Finding fulfillment in information technology

When Connie Stanley became a pharmacy technician, she never envisioned she would be sitting at a computer all day—and loving it!For the past year, she has been a business systems analyst, infection control and pharmacy clinical surveillance, at London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) in London, Ont., a role that was created to support a new module in the continuing rollout of the hospital’s electronic health record (EHR). For a dozen years prior to that, she was a support analyst supporting the medication process for pharmacy, providers, anaesthesia, as well as paediatric and adult oncology services as they transitioned to the EHR.Stanley landed a job as a hospital pharmacy technician after graduating from Fanshawe College in 2004, becoming registered in 2013. With an affinity for math and technology, she seized an opportunity to join LHSC’s Information Technology Services (ITS).Read: Reignite your WHY“In 2013, the hospital was changing the process from paper to electronic order entry,” she explains. “I got hired to support the medication process and ordering workflows for the implementation of the OneChart electronic health record,” which supports several healthcare institutions beyond LHSC.“Participating in multiple small- and large-scale projects over the years in various capacities has provided me with the knowledge base to become a business systems analyst”—considered a subject matter expert in system processes. “When I was in pharmacy, I was involved in device implementation and other enhancements within the workflows of the department, which granted me the privilege of becoming a valuable resource in ITS for troubleshooting and building these applications.”Stanley is responsible for advanced project and operational technical support for the infection control and pharmacy clinical surveillance module, “which involves leveraging the available technology in the database to best assist workflows used by the pharmacy and infection control teams,” she says. “The module will identify patients who may require infection control or pharmacy monitoring and/or intervention, bringing the data to a single workspace within the electronic health record, so pharmacists can get a summary of why these patients may require monitoring. The pharmacy part of the interventions may include things like medication blood levels, duplicate anticoagulant therapies, or alerting pharmacists to existing antibiotic-resistant microbes.”Read: Tips for getting the best possible medication history Stanley notes that there are pharmacy technicians in similar roles in other applications in the ITS department, fromsupporting emergency services all the way up to management-level positions.“It’s a very technical and computer-driven role,” she says. “If you had asked me when I started my pharmacy tech career if I would be open to sitting behind a desk, I probably would have said no, but I've discovered there are many challenging roles in this capacity. My desire to problem-solve and troubleshoot has really supported that choice.” While Stanley finds joy in her work, she stresses that “having the ability to leave work at work is a valuable life skill to achieve work-life balance—finding a hobby or an outlet that brings you happiness.” In her case, that means spending time with her husband and five-and eight-year-old boys, or even just curling up on the couch with a good book.Stanley urges those entering the pharmacy technician profession to “stay curious. Seek to understand the why behind each task you perform and become a source of information for your colleagues by becoming a subject matter expert in your role.” She cites a favourite quotation: “You don't have to be the best to do your best.”As the role of pharmacy technicians continues to evolve, Stanley believes they can do even more. “Pharmacy technicians are a very skilled group of people who may not always be tapped into,” she says. “I think there are many opportunities for healthcare to leverage technician medication management expertise; it just may take some out-of-box thinking. Pharmacy technicians’ attention to detail and process seems to be a consistent asset to the clinical teams and applications we support. I encourage pharmacy technicians who have an interest in a role outside pharmacy that they want to pursue, take the next step and submit an application. You never know what opportunities might come your way.”

Finding fulfillment in information technology

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