Pharmacy Sales Assistant in Algeria: Course PDF, Duties, Training and Legal Framework
A pharmacy sales assistant (called a "pharmacy assistant" or vendeur en pharmacie on the job market) is the worker who greets customers, picks medicines from the shelves and handles stock and the till in a private pharmacy, under the responsibility of the pharmacist who owns it. Algerian Law No. 18-11 on health makes dispensing medicines the pharmacist's prerogative, so the assistant trains in the basics of medicines, prescriptions and stock in order to work safely within that framework. In this guide: a free summary of pharmacy sales assistant lessons as a PDF, the daily duties, the course topics, reading a prescription, the Chifa card, training routes in Algeria, and the mistakes that cost beginners their job.
Pharmacy sales assistant course summary PDF (free download)
Many people search for "pharmacy sales assistant lessons PDF" so they can revise offline. So we gathered the topics of this guide in a 4-page PDF that you can download and print: duties, skills, course topics, training, tools and frequently asked questions.
Download the pharmacy sales assistant course summary (free PDF)
Revision tip: read the summary once in full, then come back to the sections of this page that explain each topic in more detail, especially reading a prescription and managing authorisations, because these are what candidates are most often tested on at hiring.
Who is the pharmacy sales assistant? How they differ from the assistant pharmacist and the pharmacy technician
Three titles get mixed up in adverts and courses, and telling them apart protects you from imprecise training promises:
- Pharmacy sales assistant (vendeur en pharmacie): a worker in a private pharmacy who handles reception, sales, shelves, stock and the till under the pharmacist's supervision. In law, they do not hold the status of a health professional, and their training is usually short and vocational.
- Assistant pharmacist (pharmacien assistant): under Law 18-11, this is a pharmacist holding a pharmacy degree, who assists the pharmacy owner and carries out pharmaceutical activities under their responsibility. So when you read "pharmacist's assistant" in a legal text, a pharmacist is meant, not a sales assistant.
- Pharmacy technician (préparateur en pharmacie): a paramedical specialty taught after the baccalaureate in the national institutes of higher paramedical training, leading to a state diploma in public health.
What does Law 18-11 on health say?
Law No. 18-11 of 2 July 2018 was published in the Official Journal No. 46. Three of its articles set the framework in which the sales assistant works:
- Article 179: the pharmacist dispenses pharmaceutical products only against a medical prescription, and may dispense certain products without one according to a list set by the minister responsible for health. It sets out their role in informing and advising, discouraging self-medication and encouraging generic medicines.
- Article 249: the pharmacy is an establishment intended for the retail dispensing of pharmaceutical products and medical supplies, and it may sell para-pharmaceutical products as a secondary activity. The pharmacist is its sole owner and manager.
- Article 250: the pharmacist may be assisted by one or more assistant pharmacists, who work under their responsibility, and the conditions for practising the two professions are set by a regulatory text.
Psychotropic medicines: a red line for the sales assistant
Executive Decree 21-196 of 16 May 2021 (amending Decree 19-379) places the dispensing of substances and medicines with psychotropic properties under the responsibility of the pharmacist or assistant pharmacist, and requires that they be ordered from the distributor in a separate order signed by the pharmacist. If you receive a prescription containing a medicine of this kind, your role is to hand it to the pharmacist, not to dispense it.
Regulatory texts still awaited
In April 2022, the Minister of Health told the Council of the Nation that the draft decree on the conditions for recruiting assistant pharmacists was intended to end reliance on unqualified sales staff. A draft executive decree on the conditions for practising as a pharmacist and assistant pharmacist, implementing Article 250, was then announced in May 2024, and in January 2026 Minister Mohamed Seddik Aït Messaoudene said the draft was being prepared. We did not find this decree published in the Official Journal at the time of writing (October 2026), so follow the Official Journal before any professional decision, because its publication could change working conditions in pharmacies.
