…and demonstrate your mastery of the knowledge, skills and abilities required for the most in-demand advanced area of pharmacy practice today!
Nationally Accredited
Multiple Training Options
Beginner/ Intermediate
Pharmacists/Technicians
40 CE Hours
Trusted by
20,000+
Pharmacy Professionals
Working At Organizations Including:
NPTA’s Sterile Compounding, or IV, Certification Program, is the most recognized and respected program of it’s kind worldwide. Pharmacy professionals have traveled to Houston from around the globe for the past 15+ years to complete this industry-leading course. We have trained and certified pharmacy technicians and pharmacists from all 50 U.S. States, Puerto Rico, Guam, Canada, the Caribbean, Europe, Asia and Africa.
Our Founder and CEO, Mike Johnston, BCSCPT, BCNCPT, CPhT-Adv, is the author of the best-selling book, Sterile Products and Aseptic Techniques, in addition to eleven other pharmacy-related textbooks. He is also the sole pharmacy technician voting delegate of the United States Pharmacopeia…so, it’s safe to say our sterile compounding training standards are pretty high.
ACPE is the world leader in providing exemplary accreditation services to support and advance pharmacy education and the pharmacy profession. Our program is ACPE-accredited for both pharmacists and pharmacy technicians for 40 contact hours. Our program has also been developed to meet the highest standards established by individual State Boards of Pharmacy; it is also a recognized training program for the Board of Pharmacy Technician Specialties (BPTS).
Here is what comes with our program:
Our Sterile Compounding Certification course consists of nine modules that you complete at home via our online learning portal. Each module includes an assignment for reading as well as a module quiz. At the end of the modules, there is a comprehensive final exam to ensure you have retained all the information you learned throughout the course. After you finish the modules, which are all home-based, you will complete skill validations and hands-on training, at your choice of our training center in Houston, at work* or at home.
The required textbook for the course is “Sterile Products and Aseptic Techniques for the Pharmacy Technician” 2nd edition,” written by Mike Johnston. (The textbook is not included in your course tuition but is available through all major bookstores.)
This program combines self-directed studying at home with practical hands-on training and validations overseen by professionals, ensuring you have the knowledge, skills and abilities required for your sterile compounding certification.
No recognized IV certification program is complete without a practical, hands-on component. We offer three different ways for you to complete this aspect of our sterile compounding certification program, allowing you to choose the method that best fits your needs.
Our most popular and recommended option is for you to visit our training facility, the Cano Center for Compounding, conveniently located in Houston, Texas. Selecting this option will give you two days at our state-of-the-art simulation training facility, where our instructor will facilitate your hands-on training and skill validations.
Here are some upcoming training dates:
If you currently work in a pharmacy where sterile products are compounded, you can complete your hands-on training and skill validations at work. This involves a pharmacist validating your training hours as well as the skill validations right on the job. If you choose this option, we will give your proctor/pharmacist the instructions and supply all the required forms. PPE and training products are NOT included.
When COVID-19 emerged, we developed a new option that allows you to complete the skill validations and hands-on training at home. This is done via a combination of one-on-one video conferencing and video+MockMed product training. There are also group video calls that allow you to take advantage of Q&A sessions with our instructor. If you opt for this method, we will supply all necessary training products and PPE, but you must return them using the prepaid shipping container we supply you with. You will not receive your certificate until you return these materials.
Yes, our program is ACPE-accredited for both pharmacists and pharmacy technicians.
While choosing our Houston training facility is our recommended and most popular option for completing the hands-on training and skill validation components of the program…the choice is yours. Students can complete their hands-on training and skill validations either at with our instructors in Houston, at work (if your pharmacy is setup for sterile compounding) or at home.
Our program is accredited for 40 hours of continuing education, however that is broken down into self-paced online modules and hands-on training + skill validations. The reading assignments and online modules take roughly 20 hours to complete. The hands-on training and skill validations also take approximately 20 hours to complete (or 2 days if completing your training with our instructor in Houston). Students have one year to complete the program.
Our Sterile Compounding Certification Course does not expire and does not have to be “renewed.”
No, certification is dependent on the student’s successful completion of all online modules and exams (with a score of 70% or higher) as well as completing the required hands-on training and validations (via demonstration of mastering all related aseptic techniques). Although extremely rare, if a student is not able to pass their skill validations, we will allow the student to retake the hands-on training one time at no additional charge.