Pharmacy Technician Application

Admission Requirements

• Students must have English and Mathematics skills assessed. Deficiencies in these areas may be corrected by completing the appropriate developmental studies courses. All identified developmental course needs must be completed prior to admission to the Pharmacy Technician courses.
• State accredited high school diploma, home school diploma, or GED.
• Demonstrated competency in Math and English by one or more of the following:
  • Readiness for MTH 133 (minimum testing scores of MTE 1-3 or MDE 10) or completion of MTH 133 (C or better course grade)
  • Readiness for ENG 111; or completion of ENG 111 (C or better course grade). All developmental course work must be completed prior to program admission
• Immunizations as required
• Criminal background check
• Drug test
• Register as a Technician Trainee with the Virginia Board of Pharmacy

Program’s Dismissal Policy

Any student who earns a final grade lower than “C” in any curricular course during the first semester must repeat the course and earn a final grade of “C” or better to progress to second semester courses.

Any student who earns a final grade lower than “C” in HLT 261 must repeat HLT 261 and earn a final grade of “C” or better to progress to HLT 262, Basic Pharmacy II, and HLT 190, Coordinated Internship.  Students must complete all second semester courses with a “C” or better.

Incidents that affect the safety of patients/customers or others are grounds for immediate dismissal from the program.  Other incidents will also be grounds for immediate dismissal (i.e. cheating, substance abuse, breach of confidentiality, etc.)  Complete policy can be viewed in the Pharmacy Technician Student Handbook.

General Program Information

The Mountain Empire Community College Pharmacy Technician Program is a 2- semester program of study. Our desire is to train a variety of individuals in the pharmacy technician field and prepare those individuals to work productively, as entry level pharmacy technicians, in acute care or retail pharmacies. Our program is offered as hybrid or online each Fall and Spring semesters. First semester courses are also offered in the Summer session.

Students who meet the graduation requirements will earn a Career Studies Certificate in Pharmacy Technician. These graduates will be eligible for the PTCB or ExCPT national licensure exam.  After successful completion of one of the national licensure exams, the student would be a Certified Pharmacy Technician and required to obtain a license from the Virginia Board of Pharmacy to eligible for employment within the state of Virginia.  To maintain the national certification and license, 20 hours of Continued Education are required every 2 years.

Program Accreditation

Mountain Empire Community College is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award the certificate. Programs approved by the State Council of Higher Education of Virginia and are approved for listing in the U.S. Office of Education directories and participation in various federally sponsored programs of student aid and education assistance. The College is authorized by the Veterans Administration to certify students to receive veteran’s benefits and is approved by the Department of Health and Human Services for students who receive Social Security and Vocational Rehabilitation benefits.

Mountain Empire Community College Pharmacy Technician program is seeking accreditation with ASHP.

The program is currently in candidate status.

The pass rate on the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board Exam (PTCB) by Spring 2022 program graduates is 100.0%.

The MECC Pharmacy Technician Program is fully approved by the Virginia Board of Pharmacy.

Program Instruction

The course of instruction follows an organized pattern. Reinforcement of classroom instruction is implemented with specific learning experiences in both the simulation lab and experiential settings. Correlated learning experiences are provided in the simulation lab under the supervision of the instructor and the experiential under the supervision of a qualified preceptor.

Clinical Sites

For successful completion of the Pharmacy Technician program, the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP), the accrediting body of pharmacy technician programs, requires a minimum of 130 experiential hours. MECC has affiliation agreements with chain, independent and acute care pharmacies to allow students these experiential hours of training.