Welcome to the inaugural issue of APC’s quarterly technician newsletter. As the chair of APC's Technician Services Committee, I am excited to share a little bit more about our purpose and how you can get involved.

Inside this newsletter you'll find great information about professional development, learn a little bit more about one of our committee members, stay up to date with upcoming webinars and educational events, and much more.

As Pharmacy Technicians, we fill a vital role in the profession and our diverse expertise allows us to raise the standard of excellence and advance the profession. Advocacy has always been a passion for me and it's up to us to tell our story and fight for the right to protect patient access to personalize medicine.

The Pharmacy Technician Committee is a group of talented individuals, and we are all here to serve you. Please allow us to be your voice and do not hesitate to reach out if you have questions, comments and ideas for future newsletters and or programming. We are always looking for speakers, content and help on our committees within APC.

I look forward to working with you in the future and hope to meet you face-to-face at an APC event soon. Again, welcome to APC!

Erin Michael, MBA, MS, CPhT, FAPC

I have always valued my technicians. They do so much for my patients and the profession. I could not exist without them. The compounding community could not exist without them.

For far too long, pharmacy technicians have been relegated to “second tier” status in our profession, despite being equal partners. No single role on a team is more important than anyone else: not the owner, not the pharmacist, not the technician, not the marketing professional. As compounders, we are one team with different, yet equally important roles. Our end goal is to provide our patients with customized medicines to help improve their quality of life.

One of my goals during my term as President of APC this year was to increase engagement with our technician members via these three initiatives:

I love all of our technicians and I am here to serve you. Let me know how else I can help during the last couple months of my presidency.

David J. Miller, RPh, PhD, FAPC, FACA

2022 APC President

You have the potential to be more than “just a technician” in the compounding pharmacy or facility where you work. But you need to develop the skillset that ensures your colleagues and employer recognizes you as an asset to the team.

Join dynamic presenter Cicely Simpson on Tuesday, December 6 for a webinar, Practically Indispensable: How You Can Become an Elite Pharmacy Technician. She will teach you how to focus on behaviors that can grow your professional presence and make you an “elite technician”—and an indispensable member of your pharmacy’s leadership team.

Your reputation—and your patients' safety—depends on your keeping current, on knowing the right thing to do, and doing it consistently.

And that's true for pharmacists and technicians alike.

That's the focus of EduCon 2023: Best Practices in Compounding—helping YOU and YOUR team polish your expertise so you can practice with high competence, efficiency, and integrity.

Learn more about the benefits of attending EduCon here.

By Stephanie Chacon, CPhT, FAPC

When trying to grow your career it can feel a bit overwhelming. Where do you even begin?

Let’s take it all the way back to basics, the foundation upon which your career can grow, your resume. Whether you are looking to move into a new position with your current employer or join a new team you need a stellar resume. Your resume is how you initially grab the attention of the hiring manager, so it needs to be excellent!

While scrolling through social media, like so many of us do, I came across a post from @langstaff.greg on Instagram. He is a resume strategist and interview coach with tons of helpful tips. He suggests using the below the "A+ professional summary" at the top of your resume, under your name and contact information:

Greg’s advice is solid, it perfectly captures your current role, your years of experience and your best skills but leaves room for customization. Even if you have been in your current position awhile, I would encourage you to update your resume regularly to make sure it is accurate and complete; and to add a professional summary like the one suggested above.

LinkedIn is essentially an electronic version of your resume with the added bonus that you can interact with other industry professionals (including recruiters). If you don’t already have a LinkedIn profile, I would encourage you to create one and start connecting with co-workers, colleagues, and other industry leaders there.

With both your resume and your LinkedIn profile remember:

Now, for your homework. Create/update your resume and LinkedIn profile and start connecting!

Learning never ends!

Through APC's Pharmacy/Facilty Membership, we offer all PFMs access to our archived webinars for free.

Is your employer not a PFM yet? Click here to learn more about the value and benefits of being a PFM.

Director of Sales

Civic Center Pharmacy, Scottsdale, AZ

Melinda Browning graduated from ASU with an MS in Biomedical Diagnostics and has worked in pharmacy for over 24 years. She discovered her passion and love for pharmacy at the tender age of 16 with her first job at a Walgreens 24-Hour Store in Chandler, Arizona. It was then that Melinda vowed she would make a difference in the lives of the many people she was surrounded by, including the patients and physicians she served, the teams she led, and the community she lived in. During her tenure with the retail chain, Melinda worked as a technician, a senior technician, a trainer, and then a role in the corporate office. Seven years ago, she moved into pharmacy compounding, first as a technician then into a management role.

My High School DECA (formerly Distributive Education Clubs of America) teacher, Ms. Kim Frahm, introduced me to the pharmacy industry. I attended school for half of the school day and then worked in the pharmacy for the other half. Once I started at Walgreens, two pharmacists (Chris Meisel and Gay Holliday) took me under their wings and inspired me to pursue a degree and further my career in pharmacy.

My superpower is shapeshifting. I have a lot of empathy and understanding and try to be flexible and adaptable to any situation or person. This has been great for leadership, mentoring, and sales, as I listen to their thoughts, emotions, and feelings to build positive, trusting relationships.

I am proud to be a technician and to be a mentor for other pharmacy technicians. My most recent accomplishment was becoming an APC Fellow with the Class of 2022, the first-year technicians could be inducted. At the Arizona Pharmacy Association, where I hold the seat of Director at Large for Technicians, I am grateful to have been recognized twice by the organization: Technician of the Year in 2021, and the Pharmacy Appreciation Award in 2022.

I motivate myself by setting personal goals. Every night I write down the ten most important things I need to get done the next day, and I do them! I am also highly motivated by people. When I talk to patients and physicians about compounding and all the solutions we can offer, my energy level rises, my endorphins increase, and it motivates me even more.

In the next five years, I want to obtain the Advanced Technician certification. That’s my top personal career goal. Next, I look to increase technician engagement within APC and my pharmacy association. Lastly, my ideal path would include growing in the Advocacy Role and becoming much more involved than I currently am. I would not just attend Compounders on Capitol Hill once a year but be a strong technician voice for our profession, and our patients locally and nationally.

If I have one word of advice, it's to get involved! It allows for the opportunity for you to be a part of something bigger. It helps you build your resume, find mentors, make a difference for your profession and community, grow your contacts, and build a lifelong Ph-amily! This can be at your local or national associations, with the PTCB, your work organization, and/or (of course) the APC!

Tell us about YOU

When I am not working you can find me spending time with my daughters, 7 & 17, playing with my pets, (I have three cats and a Chiweenie dog), or possibly at a 90s-era music concert.

2023