin explains.
These labs give students the room to explore their interests and to fine-tune their skills. Erin found that she really enjoyed working in sterile compounding where they work with preparing medications for IVs. For her, lab time was always engaging and made her feel like she was actually “on the job".
“It's such a great experience because it really prepares you for exactly what you're going to be doing,” Erin says. “I love the labs. They’re definitely my favourite part of the program.”
Exploring options with placements
Along with getting to see the possibilities of practice for a pharmacy technician through labs, students also get to try out different branches of pharmacy through three clinical placements.
Placements begin in the program’s third semester with a part-time community pharmacy placement. From there, students move on to two different full-time placements within a community pharmacy and a hospital pharmacy.
“I'm really excited to do my full-time placement,” Erin comments.
Erin says that in addition to getting students job-ready by giving them valuable practical experience, the placements prepare them for the exams they need to complete to become licensed pharmacy technicians.
Career opportunities everywhere
Career opportunities are available to pharmacy technicians in sectors such as:
- Community pharmacy
- Hospital pharmacy
- Long-term care pharmacy
- Specialty compounding
Students in the Pharmacy Technician program find out there are plenty of career opportunities elsewhere. Throughout the program career panels and job fairs specific to pharmacy are offered for the students to learn about all the different careers.
“There's just so many little places that you would never expect and so many opportunities,” Erin says. “That really surprised me, but it also is really exciting too.”
There are so many roles within the scope of practice for pharmacy technicians that there is sure to be one that fits every student’s unique interests and strengths.
“The other day my professor told us that on the helicopters for life flighting, there's a tech that works on them drawing up the medication that can be needed,” Erin recalls. Outside of the typical pharmacy settings, pharmacy technicians could also work in a variety of settings, including:
- Veterinary hospitals
- Military bases and correctional facilities
- Educational institutions
- Clinical trials
- Ministry of Health
Equal Consideration Date: why you should apply
To have the most flexibility in your education and your career, whether you want to enroll in the Pharmacy Technician program or another program at Mohawk College, apply before your program’s Equal Consideration Date.
Many programs at Mohawk College receive a lot of applications and are referred to as a “competitive program”.
“It [the Pharmacy Technician program] is a competitive program, so not everyone that applies gets in,” Erin says. “Definitely apply before the Equal Consideration Date to get that equal consideration.”
By applying before the Equal Consideration Date, your application will be reviewed at the same time as other applications and you will have a greater chance of getting an offer of admission compared to applications sent in after the Equal Consideration Date.
If you want to learn more about the Equal Consideration Dates and more relating to the application process, visit the Offer of Admission page on the Mohawk College website.
If you want to start the Pharmacy Technician program in September, the Equal Consideration Date is February 1.
For anyone looking for a high-demand career in health sciences with plenty of career paths to follow, Erin recommends considering a career as a pharmacy technician and the Pharmacy Technician program at Mohawk College.
“It's such a fulfilling program,” Erin remarks. “Like I said, there’s many directions so it gives something for everyone no matter what you enjoy. You’ll find something that fits your needs.”
Posted 23/01/2025
