New to the group.

May 19, 2004

Dear xqx/fruitty

Well I do hope you get that experience. Have you gone in to talk to

the oweners/directors or have you only sent in resumes aro called in?

Your presence and how you speak, conduct yourself etc makes a big

difference. You MUST be able to relate your past work history that

is NOT in pharmacy with tasks, skills and abilites that a hosp tech

or retail teck would need: good communication, computer, customer

service, lab work, math skills, inventory, etc.

If you can get some letters of recommendation from people who you

have worked for/with or know you and your abilities/endeavors,

character etc this would help. Have them ready.

You should always ask any one who turns you down if they have any

contacts in pharmacy who may be looking for a trainee or if they

have any suggestions. You will be amazed!

The BEST way to get experience is to 'volunteer' at a hospital

and 'prove' yourself. Then if they do not hire you after 3 to 6

months then ask for a letter of recommendation and move on. By this

time they have become acustomed to you. You may be amazed that the

merer fact that they realize that they may be loosing you, may

comitt them to offer you work on the clock.! Now they may only offer

you part time. But TAKE IT ! why? because they you will be able to

build a resume with a 'paid' experience not a volunteer postition.

Yet others will or may hire you on the mere fact taht you have

volunteered and have 'some' experience. Be sure to ask for a letter

of rec from a good tech, a good staff RPh and the director. Make

sure these letters have personal and work contact numbers so that if

they want to contact them for verification the could very easily.

All of this makes your letters of rec more professional

and 'believable'.

If this does not work as yourself if you are 'flexible' enlouh for

the hours that they are asking or for their particular needs.

Do you live nearby some tech schools? If so, those students are

given an internship (voluntary on the job) and they have more

experience than someone off the street (you) and therefore this

spoils the nearby hospitals and retail stors. Therefore it is

unlikely that you would get hired nearby these schools.

Since I am an advocate of education BEFORE working as a tech, to

reduce errors and speed the process of knowledge, to make us all

more " professional " and 'uniform' in skills abilities, expectations

fo a pharm tech etc, I do not want any one to work before school.

However since many states do not have law requiring such, I will say

that I do hope that these facilities ARE very picky about who they

hire.

Unfortunately in some areas of rual the 'south' it is still

the " good old boy " attitude: You got to know some one who is the

father of someone who helped your pappy grow potatoes or fix a care

in the poor ing rain, or sings choir in same church as Uncle Joe

when he was 12 or the directro's best friend's little girl that he

has known, all his life and now she is a very smart young lady

studying English in college, and needs a parttime summer job.

None of the above potential 'employees ' really cared too much

about pharmacy tech, but someone they knew, who knew some one who

knew.....found out that they were looking for work, and they wanted

to help out someone meaningful in their life. This person is usually

young and just wants to needs money, but does not have a desire to

be in the medical field/but hey they are going to pay x number of

dollars and why not it beats flipping hamburgers.

None of the above have the drive' that you have. Half probably will

not be able to have the 'apptitude'. One quarter will make mediocre

techs. 10% will make great techs. Most will quit before the end of

the first two years. Not for them. Not their cup of tea.

So where does that leave you? Selling your self, your character,

your attributes, skills and ability to be a fast learner to who ever

will listen. And if that does not work, asking them to ask a friend

or colleague if that may know of an opening: in other words creating

your own good old boy network '.....

I hope this helps. It starts with you meeting someone and selling

yourself in the first 30 seconds to 2 minutes! This includes

appearance so be sure you are neat, clean and well groomed. Make

sure that you are in buisness attire.

Let me know what you are thinking right now! I do not wish to

discourage you, I only wish to narrow down the things that are

against you so that you can 'combat them' in the interview and how

to score an interview in the first place.

Respectfully

Jeanetta Mastron CPhT BS Chem

Pharm Tech Educator

Founder/Owner of this site.

> Hello all,

>

> I am new to your group and just wanted to say " hi. " I am a pre-

pharm

> student in Ga and hopefully will make it to Pharm School. I am

> currently taking my pre-reqs and everything so far is going well.

I

> plan on taking the tech certification in July or November.

> Currently, I am not in the pharm field but looking to get a pharm

> tech job but I seem to be hitting road blocks. Most hospitals or

> retail stores won't even talk to me if I've never had pharm tech

> experience, which I have many years ago. I see no way of getting

> pharmacy experience if no one will give me a chance. I know I'm

> boring everyone, so I'll end it here. Have a great day everyone!!

May 19, 2004

Dear xxq

Are you in Chicago right now?

Jeanetta

May 19, 2004

> Dear xxq

>

> Are you in Chicago right now?

>

> Jeanetta

I'm in Ga.

