Pharm Tech Program FAQs

Which certification course is right for me- the national course or the state-specific course?

Students who plan to work in Nebraska should enroll in the state-specific Nebraska course.
Students who plan to work as a pharmacy technician outside of the state of Nebraska should enroll in the national course.

The national course results in a Certificate of Course Completion and qualifies students to sit for the national certification exam offered by PTCB. The state-specific, Nebraska course results in the NE-CPhT credential without additional testing.

Can NE-CPhT transfer to another state if I move out of Nebraska?

NE-CPhT is the credential for Nebraska Certified Pharmacy Technicians. NE-CPhT is not valid in other states. Students should complete the national certification course if relocating is a possibility. The national certification course prepares students to sit for the national CPhT exam offered by the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB).

When do I pick the elective modules?

The state-specific course requires the completion of two elective modules. Students receive a welcome letter via email when enrollment is processed. The welcome letter has a description of each elective module. Students will register for a campus visit date within two weeks of starting the course and choose the two elective modules at that time.

What happens at the campus visit/ workshop?

The final step to earn NE-CPhT is a campus visit. The final step to complete the national course is a workshop. The workshop and the campus visit are similarly arranged. They occur either virtually via Zoom or in-person at the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Pharmacy, in Omaha, NE.

There are approximately six dates set each year for this event. During the event, students participate in active learning that helps complete course requirements. The time on campus or virtually varies with the number of other technicians who are registered to attend the event on the same day.

Students qualify to attend the campus visit or workshop after the online modules are complete. Students who successfully complete campus visit requirements are awarded Nebraska Pharmacy Technician Certification as approved by the State Board of Pharmacy. Credentialing for Nebraska Pharmacy Technician Certification is designated by NE-CPhT.

At the conclusion of the workshop, national course students are awarded a Certificate of Completion.

How long is the course? Is it all online?

Both the state-specific course and the national course are completely online and in a work-at-your-own-pace format with set completion deadlines. The state course must be completed in three months, and the national course must be completed in four months. We recognize that special circumstances may warrant an extension on completion time. In this case, students are able to request an extension if additional time is needed to complete online module work. An automatic course lockout occurs at completion deadline.

A restart fee of $100 will allow an extension window of one month to complete online module work. There is no lockout for an approved deadline extension request. However, lockout and restart fee occur if the approved deadline extension date is not met.