Pharmacy Technician Lead Instructor, Lisa Thompson.
Today we’re introducing you to Lisa Thompson in the Pharmacy program at the FVI Miramar Campus. Lisa is the Program Chair/Lead Faculty of the Pharmacy Technician program at FVI School of Nursing and Technology. As a certified Pharmacy Technician, her knowledge about the field is extensive, and she is also bringing to the FVI family over 17 years of teaching experience. We talked about her background, her role at the new campus, and what’s coming in the school.
Lisa, tell us about your role here at FVI?
My role as the program chair lead instructor is to train future Pharmacy Technicians here at the Miramar Campus. We want students to come here expecting to learn what Pharmacy Technicians do on an entry level where they can either work at a retail facility such as CVS or Walgreens working mail orders or they can work at long-term pharmacies. Typically, the course consists of lectures, lab practices, different classroom activities that they would use to gain the necessary experience to work in those various settings.
For the people who are interested in joining the Allied Health world, what do you need to do?
You want to have interest in helping people, and you need to be compassionate. One of the requirements for a Pharmacy Tech in the state of Florida is to attend a school like FVI to complete the program, to then use their diploma to register with the Board of Pharmacy. Besides registering with the Board of Pharmacy you must also have a clean background. No felonies, no drug-related issues, you must have a high school diploma or the equivalent, because again when registering with the state these are things that they’re going to check. If you don’t meet those requirements you won’t be able to join the world of Pharmacy.
What’s a typical day like in class with Lisa?
You can expect to learn a lot while having fun! One of my mottos is “By any means necessary” that means whatever I need to use to help you understand the material. In my class, you’re going to learn about medications, how it affects the body, what the body does to a drug, side effect of a medication, data entry with prescriptions, how to compound creams, ointments, and other solutions.
What’s your best career advice?
I tell my students when they come into class to be focused and dedicated. Come to class every day because attendance is important! You don’t miss any valuable material the teachers and instructors are giving. Be focused! Ask questions. Students sometimes are hesitant to ask questions, but if you don’t understand something you must ask questions. All questions are important because we are here to help you in any way we possibly can. At FVI we will always go the extra mile so you understand the assignment, complete the lab and be successful.
Tell me about the Miramar Campus
I think the Miramar Campus is AWESOME! We have an amazing lab! FVI Miramar is a place where students can learn a lot in our lab, learn about what a technician does in a lab or a retail facility. Everyone at the Miramar Campus is friendly, staff and instructors really care about everyone, that they learn to the best of the ability to be successful to go out and get that job because that’s why they are here. To be a valuable part of the Medical Industry. We are grateful to be in this wonderful building which is filled with great labs. Not only Pharmacy Lab but PCT and IT labs. A beautiful setting.
Who is Lisa Thompson?
Lisa comes to us with 17 years of teaching experience and over 30 years as a Pharmacy Technician. She has taught, managed, and developed Pharmacy Tech programs, is a registered and certified Pharmacy Technician, was selected in 2017 to be an item writer for the PTCB, and has recently been nominated for Pharmacy Tech of the Year (2018) by the Florida Pharmacy Association.
Her military training and background have afforded her the opportunity to be exposed to many pharmacy settings and she loves bringing her knowledge to her students. She is a dynamic and caring instructor and her motto “by any means necessary” reflects her dedication to do whatever is needed to help students understand the materials.
You can email Lisa [email protected]