The pharmacy sales assistant's daily duties
The assistant's day is split across three places: the counter, the shelves and the computer. These duties are as they appear in job adverts and in real work:
At the counter
- Greeting the customer calmly and identifying the request: prescription, over-the-counter product or question.
- Reading the prescription and preparing the medicines from the shelves, then presenting them to the pharmacist for checking.
- Explaining how to use them as the doctor wrote and the pharmacist approved, without adding anything of your own.
- Recording the sale and taking payment in cash or with the Chifa card, and handing over the receipt.
At the shelves and in the stockroom
- Receiving distributors' orders and matching them to the invoice: quantity, lot number, expiry date.
- Arranging medicines so that those expiring soonest go out first.
- Putting medicines that need refrigeration into the fridge as soon as they arrive.
- Setting aside expired or damaged medicines and informing the pharmacist.
On the computer
- Recording sales and purchases in the pharmacy management software.
- Following stock-out and near-expiry alerts, and preparing the order list for the pharmacist.
- Preparing Chifa statements and following up rejected prescriptions if assigned to do so.
The main topics of a pharmacy sales assistant training course
Whichever body you train with, the lessons revolve around the same topics. Use this list to assess the programme of any course before registering.
Medicine basics: trade name and scientific name
Every medicine has a trade name chosen by the company and an international scientific name (DCI in French), which is the name of the active substance. A good assistant knows that two boxes with different names may contain the same substance, which is the basis for understanding generic medicines, whose use Article 179 of Law 18-11 provides for encouraging. Replacing one medicine with another is a decision for the pharmacist.
Pharmaceutical forms and routes of administration
Tablets, capsules, syrup, suppositories, ointments, drops, sprays, injectables. Each form has its own way of being stored and used, and mixing them up (for example an eye drop and an ear drop) is among the most serious beginner errors.
The major medicine families
The assistant is not asked to memorise every medicine, but to know the major families in order to arrange the shelves and understand the prescription:
- Painkillers and fever reducers, and anti-inflammatories.
- Antibiotics, which are dispensed only on prescription.
- Medicines for chronic diseases: blood pressure, diabetes (tablets and insulin), heart, cholesterol.
- Respiratory and allergy medicines, and digestive medicines.
- Vitamins and supplements, and care and para-pharmaceutical products.
Storing medicines and the cold chain
Most medicines are stored in a dry place away from heat and light. Some need a fridge: unopened insulin, for example, is kept between 2 and 8 degrees Celsius and must not be frozen, and insulin that has frozen is discarded. So the assistant monitors the fridge temperature and does not put medicines in the door, where the temperature fluctuates.
Reading the medical prescription (l'ordonnance) step by step
Reading the prescription is the most important lesson in pharmacy sales assistant training. Follow this order every time, even with prescriptions that look familiar:
- The doctor's identity: name, specialty, stamp and signature.
- The date: note it and point it out to the pharmacist if it looks old.
- The patient: name, and age or weight if a child, because the dose changes.
- The medicine's name, form and strength: 500 mg is not 1 g, and a syrup is not tablets.
- The dose, number of times a day and length of treatment, from which you work out the number of boxes.
- Any illegible handwriting or apparent inconsistency: do not guess, ask the pharmacist.
- Before handing over: the pharmacist checks what you prepared, then you explain the use to the patient as written.
The Chifa card and third-party payment: the basics
The Chifa card is an electronic card issued by the National Social Insurance Fund for Employees (CNAS), identifying the insured person and their dependants. In a pharmacy contracted with the Fund, the "third-party payment" system (tiers payant) operates: the patient presents their card and the prescription, the card is read with a special reader, the patient pays only the non-reimbursed share, if any, and the pharmacist recovers the rest from the Fund.
The second version of the card, launched in 2023, stores the latest electronic prescriptions and dispensed medicines in its chip. The reimbursement ceiling and rates change with the Fund's decisions, so do not memorise figures from old lessons, and check with the pharmacist or the Fund when in doubt.
- Check that the card belongs to its holder or one of their dependants.
