female pharmacist explaining a medicine to a customer

Become a certified pharmacy technician
 On-the-job training program

Pharmacy technicians help to ensure the smooth and safe operation of a pharmacy. They work under the supervision of a licensed pharmacist and are responsible for tasks such as dispensing prescriptions and managing inventory. 

Through hands-on experiential training and computer-based learning, Inova's program equips students with the skills, education and confidence they need to pass the national certification exam recognized by the Virginia Board of Pharmacy to become a licensed pharmacy technician. Upon successful completion, participants have the opportunity to apply for open entry-level pharmacy technician positions at Inova. While our goal is to hire students who successfully complete the program, employment with Inova after certification is not guaranteed.

For certified pharmacy technicians with limited or no hospital experience, successful completion of this program can serve as the necessary experience to be hired as a pharmacy technician 1 at Inova.

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What You’ll Learn

Our program’s objective is to equip students with the knowledge and experience required to pass the Virginia Board of Pharmacy national certification exam and to succeed as a licensed pharmacy technician in both inpatient and outpatient settings. Topics covered include:

  • Basic pharmaceutics
  • Basic anatomy and physiology
  • Vaccines
  • Pharmacology
  • Pharmacy operations
  • Billing
  • Special medication handling
  • Inventory control
  • Emergency preparedness
  • Sterile and nonsterile compounding
  • Unit-dose packaging
  • Communication and calculations

View admission requirements

About Inova Pharmacy Services

Inova’s pharmacy department serves Inova’s expansive network of inpatient and outpatient care sites. A dedicated team of more than 450 pharmacy technicians, pharmacists, clinical pharmacists and support staff work in one of 12 pharmacy settings including hospital, infusion, retail and specialty pharmacies. Cutting-edge technology and equipment, such as automated dispensing cabinets, medication storage carousels and IV robots, are used across the system.

Education and research is a focal point. Inova provides a pharmacy technician training program, offers seven residency programs and partners with multiple schools of pharmacy. Satellite campuses for Virginia Commonwealth University and Shenandoah University reside on the Inova Fairfax and Inova Center for Personalized Health medical campuses.

Program information

Program length: 10 weeks 
Class schedule :  
 

Enrollment: Program applications are accepted four times per year (August, November, February and May). Please visit our Careers site to apply.
 

Prerequisites: 
Applicants must:

  • Be at least 18 years old
  • Have a high school diploma or GED
  • Be eligible to work in the United States
  • Pass basic math and English proficiency exams prior to beginning the program
  • Pay the initial pharmacy technician trainee licensing fee to the Virginia Board of Pharmacy 
     

Program outcomes

We are proud to share that our graduates’ pass rates exceed the national averages   on certification exams. 

 

YearPTCB pass rateNHA exam pass rate
2022100%N/A
202377%8%
202493%7%

 

Learn more about certification

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