Master Sergeant Bags PTCB Certified Pharmacy Technician of the Year Title

What’s stopping you from being successful at two careers? The Pharmacy Technician Certification Board has named US Air Force master sergeant Jessica Hughes as the 2013 PTCB CPhT of the Year for her outstanding performance throughout the year. The pharmacy tech, who was assigned as a pharmacy support at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, was commended for her service in 2008 during her deployment in Afhanistan, where she helped fellow countrymen and army men with their medications. According to the press release, Hughes was able to help out over 900 patients, and prepare 1,300 IV medications—both comprising 70 percent of the workload. She basically performed two roles as a pharmacist and as a technician and had to do things on her own without the supervision of a pharmacist (she was working the night shift). “The experience opened my eyes to much more than what I normally see in a clinical setting,” Hughes said in the press release. “I was called to traumas and had to make IVs and TPNs,” she added. At McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, Hughes takes care of the logistics, inventories and clinic inspections. She also mans the pharmacy at most times and was also a tobacco cessation instructor. She was able to convince 70 percent of her class to quit smoking. She was able to process over 540,000 prescriptions during her seven-year tenure. She also received commendations from the US Air Force. The Pharmacy Technician Certification Board started the yearly PTCB CPhT of the Year Program in July this year to honor pharmacy technicians who have stood out for their “service, leadership and patient care.” Over 550 technicians were nominated before 8 finalists have been selected were recognized on October 29. It was one of those proud moments, for sure, not just for Hughes but for most military men and women out there—especially army women. Hughes’s story is a testament that one can successfully be of service as both an army personnel and an allied healthcare professional. After military training, you can always enroll in a pharmacy technician training program or an EHR training program; completing programs like these two can help you find work at healthcare institutions within military bases. One good thing about getting allied healthcare training is that the jobs you train for are portable—which essentially is just like your career as a military personnel. Serving in the military would require you to move locations several times in a year, and you would need to have a career you can take with you, of course. Having a backup plan—as a secondary area of knowledge and skills—would help you find a job, when worse comes to worse. If you don’t want to spend money on additional training, you can always apply for a MyCAA grant, which is provided by the Department of National Defense to qualifying military personnel. To know you eligibility, visit Meditec MyCAA program today.