Pharmacy Assistants are now more important than ever. They play a critical role in the smooth operation of both community and institutional pharmacies. The Pharmacy Assistant program at CBBC Career College in Dartmouth and Sydney is designed to train Pharmacy Assistants to assist registered Pharmacists or Pharmacy Technicians in community and hospital settings.
Throughout the Pharmacy Assistant program, students learn the skills needed to perform the role of a Pharmacy Assistant and how to manage their careers. The Pharmacy Assistant program is taught using both theory and practical hands-on skills training. At the end of the program, students participate in a four-week practicum.
Is the Pharmacy Assistant program right for you?
The Pharmacy Assistant program is a great fit for someone who:
The practice of pharmacy has evolved beyond the traditional dispensing functions, and the need for knowledgeable, technically-skilled and competent support personnel is vital. The Pharmacy Assistant program is designed to train pharmacy assistants to aid registered pharmacists or pharmacy technicians in the community or hospital settings, using their respective drug distribution systems. In addition to practical training by the use of a commercial computer system, skills in communication and interpersonal relations will also be developed. The program can be completed in as little as 19 weeks at our Sydney campus (7-hour days, Monday to Friday) or 26 weeks at our Dartmouth campus (4-hour days, Monday to Friday). The program includes 4 weeks of practicum placement.
All graduates are guaranteed our lifetime career services support.
Now is the time to start a career in Pharmacy and Healthcare!
Total program length: Sydney 15 weeks theory, 4 weeks practicum Dartmouth 26 weeks theory, 4 weeks practicum
In addition to the above, applicants must also provide:
This course provides education on the anatomy of the human body and its intricate systems. Students will be able to describe the functions and structures of the human body, and explain how they attribute to human life.
This course will help the student develop the proper communication skills necessary to function in a professional business setting. There will be a review of grammar, sentence structure, and punctuation as they apply to business communication. Students will complete various exercises with the emphasis on improving basic skills in grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, and apply them to writing assignments and tasks.
Our Career Management course will introduce students to and teach them how to apply the most effective strategies to achieve employment in the career of their choice. Topics that are covered: effective job search strategies, cover letter and strategic resume writing, interview preparation and effective interviewing skills. Students will also be introduced to online training in Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) so that they will have a better understanding of their role as regards safety at the workplace.
This introductory course will prepare students with the basic knowledge and skills necessary to work in a retail setting. Students are introduced to third-party billing, inventory control, the workflow of a community pharmacy, ordering, receiving, dispensing procedures, and policies applicable to handling and dispensing of medications in this setting. This course will provide a combination of theory and practice in a simulated pharmacy laboratory.
This course focuses on basic compounding terms and techniques used when preparing non-sterile compounded medications for re-sale. Students will gain practical experience in dosage and drug preparation, and will learn to accurately calculate, measure, and weigh the chemicals needed for the various compounds. They will be preparing various compounds such as ointments, lotions, suspensions, emulsions, and suppositories.
Students will gain an in-depth understanding of the operational range of an institutional-based pharmacy, including gaining an understanding of the pharmacy team member’s roles and scopes of practice. Students will learn to identify various types of automation and the use of drug distribution systems, and will be able to recognize the pros and cons of each choice.
Upon completion the students will be able to relate to professionalism as a whole. The student will understand the importance of being able to present and work in a professional, ethical and legal manner. It will prepare students for practicing skills for time management, personal growth and development and effective personal and interpersonal communication. In addition, this course introduces the student to legislation governing the practice of pharmacy and to the professional standards and ethics.
Upon successful completion of this course, students will have achieved a core level competency of the Microsoft Excel application. Topics include creating worksheets, formulas, functions, charts, formatting, analysis, templates, and working with multiple worksheets and workbooks.
This 12-hour course is designed to introduce key concepts about creating, modifying, and enhancing a presentation using PowerPoint 2016. You will explore the PowerPoint environment and create a presentation. You will format text on slides to enhance clarity. To enhance the visual appeal, you will add graphical objects to a presentation and modify them. You will also add tables and charts to a presentation to present data in a structured form. You will then finalize a presentation and deliver it.
This 20-hour course is designed to provide you with the skills needed to work in Windows OS and MS Outlook. You will learn to use the tools and options available in the MS Windows operating system, manage folders and files, and work with simple applications packaged with the operating system. The Outlook course will provide you with the skills to compose and send emails, schedule appointments and meetings, manage contact information, schedule tasks, create notes, customize the Outlook environment, calendar, and mail messages, and track, share, assign, and quickly locate and organize various Outlook items.
As a student in this 40-hour course, you will learn the most important topics of Microsoft Office Word. No prior computer experience is assumed. You will delve into Microsoft Office Word to learn how to create, edit, and format documents and multiple-page reports. Once you have mastered this, you will learn to work with templates, themes, styles, and mail merge. Finally, you will learn advanced techniques, such as automating your work and using advanced online forms.
Students will be able to perform basic mathematical computations involving fractions, decimals, percentage, ratio-proportion, percentage, milliequivalents, units and sum estimations. Students will also calculate mass/volume in the preparation of compounds, use calculations in preparing and verification of prescriptions/orders (TPNs) and use basic systems of measurement, dosages, temperature and time conversion.
Students will gain an in-depth understanding of the evolution of pharmacy. Introduction to pharmacology and pharmacokinetics is expressed. Students also become familiar with the various pharmaceutical classifications and names of drugs used within each. Common dosage forms of medications and the mechanism of action of common drug groups are emphasized.
This introductory course is to prepare students with the basic knowledge and skills necessary to work in a retail setting. Students are introduced to third-party billing, inventory control, the workflow of a community pharmacy, ordering, receiving, and the dispensing procedures and policies applicable to handling and dispensing of medications in this setting. This course will provide a combination of theory and practice in a simulated pharmacy laboratory. Students will become familiar with the Kroll Pharmacy system and learn how to correctly enter patient, physician, and drug profiles, and will perform updates as required. Students will enter prescriptions, generate labels, and perform product inventory. Various types of reports such as inventory and customer year-end reports will also be covered.
The practicum placement of the Pharmacy Assistant program is the practical application of a student’s knowledge and skills in the pharmacy environment. Students will be hosted by an institutional or community pharmacy where each student will job shadow and perform a variety of skills they have acquired in the program.
Qualified Pharmacy Assistants may work in community and hospital pharmacies or Long Term Care Facilities. Duties may involve dispensing, compounding, blister packaging, inventory management, records maintenance, operation of computer terminals, customer transactions and Pharmacy Computer Applications. Job opportunities may expand to employment with health care insurers, pharmaceutical computer program companies and possibly to research laboratories and industry. Your possibilities are endless!
“CBBC is the best decision that you can make for yourself. The education, the hands-on experience, and the amazing instructors make the time fly by. You learn skills that translate into real job experience. If you are looking to go to college, choose them! Once you become a part of the CBBC family, your dreams become realities!” Stephanie Melski Medical Office Assistant / Cape Breton Regional Hospital