Pharmacy Technician Mock Interview
Practice 40 Pharmacy Technician interview questions covering medication safety, prescription processing, and inventory control.
Question 1 of 40
What is the difference between prescription medicine and over-the-counter drugs?
Why the Interviewer Asks This Question
General
Entry Level
Experienced
Community Answers
Heather Douglass has over 20 years of experience as a Career Coach, Recruiter, and HR Specialist. Much of her experience is as a Technical Recruiter in the healthcare industry.
Prescription medication requires a doctor's prescription, while over-the-counter medication does not. As a Pharmacy Technician, your job is to interpret and fill prescriptions written by various doctors. The interviewer wants to ensure you understand the differences between the two.
Heather Douglass has over 20 years of experience as a Career Coach, Recruiter, and HR Specialist. Much of her experience is as a Technical Recruiter in the healthcare industry.
"Prescription medication requires a physician to write a prescription and is something you cannot purchase over the counter. Sometimes there is a version of the medication over the counter, but it is generally a lower strength."
Heather Douglass has over 20 years of experience as a Career Coach, Recruiter, and HR Specialist. Much of her experience is as a Technical Recruiter in the healthcare industry.
"The obvious difference is that prescription medication requires a physician's prescription and is intended for just one person. For a retail position like this, it is still important for a technician to be able to answer questions on over-the-counter drugs as customers will ask many questions about them."
Ryan Brunner has over ten years of experience recruiting, interviewing, and hiring candidates in the healthcare, public service, and private manufacturing/distribution industries.
"Over-the-counter medications are typically available in any grocery or retail store and do not require a prescription from a physician. Having worked retail for many years, I'm familiar with helping patients pick out the best over-the-counter medication for their symptoms with the pharmacist's assistance."
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Anonymous Answer
Over the counter or OTC, prescriptions do not need a Dr's prescription, for example, Motrin and Tylenol. Prescription medicine, you need a Dr's prescription to get it specifying quantity, name, milligrams, dosage, and sig.
Rachelle's Feedback
Good! You make a clear distinction between the two.
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