California Pharm Tech Registration

So I was talking with my mom the other day, and she sounded concerned.  She is a nurse at a hospital and was talking to the pharmacist there (about me I'm guessing), and he told her that the only way to become a pharmacy technician is to take a course.  Passing an exam means nothing, and it's the license that's important.

I have no idea what the pharmacist told her, but I'm sure something was lost in translation.  Her concern made me concerned, but only for a few seconds.  Then I realized that simply did not make sense.  That completely contradicts what other people have told me, and there was nothing about that in the in books I've been studying.

I needed to set my mom's fears to rest, and so a quick and simple check online took me to the California Department of Consumer Affairs Board of Pharmacy website.  I printed out the official registration form and showed her that what she was saying wasn't exactly right.  (Direct link to the.pdf here.)

Under the "Qualifications of Substantiation" section, there are three methods to qualify:

A) Proof of completing or graduation from some official course.

B) Proof of training from one of the armed forces

C) Proof of certification by the PTCB (*ding! ding!* This is me.)

What she was right about, is that acquiring the license is important.  Besides passing the exam, I'll have to pay $50, fill out the form, attach proof of certification, get fingerprinted and attach proof (the form says that costs an additional $5 to $20) and, answer the yes/no questions, and understand that I'll become a "mandated reporter" for child or elderly abuse or neglect (Did not know that.  Interesting.)   While this specifically applies to California, I'm sure other states do something similar.

The.pdf conveniently has pre-filled out forms for the Live Scan finger printing, so you don't need to fill out their address and info at all, you just need to write your own.  And the .pdf also has a convenient link to find locations for the Live Scan service.  (A quick scan of my county shows plenty of locations to choose from, with costs actually ranging from $18 to $43)

While my mom wasn't exactly right with what she was telling me, looking up this information early certainly doesn't hurt.