When Rebecca Wentland learned that she had received the highest marks across the province for the Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada’s qualifying exams, she was surprised.
“I was taken aback a little bit! I remember talking to my friends after the exam and we all thought it was difficult,” she said. “I had no idea how it went, so when I found out about my marks I was really pleased and thankful.”
The successful completion of these exams is an important requirement to demonstrate competency at entry to practice for all pharmacy technicians. The remarkable accomplishment of earning the top mark earned Rebecca ACP’s 2024 Pharmacy Technician Achievement Award, which includes a prize of $1,000.
Her journey to this impressive milestone started with her brother, who is a pharmacist.
“My brother inspired me so much and I was thinking I wanted to go into pharmacy as well,” said Rebecca. “I took a couple of years to work and travel and when I came back from travelling, my brother was opening up his own pharmacy.”
Rebecca joined her brother’s pharmacy team as an assistant and, before long, she knew she wanted to build a career in pharmacy.
“I really loved it. I found my groove and found I wanted to have the opportunity to do more and become more knowledgeable,” she said. “I think working in that kind of a setting and realizing how much I enjoyed it just inspired me.”
So Rebecca decided to take the next steps and she enrolled in the pharmacy technician program at NorQuest College.
“I was working as much as I could while I was still going to school l, so it was a busy time, but I had the best time,” she said. “I liked the smaller class sizes and the instructors were always helpful.”
When she reflected on her time in school, Rebecca felt that building connections with her instructors and her peers was one of the most valuable aspects of her education.
“Generally, I can be more of an introvert, so for my first couple months in the program, I didn’t really talk to many people, but I knew that in pharmacy, working as part of a team is so important, so I made an effort to build connections, and it was so helpful,” she said.
Rebecca said she still reaches out to her fellow NorQuest grads for advice and support.
“I truly believe the more meaningful professional connections you have, the better your experience is going to be—then you can bounce ideas off of each other and ask each other questions.”
Rebecca looks forward to continuing to learn and expand her capacity as a pharmacy technician.
“There’s always more opportunity to learn, so I’m excited to just keep learning and to keep growing,” she said. “I really appreciate the team environment in the pharmacy and I am always finding new ways to help the pharmacist in their role and learn more about patient care.”
Looking towards the future, Rebecca is keeping an open mind for what comes next.
“I am looking forward to exploring the opportunities that being a pharmacy technician gives me—there are so many opportunities to work in different environments and capacities and I’m just really excited for where this job will take me.”
