How to become a pharmacy technician in Louisiana

If you enjoy working in healthcare and call Louisiana home, a career as a pharmacy technician could be a good fit. This path offers opportunities for growth while equipping you with the skills to make a positive impact in your community.

Learn about the duties of a pharmacy technician and discover the steps you need to take to become one in Louisiana.

What does a pharmacy technician in Louisiana do?

As a pharmacy technician, you'll assist qualified Louisiana board-certified pharmacists. You could work in a retail pharmacy, hospital, or healthcare clinic.

Your tasks might include:

• Packing, mixing, labeling, and dispensing medications to clients
• Overseeing insurance claims and inventory management
• Interacting with customers and answering their questions

Strong communication, organizational, and problem-solving skills are key to thriving in this role.

Steps to become a pharmacy technician in Louisiana

The Louisiana Board of Pharmacy (LABP) has a two-tiered career process:

• Pharmacy technician candidate, which qualifies you to train for the job
• Pharmacy technician certificate, which shows you completed training and passed a certification exam

Pharmacy technician candidate

To qualify as a pharmacy technician candidate, you must submit an application through LABP's online portal and meet one of the following eligibility requirements:

Option A:

• Be at least 18 years old and have a high school diploma or equivalent
• Enrollment in a nationally-accredited and LABP board-approved training program

Option B:

• Be at least 16 years old
• Enrollment in a Louisiana Department of Education Jump Start program, with pharmacy technician as a career

Option C:

• Be at least 18 years old and have a high school diploma and equivalent
• Provide verification from a Louisiana-licensed pharmacist (who isn't on probation with the Board) that they will be providing you with technician training at a pharmacy that isn't on probation with the Board — this can be done by submitting Form 034, Pharmacist's Certification of Training Intention for Pharmacy Technician Candidate Applicant, along with your application.

All options require you to submit to a criminal background check through the Louisiana State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Additionally, in order to apply to be a pharmacy technician candidate, you'll also need to submit with your application the following:

• Proof of identity (such as a passport, a birth certificate, or naturalization papers)
• Social Security card
• Photo (head and shoulders only, like a passport photo)
• Electronic business statement (a signed statement, written or typed, attesting that it is the applicant's wish to conduct electronic business with the LABP)
• Form 33 and credentials (only required for applicants that have held a professional credential issued by another jurisdiction before)
• Prior actions (if the applicant provided an affirmative response to any of the "prior actions" questions on the application, then they'll also need to provide a letter of explanation and certified copies of documents from relevant court or government agencies)

Pharmacy technician certificate

Once you're an approved pharmacy technician candidate, you have two years to train as a pharmacy technician as a means of earning your certificate.

You can do this in one of two ways:

Option 1: Immediate certification and training

Requirements for this include:

• Passing the Pharmacy Technician Certification Exam (PTCE) through the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) or the Examination for Certification as a Pharmacy Technician (ExCPT), administered by the National Healthcareer Association
• Working for 600 hours under the supervision of a Louisiana-licensed pharmacist

Option 2: Board-certified training

Requirements for this include:

• Education through the LABP board-approved program
• Passing either the PTCE or ExCPT

Once you've completed one of these two options, you can then apply for your Pharmacy Technician Certificate through the LABP's online portal.

Get started on edX

Once you're certified as a pharmacy technician in Louisiana, earning an online master's degree in healthcare from an edX program can open extra opportunities. An advanced degree helps prepare you as a community, clinical, institutional, or consultant pharmacist.