Medication Technician

Medications can cure disease, ease pain, and calm an active mind. For people living in nursing homes or detention facilities, they provide real help that can make life more bearable. These people can’t be trusted to manage their own medications, however, so Medication Technicians step in to help. A Medication Technician is a pill-pusher who hands out the proper dose of medication at the proper time.

As a Medication Technician, you rely on a Nurse to tell you what medications to provide and when. In addition, you may have limits on the sorts of medications you can give. While a Certified Medication Aide can work anywhere and give almost any medication, your abilities are much more restricted, so you listen to your Nurse carefully.

At the beginning of your shift, you count the medications in your department’s stockpile, and you write the number down in a logbook. At the end of the shift, you perform the same check again and make sure you’ve accounted for each pill you’ve handed out. If you spot a discrepancy, you notify the Nurse right away.

Several times per day, residents gather to accept the pills you provide. You consult each person’s chart to determine what pills must be given, count out the pills carefully, and hand them to the person along with a tasty swallow of juice or water. In the chart, you make a note that you’ve given the medication. Some people like to mimic squirrels, hiding pills in their cheeks, so you always ask them to open wide after they swallow so you can spot pocketed pills.