Written by Colleen Flaharty, Pharmacy Technician Program Coordinator, Eagan Campus

Healthcare has always appealed to me as a career -- the opportunity to help others, interest in health and biology, how the body works, etc.  I thought about medicine, but I never wanted to be "the dollar stops here" person.  And the thought of having to clean up after various bodily eruptions steered me from nursing.  I attended a career fair when I was in junior high, for "women in non-traditional careers" and was introduced to the idea of pharmacy.  I wanted to be sure that I liked the field, though, before investing all of the time and money into pharmacy school, so I enrolled in a pharmacy technician program right out of high school.

It is many years later, women in pharmacy are now the majority, at least in pharmacy school classes of recent years, and women pharmacists are definitely no longer considered "non-traditional."  My years as a technician have been very rewarding, and now I am finally near the end of my educational road to become a pharmacist.  It is very exciting to see all of the changes that have developed over time in the field, and very gratifying to see how the value of a well-trained, hard-working technician is widely recognized and appreciated! 

The following is from the Winter 2008 newsletter from the PTCB (Pharmacy Technician Certification Board) website.

Pharmacy Technician listed in Top 30 Jobs of 2008 on CareerBuilder.com

A new year means new beginnings: new resolutions, ideas and friends; new habits, relationships and goals; new salaries, titles and responsibilities. And perhaps most importantly, new jobs. Lots of them. And not just for 2008, either - until 2016.

Total employment is expected to increase by 15.6 million jobs during the 2006-16 decade, according to the most recent employment projections from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Almost all of this growth will occur in the service-providing sector, which will account for 75 percent of all jobs in 2016.

Professional and related professions and service occupations are projected to grow most quickly, accounting for more than six of 10 new jobs created throughout 2006-2016. Twenty-eight of the 30 fastest-growing jobs are in professional and related occupations and service positions.

Interested in getting in on the new job action this year?  2006-2016, According to the BLS pharmacy technician is number 16 of the 30 fastest growing careers between 2006 and 2016.

16. Pharmacy technicians
2006 employment: 285,000
2016 projection: 376,000
Percent growth: 32
Salary range: $21,260 - $30,560
Education/training: Moderate on-the-job training

CIGNA HealthCare produces a monthly newsletter featuring information on relevant health topics.  The February 2009 issue of Your Health & Wellbeing focuses on “Eating for Your Heart.”

Dietitians’ Picks for Heart-Healthy Snacks

Supermarkets are stocking more 100-calorie snack packs every day. Those snacks have become a $150 million business, but are they the answer to the mid-afternoon munchies? The 100-calorie products do provide portion control, convenience, and ability to satisfy a sweet tooth. What they don’t have is fiber, so they won’t keep those munchies away for long.

Dietitians agree that the best snacks satisfy hunger while helping to meet daily dietary needs, especially for fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy. They recommend looking for snacks that contain protein with healthy carbohydrates and fats, and eating your snacks slowly so they fill you up.

Try these heart-healthy options:
 
- Almonds – 1 oz (about 24 nuts) has only 160 calories. That’s a satisfying snack that provides heart-healthy fats, fiber, and calcium
 
- Half a peanut butter sandwich on whole-wheat bread
 
- Whole-grain crackers or whole-wheat pita with hummus
 
- Individual unsweetened applesauce with a few dry-roasted walnuts
 
- High-fiber dry cereal with a few nuts or seeds and dried fruit in a baggie, for a make-your-own snack pack
 
- Raw vegetables with 1/4 cup low-fat ranch dressing
 
- 100-calorie pack of low-fat popcorn – no butter!
 
- Handful of tortilla chips and salsa
 
- “Skinny” latte (made with low-fat or skim milk)
 
Source: WebMD
 

 Written by Georgina Sampson, RHIA, HIT Program Coordinator, Brooklyn Park

When I was in high school I knew I wanted to go on to college, and I also knew that I wanted to work in a hospital setting.  At the age of nine I had had surgery in a US military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany and from that time I knew I wanted to work in a hospital – nothing else would do.  The problem I ran into was that I didn’t want to touch patients.   So I had to find a job that would allow me to work in a hospital, but not expose me to patient body parts.  A lot of hospital departments were quickly ruled out of my future because they involved direct exposure to patients and /or parts of their bodies.  At some point in time I thought the only thing left for me was a future in housekeeping!  And then I met someone who was retired from the field of “medical records” (the old fashioned term for health information management).  Suddenly, my future looked bright because I knew what I wanted, and was able to get there. 

That chance meeting with the woman who was retired from medical records was my first instance of networking within my chosen career.  I haven’t stopped networking since.  Students in our Intro classes are expected to go on field trips to learn about Health Information Management Departments, which is just another example of people networking within their chosen field.  But as students you begin your networking long before that field trip, you begin on day one with your fellow classmates.  Amazingly the acquaintances and friends you make now, as students, will follow you and grow throughout your career.  Today I am still in touch with my classmates from college, as well as with the people I’ve worked with since graduating.  Now I have a whole new group of people with whom I’m networking – my students!  A number of my former graduates work with students at their facilities; some have even come back and taught a class or two; I get the occasional phone call about a job opening and also the call about someone looking for a job.  Guess what?  I know people to send to them and also people to send them to.  It doesn’t matter how long (or short the time has been) that you’ve been in the health care field, because once you’re in, we’re all networking.

The wonderful thing about the present is all the technology that is available to people in the Health Information Field.  Not only are we moving the patient record from paper to an electronic version but our journals, magazines, and information about the American Health Information Management Association are available in electronic formats!  Check out these websites and start networking!

www.ahima.org

http://health-information.advanceweb.com/

Explore and find sites on Facebook, too!  Be sure to share with the rest of us who are now in your professional network!

By Phil Gore, Massage Therapy Program Coordinator, Brooklyn Park campus