Two women working in a pharmacy

Did you make a speedy recovery the last time you had a cold? There’s no better time to thank the person who helped you than today, National Pharmacist Day. A day like today is important as healthcare becomes more collaborative and more pharmacists are integrated into care teams.

In the Austin/Travis County area, pharmacy technician is an in-demand job with many openings. Pharmacy technicians work at retail pharmacies and healthcare facilities, where they advise and help patients, learn new pharmacy technology (like robotic dispensing machines) and call doctors’ offices and insurance companies. Austinites working in this occupation earned an entry level wage of $12.42 an hour in 2017, above the national entry level wage of $11.23 an hour.

Valerie Martinez is a young Austin resident who is pursuing her professional and educational goals on a path that leads through Austin’s healthcare sector. Her journey to becoming a pharmacy technician started with a chance encounter with the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Youth Program at Goodwill Central Texas. Read Valerie’s story here.

As part of this growing recognition of healthcare workers, Pharmacy Times, a full-service pharmacy media resource, launched the #APharmacistIs campaign to link messages and photos of thanks from the American public to these healthcare workers. Use the hashtag today to show your appreciation. Have another idea in mind to celebrate America’s pharmacists? Tell us in a comment below!