Pharmacy technicians help in the running of pharmacies by providing valuable assistance to the pharmacists. Pharmacy Technician in Nigeria has helped in the early days of pharmacy practice as there were fewer licensed pharmacists as compared to technicians.
A pharmacy technician is a medical personnel who works together with a pharmacist assisting in compounding, dispensing medications, attending to patients, stock management among other duties.
Pharmacy Technician Education in Nigeria
After secondary school education, the candidate must make his Senior Secondary School Certificate/West African School Certificate. He should make at least five credits with English and Mathematics included.
The Pharmacy Technician will complete a three-year program at a School of Health Technology to earn a Pharmacy Technician Certificate from PCN. Read this post about Pharmacy technician schools in Nigeria.
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Can a pharmacy technician go for NYSC?
The National Youth Service Scheme (NYSC) is a one-year program for graduates of approved tertiary institutions in Nigeria. Courses such a Pharmacy Technician, Health Assistant, Medical Imaging Technician are Diploma degrees.
Diploma degrees are not acceptable to NYSC since their admission does not come through JAMB (Joint Admission and Matriculation Board). Only HND (Higher National Diplomas) degree holders are eligible.
Any pharmacy technician in Nigeria that wants to serve as a corps member (NYSC) must go for B.Sc or HND degree through JAMB admission or direct entry. A Pharmacy Technician in Nigeria can study Pharmacy through a direct entry admission.
Pharmacy Technician jobs in Nigeria
A pharmacy technician in Nigeria can work in different health institutions. They work in various private, state, and federal hospitals. Some work in community pharmacies, pharmaceutical industries, pharmacy agencies, military health facilities, prisons, and primary health care centers.
There is also a career opportunity in academia for a pharmacy technician in Nigeria. They can serve as tutors and lecturers.
Salary of Pharmacy technicians
Pharmacy technician salary in Nigeria
Pharmacy technician In Nigeria salary starts at CONHESS 6 in most state and federal government hospitals and health institutions (N623,056.00 – N942,219.00 per annum). CONHESS is Consolidated Health Salary Structure and is used for salary grading of allied health professionals in Nigeria such as Pharmacists, Nurses, Radiographers, Medical Laboratory Scientists.
Average Salaries of Pharmacy Technicians Nigeria
Statistics from the National Salaries, Income and Wage Commission show the average salaries of pharmacy technicians in Nigeria in data collected across the country. It was grouped according to years in services and regions in the country.
| Years of experience | Minimum (Naira) | Maximum (Naira) |
| 0-5 yrs | 41,687.92 | 48,642.75 |
| 6-10 yrs | 42,933.67 | 57,717.33 |
| 11 – 15 yrs | 51,182.33 | 70, 841.83 |
| 16-20 yrs | 55,276.58 | 72,124.50 |
| 21- above | 64,589.43 | 81,714.08 |
In the UK, the starting salary of Pharmacy technicians starts at band 4 of the Agenda for Change (AfC) pay scale. That amounts to a gross income of £11.53 per hour, net income of £9.06 per hour, and annual income of £22,548.76.
In the US, a pharmacy technician can earn around $16 dollars per hour while in Canada, the pharmacy technician earn around $25 per hour.
Difference between pharmacy technician and pharmacy assistant
They basically do the same work. A pharmacy assistant helps the Pharmacist with serving the prescription, interacting with patients, attending to patients, compounding drugs. They also calculate the dosage and process patient files and bills.
However, a pharmacy technician has some added roles. The profession is mostly regulated and licensed in most countries. They can actually receive prescriptions and prepare the drugs. The Pharmacist will now have a final check on the prescription before dispensing.
In the United States, there is no specific body regulation for the licensing of Pharmacy technicians. Each state pharmacy Board regulates how they issue licenses to pharmacy technicians. The National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) has accredited two certification examinations for pharmacy technicians: The PTCB (Pharmacy Technician Certification Board) and the National Healthcareer Association offers certificate exams for Pharmacy technicians.
In the UK, Pharmacy technicians must be registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) to practice.
Canadian Council for Accreditation of Pharmacy Programs (CCAPP) stipulates that students must complete the Pharmacy technician program within four years of admission.
In some countries like Columbia, Saudi Arabia, Pharmacy technicians are called Pharmacy Regency Technologists
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Roles of a pharmacy technician
- Prepare, and compound medications for patients
- Offer pharmaceutical care services.
- Supervise other junior staff in the pharmacy settings.
- Arranges the medication for dispensing.
- Dispense medication with the supervision of a pharmacist
- Receive, organise and manage inventory
- Effectively communicate with the patient, and other health care professionals
- Receives both oral and written prescription and consults the Pharmacist before dispensing.
After pharmacy technician can I get 300 level in Nigeria University
Not possible. Nobody starts the university from the 300 Level. Direct Entry candidates can start from 200 Level
No ,it’s 200 level that you will get.
Can one use a BSC in HEALTH CARE MGT to enter directly into PHARMACY TECHNICIAN..
Which HND course can one that study SLT in polytechnic study in college of health