- Make sure the medicine on the prescription is among the reimbursable medicines before promising the patient anything.
- Keep the prescription and its documents in order, because incomplete Chifa files are rejected by the Fund.
Managing stock and expiry dates
Stock is the pharmacy's capital, and what costs the pharmacist the most money is expired medicine left on the shelf or a requested medicine that is unavailable. That is why the assistant is assessed on discipline in these points:
- The first-expired, first-out rule (FEFO): put new lots behind the old ones.
- A periodic stock count of the shelves, compared with what the software shows.
- Recording every entry and exit immediately, because stock that does not match the software ruins the orders.
- A daily stock-out list that the pharmacist reviews before ordering from distributors.
- Keeping para-pharmaceutical products separate from medicines in arrangement and recording.
Pharmacy management software, a skill employers ask for
The modern pharmacy links sales to stock: each sale reduces the quantity, and the software alerts you before expiry and when stock runs short. PharmaPro is an example of software designed for Algerian pharmacies: a point of sale with a barcode reader, stock by lot and expiry date, sales with the Chifa card with statements and follow-up of rejections, working on the computer without internet, with a free trial period. Practising on software of this kind before the interview makes the assistant ready from day one. To compare software, read pharmacy management software in Algeria.
Communicating with patients and professional confidentiality
Article 24 of Law 18-11 provides for every person's right to respect for their private life and to the confidentiality of their medical information. The assistant sees sensitive illnesses and prescriptions every day, so you do not comment on a prescription out loud and you do not talk about a customer in front of others.
The limits of advice are clear: the assistant explains what the doctor wrote and what the pharmacist approved; suggesting a medicine for a symptom, changing a dose, or answering a question about pregnancy or drug interactions are all referred to the pharmacist. This is not weakness; it is what makes the pharmacy owner trust you.
Training: how to become a pharmacy sales assistant in Algeria
The law does not require any single certificate for the pharmacy sales assistant job, and each pharmacist chooses whom to hire. But training shortens your path and reduces beginner mistakes. These are the routes that actually exist:
1. A short pharmacy sales assistant training course
Offered by private training institutions and other bodies, in person or remotely, with duration and content that vary widely. The private vocational training institution is a regulated activity subject to licensing under Executive Decree 18-162 of 14 June 2018, so ask about the licence if an official certificate is what you are looking for.
2. The pharmacy technician specialty (paramedical)
A longer route after the baccalaureate, through university orientation to the national institutes of higher paramedical training, leading to a state diploma. The Ministry of Health's 2025 announcement of training for assistant pharmacy technicians in private paramedical schools stirred debate within the profession, with the National Association of Algerian Pharmacists calling for a comprehensive reform that preserves the pharmacist's responsibility.
3. Studying pharmacy
Only this leads to the status of pharmacist or assistant pharmacist in the legal sense, and to the right to open a pharmacy. The Council of the Order of Pharmacists (Conseil de l'Ordre des pharmaciens) ensures that the laws governing the profession are respected and exercises disciplinary authority, including through the code of medical ethics (Executive Decree 92-276 of 6 July 1992), which covers doctors, dental surgeons and pharmacists, while the Algerian National Union of Private Pharmacists (SNAPO) defends the interests of pharmacists who own pharmacies.
How to choose a pharmacy sales assistant course: a checklist
- A written programme that covers the topics listed above, not generic headings.
- A trainer from the health field (pharmacist or doctor) whose name you can find out.
- A practical part: prescription cases, exercises on medicine families, or an internship.
- A certificate that an employer can verify, not just a printed paper.
- Clarity about the nature of the certificate: is it a state diploma or a training certificate from the body itself?
Remote pharmacy assistant course from TKAWEN
If you are looking for a flexible pharmacy sales assistant course, TKAWEN offers a remote pharmacy assistant course supervised by a specialist doctor, in five topics: introduction to medicines, pharmaceutical forms and routes of administration, medicine families, medical prescriptions, and blood pressure, diabetes and blood groups. At the end, a digitally verified certificate is issued, which the employer checks by QR code through Algeria Certify.
