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KIRKSVILLE, MO. -- For our Facebook Story of the Day, many of you wanted to know the requirements for becoming a pharmacy technician.

According to the Missouri Revised Statutes, pharmacy technicians must register with the state's Pharmacy Board and be of legal working age.  The registration process involves filling out an application, passing a background check, getting finger-printed and paying a fee.

Also, the Board of Pharmacy keeps an updated list of people who can no longer work as a pharmacy technician because they've been convicted of a crime.

The owner and chief pharmacist at Elliott Pharmacy in Kirksville said Missouri law does not require pharmacy technicians to have any formal education, and she said the techs get most of their training on the job.

"We train them on how to use the computer, how to look up information, how to label the product, how to find the correct product, how to match the correct NDC code to the product," said Alice Allinson.

Allinson did state that although techs do most of the work, pharmacists must supervise and sign off on all orders before it is delivered to the patient.

Several other states, including Iowa and Illinois, require that pharmacy technicians take a certification class and pass an exam before they can work in a pharmacy.  

When hiring technicians, Allinson said she looks for detail-oriented people who have good customer service skills, are patient and have a will to learn.  

"It's a difficult job to learn. It's not something you'll learn overnight. It is an on-going process. They learn something new probably everyday."

Allinson said that some of her technicians have been working with Elliott pharmacy for more than 30 years.