The first test of your experience as a pharmacy technician will be your knowledge of Sig Codes. You might be thrown into typing prescriptions on your first day, and you don’t want to be Googling “BID” on your first time at the computer.

Sig codes are the shorthand way prescribers and pharmacists write the patient instructions for a prescription. There are standard sig codes that you’ll see over and over again that you need to memorize from the start:

BID – twice daily

TID – three times daily

1T – take one tablet

1C – take one capsule

PO – by mouth

PRNF – as needed for

QD – once daily

AAA – apply to affected area

PP – as needed for pain

UG – until gone

UD – as directed

SL – sublingual/under the tongue

ODT – oral disintegrating tablet

IM – intramuscular

IV – intravenous

* HS – at bedtime

* OU – both eyes

 *(shouldn’t be used but you see it frequently)

Each pharmacy has the ability to set their own sig codes in their system, so they may vary slightly from pharmacy to pharmacy. I’ve seen PRN used instead of PRNF for example. However, sig codes are the universal language that are a timesaver for writing and typing prescriptions. Instead of typing “Take one tablet by mouth once a day” instead type 1T PO QD and it expands to the full patient directions.

Always proofread for accuracy before you print the label and give it to the pharmacist. The expanded directions should be clear and easy enough for a 3rd or 4th grader to understand. If you are ever unsure of what a sig code means, be sure to ask a fellow technician or pharmacist for clarification. In pharmacy, it’s always better to be safe than sorry.