After the training, you can present your certificate for hiring among the profiles holding this certificate, and follow job offers on TKAWEN Jobs.
Pay and career prospects
There is no official pay scale specific to the pharmacy sales assistant in the private sector, and pay is set by agreement with the pharmacist according to experience, city and pharmacy size. The legal minimum is the guaranteed national minimum wage, raised to 24,000 DZD per month from 1 January 2026 by Presidential Decree 26-01, and it applies to both the public and private sectors. We found no reliable source measuring the average pay of sales assistants, so avoid figures circulating without a source.
Progression comes through responsibility: from beginner assistant to stock and orders manager, or Chifa manager in a large pharmacy. And for those who want the status of a health professional, the route is the pharmacy technician specialty or studying pharmacy.
Common mistakes made by beginner pharmacy sales assistants
- Dispensing a prescription medicine without the pharmacist seeing it, even if it is familiar.
- Suggesting a medicine for a symptom instead of referring the customer to the pharmacist.
- Mixing up two strengths or two forms of the same medicine.
- Putting the new lot in front of the old one so the old one expires on the shelf.
- Delaying recording the sale in the software until the end of the day.
- Leaving refrigerated medicines out of the fridge while receiving the order.
- Talking about a customer's prescription in front of others.
Start a career in pharmacy on a solid foundation
A remote pharmacy assistant course supervised by a specialist doctor: medicines, their forms, families and prescriptions, with a digitally verified certificate that the employer checks by QR code.
See the course programme →Frequently asked questions
Where can I find pharmacy sales assistant lessons for Algeria in PDF?
You can download a free 4-page summary based on this guide: pharmacy sales assistant course PDF. It covers duties, skills, course topics, training and tools.
Is a pharmacy sales assistant allowed to dispense medicines?
Article 179 of Law 18-11 makes dispensing pharmaceutical products the pharmacist's prerogative, with a medical prescription or without one for a defined list. The assistant prepares, records and explains, and the decision rests with the pharmacist. As for medicines with psychotropic properties, their dispensing is under the responsibility of the pharmacist or assistant pharmacist under Executive Decree 21-196.
What is the difference between a pharmacy sales assistant and a pharmacy assistant?
On the job market the two names often describe the same job. But in Law 18-11 the "assistant pharmacist" is a pharmacist holding a pharmacy degree who works under the responsibility of the pharmacy owner, whereas the sales assistant is a worker who is not a pharmacist.
What are the main lessons in pharmacy sales assistant training?
The trade name and scientific name of the medicine, pharmaceutical forms, the major medicine families, reading the prescription, storing medicines and the cold chain, the Chifa card, managing stock and expiry dates, communication and professional confidentiality, and using pharmacy management software.
How long is pharmacy sales assistant training in Algeria?
There is no single duration: short courses vary from one body to another, while the pharmacy technician specialty is a paramedical university route after the baccalaureate. Compare programmes by content, practical component and whether the certificate can be verified, not by duration alone.
Is a pharmacy sales assistant certificate recognised?
The law does not require a specific certificate for the sales assistant, so a certificate's value comes from the body that issued it, the content of the training and whether it can be verified. Ask before registering: is it a state diploma from a licensed institution, or a training certificate from the body itself?
What is a pharmacy sales assistant's salary in Algeria?
It is set by agreement with the pharmacist according to experience and city, and by law cannot be below the guaranteed national minimum wage, which is 24,000 DZD per month since 1 January 2026. There is no official source for the average pay of sales assistants.
Does a pharmacy sales assistant work with the Chifa card?
Yes, in many pharmacies: they read the card in a pharmacy contracted with CNAS, record the prescription and prepare the statements if assigned to, under the pharmacist's supervision. And management software such as PharmaPro records the sale with the card and follows rejected prescriptions.