Why Get an Associate's Degree in Pharmacy Technology?

Despite not being a prerequisite, an associate's degree will help your career as a pharmacy technician. Yes it may cost more, but the duration by which you can finish this program is relatively short when you compare it to other professions in the health care industry and you will earn that money back as you go along your career.

In as little as six months, you can start your career as a pharmacy tech. Some schools even offer a part time study schedule for more busy individuals or people who want to shift professions. This short turnaround is why a lot of people want to get in this industry. But what most people fail to realizd is that the type of education as well as the school you are going into.

Look for an accredited school

In looking for an accredited institution, to be more specific a school accredited by the American Society of Health System Pharmacists. This gives you assurance that the training you will get has passed stringent requirements set by the industries top professionals. This means the program involves academic, practical and experiential courses designed to make you a well-rounded pharmacy technician.

Practical and on the job training play a vital role in your preparation to become a pharm tech, despite what some people claim that academic studies are enough because you will be working with drugs, medication that can adversely affect the quality of living when given in the wrong dosage.

Imagine yourself having diabetes buying prescription medication for another illness. You would not want the pharm tech serving you to give you a wrong dosage of a drug that can adversely affect the insulin in your body. This is the exact reason why pharmacies will only want to hire individual who've completed a training program in an accredited school.

Why Then Should I Get an Associate's Degree?

There are a multitude of reasons. Firstly, associate's degree holders are more highly sought after by larger pharmacies both in retail as well as in hospital pharmacies. With that being said, you'll get a higher wage, currently the median is at 13.50 dollars per hour. Plus more training opportunities in other fields like nuclear and clinical pharmacy.

Second, you'll have more opportunities in your profession. You'll have the chance to get promoted to a higher role like a supervisory position or even as a sales representative for drugs. These positions offer you more job security and a more fulfilling experience at work.

Third, you'll also have the opportunity to work in a hospital setting with the patients themselves. Most pharmacy technicians will not have this opportunity if they don't have the right education. Working in patient care is one of the most rewarding experiences you can have as a pharmacy tech. You get to work with pharmacists and physicians themselves in taking care of patients.

One of Our Dinosaurs Is Found! India's First Dinosaur Fossil Re-Discovered

Geological Survey of India Re-Discovers First Indian Dinosaur Fossil

In quieter moments when palaeontologists are given the chance to reflect on the current hot-spots for dinosaur discoveries thoughts may turn to the exciting fossil finds coming out of Angola, or the work being undertaken to research into the bizarre Dinosauria fauna that once roamed the prehistoric island of Hateg in southern Europe. Other scientists may comment on the amazing Early Cretaceous dinosaur discoveries that are being made around the town of Winton in Queensland (Australia), however, it is important that the fossil discoveries being made in India are not overlooked.

The Geology of India

India is a huge country with extensive Mesozoic-aged formations that are just beginning to reveal evidence of the amazing creatures that roamed what was to become the Asian sub-continent. The history of dinosaur discovery in India actually goes back a very long way. The first recorded dinosaur find was made in that country more than one hundred and eighty years ago, even before the term Dinosauria was coined and the Dinosauria established as a sub-Order of the Reptilia. After one hundred and thirty four years the very first dinosaur fossil described from India has been re-discovered, ironically amongst the collection of the Geological Survey of India at their Kolkata head-office.

Early Palaeontology on the Sub-Continent

In the days of the British Empire, when India was regarded as the "jewel in the crown", the country was being mapped and explored by her colonial masters. In 1828, Lieutenant-Colonel W. H. Sleeman of the Bengal Army (later knighted and to become a Major-General, after a long and distinguished career in India), led a small expedition to Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh (central India). This military expedition with its accompanying geologists and cartographers mapped the strata in the area. This strata is now known as the Lameta Formation and it consists of Upper Cretaceous aged rocks (Maastrichtian faunal stage). The Lameta Formation is famous for its Late Cretaceous dinosaur fossils, most of them unique to this region. The fossils found include long-necked dinosaurs (Titanosauria) as well as many Theropods including large Abelisaurids that rivalled the Tyrannosaurs in terms of size. It was this military expedition that found the first evidence of dinosaurs in India. W. H. Sleeman is credited with finding a twenty centimetre long, isolated bone from what was later to be termed a dinosaur.

