Access and Opportunity
Providing Access to Health Care
Careers and Services
A unique program at the College prepares citizens for an in-demand career while another continues to serve an essential community function
Wanamaker Institute Scholars Program Is a Prescription for a Pharmacy Career
NOAH SHIPMAN WAS at a crossroads in his life. By age 27, he had taken computer courses, held a variety of odd jobs and logged three years as an airport baggage screener at Philadelphia International Airport. He wanted a career, but going back to school was financially out of the question.
Then, while he browsed Community College of Philadelphia’s Web site, a unique opportunity caught his eye. In just six weeks, he could complete the College’s Pharmacy Technician Certification Program, part of the Wanamaker Institute Scholars Program. Even better, the program was free for those who qualified.
Philadelphia’s Wanamaker Institute of Industries and the Community College of Philadelphia Foundation established the Wanamaker Institute Scholars Program to train unemployed or lowincome individuals to be pharmacy technicians or nurse aides. Before being formally admitted into the program, candidates must undergo an extensive application and screening process.
Pharmacy technicians are an invaluable support to pharmacists, physicians and patients. They help ensure prescription accuracy, which can prevent patient complications and deaths. A pharmacy technician takes prescriptions, registers clients into the pharmacy database and fills prescriptions under the pharmacist’s supervision.
“You have to be very good with people,” said Shipman.
They are also in great demand. By 2012, the number of pharmacy technicians needed in Pennsylvania is expected to increase nearly 20 percent, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry. Nationwide, the Bureau of Labor Statistics is projecting a nearly 30 percent growth in jobs by 2014.
The program is intense: 75 hours over six weeks, covering reading and interpreting prescriptions, dose calculations, IV flow rates and medication actions and reactions. A heavy emphasis is placed on math and science skills.
Upon completion, students are prepared to take the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board Exam and for employment. Twenty-eight students completed the program in 2006.
Opportunities for employment go far beyond the local pharmacy, according to program instructor Robin Schwartz. Pharmacy technicians can work in hospitals, home care agencies, long-term care facilities, mail-order drug businesses and the pharmaceutical industry, as long as they are supervised by a pharmacist.
A pharmacist herself, Schwartz works at three different hospital systems in the area, but said her first love is teaching. She said she enjoys watching friendships spring up among the students and tries to keep in touch with graduates as their new careers move forward. Shipman, for example, recently landed a job at a hospital in the city. Schwartz noted that her students aren’t “kids.” Most students are older and some, like Shipman, have had a series of entry-level jobs. “The students are really, really motivated,” said Schwartz. “I feel like I’m learning from them.”
Free Dental Care Brightens Thousands of Smiles
COMMUNITY COLLEGE OF PHILADELPHIA’S Dental Clinic has cleaned, examined, sealed and filled more than 32,000 teeth–all free of charge. What started 25 years ago as a free hygiene and educational service for community members who needed dental health care has become an essential part of the city’s health care infrastructure.
The 16-chair clinic, funded by the College, also serves as a teaching and training facility for Dental Hygiene students. Students treat approximately 1,000 patients each year, many of whom are referred by the city’s District Health Centers.
For the past five years, the clinic has hosted Sealant Saturday on the first Saturday in February. The all-day affair, held in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Dental Hygienists’ Association, provides free sealants for any and all patients. On this day, those working in the clinic perform approximately $35,000 worth of dental work.
“Patients come from all over the city to use the clinic,” said Theresa Grady, M.S.Ed., department head of Dental Hygiene. “While most are from Philadelphia, a small number of people are from New Jersey. Some patients are disabled, some have no phones with which to make appointments, some do not have the money to pay for transportation to the clinic and some live in shelters.”
Through a course on Community Dentistry taught by Grady, students who work in the clinic are made aware of the impact and importance of the clinic in the communities they help serve. In the course, Grady concentrates on the current needs of community members in a society where the cost of health care is rising and people are living longer, among other issues.
Grady’s students learn to consider current trends in medicine and society and are taught how to respond to changing needs in an effective, socially responsible way. “Our focus is to educate as many students as possible so that they can enter the workforce and begin helping their communities,” she said.
Hygienists are in high demand in Philadelphia–dentist offices call the clinic frequently requesting trained personnel–so it is important to Grady that students receive not only a high level of technical training, but an understanding of the social responsibility that comes with the skill. In addition, pass rates on certification exams are consistently on par with national averages.
The dental clinic is located on the Main Campus at 1700 Spring Garden Street. Hours, by appointment, vary during the week. Call 215-751-8626 for more information.
Serving the Health Care Needs of Our Citizens
Faculty and students in each of the College's seven Allied Health programs serve as an extension of the city's health care service delivery resources. Through clinical work and community service, they provide direct client care and gain practical experience while fulfilling the community's health care needs.
- All second-year Nursing students spend two days each week in clinical settings such as hospitals and community-based care agencies. Through the ZIP Code Nursing Project, students provide health education and preventative services to targeted populations in community agencies around the Spring Garden Street neighborhoods.
- Medical Assisting and Office Management students contribute more than 400 hours of interaction and service with patients at hospitals, cardiology practices and physicians' offices during three different clinical education courses.
- Diagnostic Medical Imaging students interact with patients in area hospitals during seven clinical education courses, giving them more than 1,600 hours of practical experience.
- Clinical Laboratory Technician students hold diabetes screenings on campus for the College's faculty, staff and students. During a recent series of screenings, 250 individuals were tested, and several people who were not aware they had diabetes were advised to follow up with their physicians.