This document combines three separately bound volumes, a student manual, an instructor's guide, and student learning activities designed for students who are either in beginning-level pharmacy technician courses or considering careers in pharmacy. The material is intended to relate training experience to information studied in the classroom. The self-paced material is competency based. The instructor's guide provides a list of suggested educational outcomes correlated to the units of instruction. A basic test is provided for each unit, along with answers to learning activities and tests. The guide also includes a competency chart and introduction to the SCANS (Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills) competencies and skills. The student manual contains learning objectives, terms and definitions, and information relating to current techniques and practices. Topics addressed in the 24 units of the guide include the following: careers; ethics and customer relations; drug legislation; safety, dispensing; materials management; metrology; managing a pharmacy; drug names, sources, and dosages; routes of administration; cardiovascular drugs; gastrointestinal drugs; respiratory drugs; nervous system drugs; hormones; infectious diseases/cancer; nonprescription medications; nonprescription gastrointestinal products; analgesics; allergy, cough, and cold; nutritional supplements, vitamins, and minerals; skin products; weight control products; and health care accessories. The student learning activities guide provides individualized activities for each of the 24 units. Questions in activities are designed for practice in both basic performance and thinking skills, and activities for more advanced students are included. All activities are related to the SCANS competencies and skills. (KC)