November 20, 2006

Nichole,

Its easy to see that you are going to become a fantastic nurse. Its

good to see the " whole " patient, not just the disease and symptoms

but also the emotional toll it takes on the child and their family.

Something that I have encountered with both nurses and doctors which

can be frustrating is their unwillingness to " listen " to

parents/patients. I will give you an example. The first one

involves my son. He is 14 and has always been a VERY active kid.

He has never complained of a cold, virus etc..just continued on with

school physical activity etc...So when he is sick enough to slow

down, I know there is a real problem. Being his mom for 14 years

this has played out by him being a toddler and whining about his

ears only to find out he had bilateral ear infections with ruptured

eardrums...or the time he complained of a headache and that night

was admitted to the hospital for a sinus infection that was going to

his brain...He is a healthy kid but the few times he has complained

of being sick, there was always a need that required attention...I

preface all this just to say that when I sat in the doctors office a

couple of weeks ago with a boy that wasn't able to walk across the

room without extreme exhaustion, had missed 3 days of school and

basketball tryouts (which he lives for) was around the corner and he

was soaking his bed each night just drenched in sweat...the doctor

simply looked at my son...A boy that is quick to smile and joke with

the doc for the 15 minutes that she sees him. So her assessment is

he is ok but will order blood work...Blood work shows nothing. I

know something isnt right so 3 days later with no improvement in

symptoms we return to the office...again she sees my son who is

smiling and cracks jokes with her..she says he appears ok. I say he

complains of pain when he breathes..she asks him and he says well

yeah but its not that bad...Reluctantly she agrees to order the

chest x-ray...he has pneumonia in his left lobe. Two weeks later

the post x-ray reveals he still has pneumonia....Point being is that

sometimes its necesary to look beyond the labs and the smiling child

in front of you and be willing to listen to the parents or probe a

bit deeper in your questions of the child.

I apologize for the longevity of my example and it wasnt even one of

my daughter that has jra...But it easily could have been and there

are countless others on this list and beyond that would have similar

concerns when it comes to having doctors/nurses listen to them

during their visits.

With jra there are lots of kids that have symptoms that don't

necesarily fall neatly into the criteria box for jra. This can be

very frustrating for parents as they try to cope with their childs

pain and yet the time period for waiting on a diagnosis can feel

endless. The beginning phase of probably most any disease is often

the hardest. There are lots of tests being done and uncertainty as

to what will happen next. Parents and children need a great deal of

emotional support and compassion during this intial phase of

diagnosing. Providing literature, support group info, and

encouragement is truly a health care provider that sees the whole

picture and is willing to meet all the needs of her patient.

As far as any individual information regarding jra. you can read

thru the archives regarding my daugher. Her name is Aundrea and she

was diagnosed when she was 7. Her picture is in the photo album and

you can all see pictures of the systemic rash there. You will also

find good information in the files section.

If you have any other questions please feel free to email me here or

offline. 1md@...

Best of luck to you in your studies!

(Aundrea 11 systemic jra/gerd)

>

> Hello Everyone, my name is Nichole and I am new to this group. I

> wanted to start by saying that I do not have a child diagnosed

with

> JRA, but it has touched my life (my best friends husband has it).

I

> also would like to say if my interest is in any way inappropriate

or

> unwanted, I will quit being involved. My wish is not to make

anyone

> uncomfortable by an " outsider " intruding so please let me know. As

a

> resistered nursing student, I am planning to begin my career as a

> pediatric nurse in a few short months and am doing my final

project

> on Juvenile Rheumatiod Arthritis. I want to share with the other

> future nurses more of a personal side to this condition. It is

easy

> to describe the pathophysiology of a disease and as important as

that

> is, I want to share the experiences of families who are actually

> living with this day in and day out. I would love to pass on

> information to this new generation of health care workers that

will

> benefit the future care of children and families who are living

with

> JRA. As a person who has never been in health care as a patient, I

> feel I am only seeing one side of the equation and would love any

> stories or information you feel would benefit nurses who will be

> caring for children like yours. Thank you so much. Just a note: I

> will never mention any names, locations etc. As a

>

> Thanks again,

> Nichole

>

November 21, 2006

Hi Nichole:

First let me say that I feel you are going be an amazing nurse! That being

said I thought I would share our experience. My daughter Hannah just turned

10. In March of this year she started complaining of severe joint pain. There

were so many days I had to help her out of bed because of pain. Those days it

would take hours for her to be able to function like a little girl should. We

took her to a ped rheumatologist who after some blood work and xrays diagnosed

her with arthralgia. You see she had no swelling so they would not diagnose her

with JRA. I had many questions and concerns and would call to ask questions

when my ped could not answer them. Hannah has had constant pain in her hands,

knees, ankles, toes and back since all of this started (the back pain started in

September). This is a department at very well respected local children's

hospital. There are four doctors and one clinic nurse. This nurse often did

not call me back or did not call me back for

days. So while I waited for calls to be returned, my daughter suffered in

pain.

