Rebecca van Staalduinen – Registered Pharmacy Technician

WORK BETTER

After completing her school placement at PRHC, Rebecca van Staalduinen was eager to accept a Pharmacy Technician position here just a few months later. During her placement, Rebecca appreciated that she was able to get familiar with the Health Centre and its people.

“The pharmacy has an amazing group of co-workers. They’re very supportive, especially when it comes to swapping shifts or studying for big national registration exams. Hospital pharmacy allows me to work to my full scope of practice, which makes every day exciting,” says Rebecca.

A typical day for a Pharmacy Technician includes checking expiration dates on medications and printing stock reports from the Automated Dispensing Units (ADUs), then gathering everything that is needed for the ADUs and making deliveries to units across the hospital.

Pharmacy Technicians also call for medication histories from community pharmacies to prepare for Best Possible Medication History (BPMH) interviews with patients on the specific units they are covering. This may include interviewing the patient themselves, or in some cases contacting a family member to discuss the medication routine the patient followed at home. Before the end of their shift, Pharmacy Technicians do another round of deliveries to make sure the units are well-stocked for the night shift.

“If we happen to finish early, this is when we go help our co-workers! This may include delivering stock to other units, checking narcotics or other medications that have been re-packaged, or helping to put away medications from the day’s order that have been delivered,” says Rebecca.

“I love that every day in this role is different from the last. There’s never a dull moment! My days involve lots of problem-solving and it’s very active, I get to see almost every area of the hospital.”

Photo by David Pickering

LIVE BETTER

When offered a permanent position at PRHC, Rebecca said it was too good to pass up.

“I grew up in Peterborough and I love living here. I’m able to do the work I enjoy and the other things in the community that I love, including coaching volleyball at Trent University.”