Member Spotlight

Academy Member Since 2018
Instructor, Director of Pharmacy Technician Education, Pharmacy Practice and Science, College of Pharmacy
Bio

What do you do at UNMC?
I enjoy teaching the sterile compounding course to first year pharmacy students (P1s). The course is lab intensive where students learn how to and then demonstrate how to compound (also referred to as mix) IV bags.

The majority of my time is dedicated to managing our Pharmacy Technician Program. I create content for online learning and facilitate the learning. The outcome of course completion is a credential, so I also oversee credential renewal. Part of this involves offering continuing education which is needed for credential renewal. I've had the pleasure of working with many UNMC and Nebraska Medicine folks who have presented continuing education topics for our pharmacy technician credential holders.

Tell us about your educational research interests and teaching role.
I want my students to have fun while they learn the sterile compounding and aseptic technique concepts and my aim is for them to see the value in what they're learning. My class is typically offered at the end of the day when there's already information overload. Sharing short video clips of real-life medication errors in compounding helps keep their interest as well as active learning that they experience with labs.

What is one of your favorite/memorable teaching moments?
Most of the pharmacy technician course happens online where students watch demonstration videos, read content and listen to lectures. My favorite moments are when students gather on campus to tie together ambiguous concepts from the online learning with hands-on, in-person, live learning. Nothing replaces actually putting your hands on something to learn how it works. I like seeing smiling students when the 'ah-hah' moment happens.

What do you see as the biggest benefit to being a member of the IAE?
Belonging to a group of dedicated professionals.

What do you enjoy doing in your free (non-work) time?
I've found a creative side that I didn't know existed. I love working in my flower gardens and I also like to paint on canvas. I won't call myself a 'painter', because I'm not good enough for that title :-) This is a picture I painted of my granddaughter and for my granddaughter.