Sheri Fulfer, director of the pharmacy technology program is pictured here at CC’s simulated pharmacy.
By Geoffrey Cooper
Casper College continues to develop its pharmacy technician program with more realistic training and equipment to keep pace with the ever-evolving medical industry.
“A lot of things have changed in the pharmacy world,” said Adriana Gutierrez, a former Casper College student and current licensed pharmacy technician.
Despite these changes, Gutierrez believes that the strong foundation of drug knowledge she built in CC’s program really set her up for success. She said the program prepared her for all the pharmacy tech positions that she held up to now. Gutierrez even received Wyoming’s 2022 Pharmacy Tech of the Year in August.
Currently, pharmacy techs are employed in all kinds of positions from your local pharmacy and insurance companies, to research institutions and even to work from home positions. Gutierrez herself started a new position at Banner Health in February as a charge audit technician. She is responsible for ensuring that patients are charged appropriately and for the correct drugs after a procedure. Most of these jobs don’t fit the typical perception of what a pharmacy tech does, however.
Sheri Fulfer, the director of the pharmacy technology program, said she loves to challenge such perceptions. When she asks people what a pharmacy tech does, she is typically met with a short response.
“Count pills.” she said,” But there is so much more to it than that.”
This is where the new equipment and training comes in. The program implemented a new IV lab for students to practice preparing IV bags in a simulated hospital setting. They also established a notionally sterile room for the students to practice sterile preparations. Students scrub and don personal protective equipment or PPE in the same way one would in a surgical center, to ensure students develop good habits associated with sterile procedures. The additional facilities allow each student to learn how to prepare medications that are a bit more intricate than your average pill or yes, even lollipops.
Fulfer said, “We’ll put medicine into anything to get it into a person’s body.”
The whole set up runs like a real pharmacy during student labs. Once the lights come on, they’re in business. People come in and shop for over-the-counter medications, others call in to ask questions or complain, and the students run everything as though it were real life. The medical field can get hectic, and Fulfer says this sort of training helps to reduce the initial culture shock.
Each student also maintains access to their own personal equipment, and with a class size of only thirteen, the program allows for a great deal of familiarity and one-on-one instruction.
Fulfer doesn’t want to stop there though. She is committed to expanding the program and getting more students on board. She said she can’t prepare enough technicians to meet the needs of the community. There is a statewide shortage of techs, so much so, that pharmacies reach out to the program for potential applicants.
Wyoming requires pharmacy techs to be certified, and CC is the only accredited program in the state. If interested in certification, reach out to Sheri Fulfer and set up an interview.