After many months of being told there is nothing we can do for your daughter,

take her to pain management, I sought a second opinion. This doctor told us

that she likely has some form of arthritis, but did not know what kind. He too

would not put her on anything other than an NSAID, which has not helped my

daughter. He also felt there may be some muscle involvement. So after

discussion with my ped, he suggested I call and the original doctor back to be

sure they have ruled everything possible out. I left a very detailed message

with this nurse. When she called me back 2 days later, she (or the doctor) was

very offended that we sought a second opinion. She told me this doctor would

not run any more testes on Hannah, told us there was nothing more they would do

for her and said once again to go to pain management. I asked if we should

make a followup appt and she said " you can if you want to, we won't stop you

from seeing us " . Well I can tell you because of this

nurse's comments (and attitude all along) I will never take my daughter back

to see any of the doctors in that department again.

So, I apologize for the length of this, but thought it was important for you

hear the whole story. When you get into patient contact I would like to say

above all listen to not only the parents, but the child as well. Not all of

these kids will present with classic symptoms. Every one of them will be

different. Please do not ever make a child feel like their pain is not real.

Do not ever give up on a child in pain. I thank God everyday that we have a

caring pediatrician who is now determined to find a diagnosis for my daughter on

his own. As a medical profession he says giving up without a diagnosis is not

acceptable. He was angered by the ego of both this doctor and her nurse.

Good luck to you.

Beth (Hannah, 10 unspecified arthritis; asthma; gerd)

uwontforgtme <uwontforgtme@...> wrote:

Hello Everyone, my name is Nichole and I am new to this group. I

wanted to start by saying that I do not have a child diagnosed with

JRA, but it has touched my life (my best friends husband has it). I

also would like to say if my interest is in any way inappropriate or

unwanted, I will quit being involved. My wish is not to make anyone

uncomfortable by an " outsider " intruding so please let me know. As a

resistered nursing student, I am planning to begin my career as a

pediatric nurse in a few short months and am doing my final project

on Juvenile Rheumatiod Arthritis. I want to share with the other

future nurses more of a personal side to this condition. It is easy

to describe the pathophysiology of a disease and as important as that

is, I want to share the experiences of families who are actually

living with this day in and day out. I would love to pass on

information to this new generation of health care workers that will

benefit the future care of children and families who are living with

JRA. As a person who has never been in health care as a patient, I

feel I am only seeing one side of the equation and would love any

stories or information you feel would benefit nurses who will be

caring for children like yours. Thank you so much. Just a note: I

will never mention any names, locations etc. As a

Thanks again,

Nichole

Beth

Sending prayers & happy thoughts

September 27, 2008

Dear

please visit:

www.surgicaltourism.ca particularly the testimonials and videos

From: <lilbizzybeez@...>

Subject: New to the group.

spinal problems

Received: Saturday, September 27, 2008, 3:20 PM

Hi all, My Name is ,40 years old. I just got my MRI results

back last week and boy did I get a shocker. They found Hemangiola on

T10-L2, Bulging in the L4/L5, DDD in the L5/S1 with spurs, and a

Tarlov Cyst on the S2. I am not on any meds. I suffer with tremendous

amount of leg and feet pain,some days are better than others. I sleep

in a recliner to avoid the bed because the bed locks my back up and I

just can't handle the torcher from that. I go in the tenth of Oct. to

see the Nuerosurgeon. I have to admitt that I am scared to death. I

feel that I am going through a manic depression for those that don't

know what that means it is: one minute I am up amd the next I am

crying. I run my own business by myself and can't afford to loss my

job. By the grace of God I hope to be able to keep going. Any advise

would be greatly appriecated.

__________________________________________________________________

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September 27, 2008

>

> Hi all, My Name is ,40 years old. I just got my MRI results

> back last week and boy did I get a shocker. They found Hemangiola on

> T10-L2, Bulging in the L4/L5, DDD in the L5/S1 with spurs, and a

> Tarlov Cyst on the S2. I am not on any meds. I suffer with tremendous

> amount of leg and feet pain,some days are better than others. I sleep

> in a recliner to avoid the bed because the bed locks my back up and I

> just can't handle the torcher from that. I go in the tenth of Oct. to

> see the Nuerosurgeon. I have to admitt that I am scared to death. I

> feel that I am going through a manic depression for those that don't

> know what that means it is: one minute I am up amd the next I am

> crying. I run my own business by myself and can't afford to loss my

> job. By the grace of God I hope to be able to keep going. Any advise

> would be greatly appriecated.

>

See my post of today. Not sure if it would help, but it might.

September 27, 2008