The Ross Medical Education Center Morgantown, West Virginia campus recently hosted its Pharmacy Technician Advisory Board meeting. Most of the members in attendance were also present in February for Morgantown’s American Society of Health‑System Pharmacists (ASHP) accreditation visit. Board members included Tim Fields, Pharmacy Technician Manager at West Virginia University Medicine; Karl Sommers, Pharmacist and Owner of Waterfront Family Pharmacy; Alicia Grande, Pharmacist with Walgreens, and Leyna Menefee, Pharmacy Technician graduate class of 2013.
Sommers and Fields have been active board members since the campus opened in July 2012. “We’ve taken great pride in being part of the Morgantown campus since it opened,” said Fields. “My site has hosted and hired many of the pharmacy tech students at Ross,” Sommers agreed. “Although we’ve had fewer positions available than Tim, we’ve also been very proud to help Ross with the education of its students.” Both sites, as well as Walgreens, have hosted tours at their locations for upcoming graduates. Leyna Menefee said, “I really enjoyed my time at Ross and appreciated all of the help they gave me during my job search after graduation, and the tours were a lot of fun.”
During the meeting, members reviewed the results of the ASHP accreditation visit and were pleased with the response. Each member offered continued assistance with the process and voiced anticipation over the accreditation decision which is anticipated in July. The team also reviewed the current list of affiliates and approved each one including the newest pharmacy affiliate, Pharmalogic, a nuclear medicine pharmacy located in Clarksburg. “We are very pleased to have Pharmalogic join our list of approved sites,” said Tiffany Jones, Career Development Representative. “We are anxious to have a rep from Pharmalogic also join our next board meeting in October,” added Dorie Alger, Campus Director.
Jamie McGuire, Pharmacy Technician program Instructor, received positive feedback from Sommers and Fields for her updates to the classroom including posting her office hours and the establishment of a Pharmacy Technician Certification Exam (PTCE) study station to be used before and after class. Sommers said, “Jamie is a great addition to the Ross team. She brings a lot of great ideas and experience to the organization.” Grande added, “Ross has always provided us with quality externs, and I really like the set up in Jamie’s classroom.”
After reviewing retention and placement rates as well as student, graduate, and employer feedback, members enjoyed a continental breakfast from Panera Bread. “It’s really nice of Ross to provide breakfast for these meetings. They have them early enough that we can each get to our sites, and breakfast makes the morning meeting more manageable.” At the conclusion of the meeting, Tim and students were leaving for a field trip to the pharmacy museum located at West Virginia University Medicine.