Discovery of Titanosaurs

The discovery, made in 1828 was only four years after the Reverend William Buckland had described the very first dinosaur (Megalosaurus bucklandii) and many years before the eminent English anatomist Sir Richard Own established the Dinosauria as the term used to describe these "terrible, fearfully great lizards". Sir Richard Owen established the term Dinosauria - the dinosaurs in April 1842, although he later alluded to the fact that he had come up with the term earlier (August 1841).

The Indian specimen was actually a single, caudal vertebra (part of the tail), of a large, herbivorous dinosaur. It was passed amongst a number of distinguished Victorian scientists until 1877 when no record of where it was could be found. This dinosaur fossil, which had lain undiscovered for millions of years was lost to science from 1877 until April 2012 when it was discovered by members of the Geological Survey of India who were re-assessing the fossil heritage of the sub-continent. It was a chance discovery, the specimen having resided in the collection of the Geological Society of India at their Kolkata head-office.

India's first dinosaur fossil to be described was discovered by Dr. D. M. Mohabey and Dr. Subhasis Sen of the Geological Survey team. The dinner-plate sized specimen was amongst a collection of fossils that had been studied by the English naturalist and geologist Richard Lydekker, who had joined the organisation that was to become the Geological Survey of India back in 1874. It was Lydekker who formally named and described the specimen in 1877, establishing a new genus of dinosaur - Titanosaurus indicus.  The newly, re-discovered tail bone is a holotype, a specimen upon which the original description of an organism is based. The specimen still has the original labels - 2193 and 2194 on it which are clearly visible, the classification given to this fossil by Lydekker. The fossil was located amongst the vertebrate fossils in the catalogued collection made by Lydekker and stored on the first floor at the headquarters of the Geological Survey of India.

Negotiating with Museums

The Indian team are hoping to find more fossils that were presumed lost and to help to solve a puzzle which involves the Natural History Museum in London. A number of British expeditions explored the fossil beds of the Lameta Formation in the early part of the 20th Century. Many specimens were subsequently removed from India to the then British Museum (now the Natural History Museum), in London. As part of a continuing international research programme to map India's vertebrate fossils, scientists are hoping to be able to identify Indian dinosaurs amongst the collection at the Natural History Museum.

The Geological Survey of India team are optimistic that any dinosaur specimens that they are able to trace to the Natural History Museum collection will be returned to India for further study and to be united with other Indian dinosaur specimens. Like the fossil found by Lieutenant-Colonel W. H. Sleeman, one hundred and eight four years ago, many of these fossils are holotypes and the only known fossil evidence for a number of dinosaur species that seem to be unique to the sub-continent.

The caudal vertebra, now back in the catalogued collection of the Indian survey team represents the very first Titanosaur fossil to be scientifically studied and as such it is regarded as a critical specimen for the global research into the evolutionary history of these Sauropod dinosaurs.

Perhaps more importantly, as the Indian economy strengthens and the country emerges as a global super-power there is a strong demand for improved educational resources and an emphasis on India's place and role in the scientific community. It is likely that Indian museums will step up their efforts to have important artifacts such as dinosaur fossils returned to their country as interest in dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals grows.

Everything Dinosaur is a company run by parents, teachers and real dinosaur experts. It specialises in developing educational dinosaur toys, models, clothing and games and strives to help young people learn more about science through their fascination with prehistoric animals. Many of the items featured on the Everything Dinosaur website Everything Dinosaur have been designed and tested by the teachers and real dinosaur experts in the company.

To learn more about the products and services we offer at Everything Dinosaur click on our website links.

Our aim is to help young people learn more about Earth sciences through their fascination with dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals. Team members are happy to provide advice and support supplying free quizzes, drawing materials, puzzles, games even recipes for dinosaur themed biscuits and birthday cakes. With something like 600 products on line including dinosaur party supplies, Everything Dinosaur Everything Dinosaur has built up a strong reputation assisting parents, guardians and fellow teachers, helping young people to learn more about science through creative play.