Two former apprentices were recently nominated for U.S. Labor Department honors, and one received the award.
Jacqueline Lara, a patient care technician at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth, helped save a life in her first week on the job. A recent graduate of Texas Health’s FastTrack Apprenticeship Program, Lara went into a patient’s room to help him use the bedside commode and realized he was unconscious.
“The nurse came in at the same time,” Lara said. “So, we immediately started doing CPR.”
Lara said it was her nightmare coming true, on only her second day working on her own.
“They asked us in training, ‘What would be your worst fear on the floor?’ I said doing CPR on a person,” she said. “So, of course, it happened to me.”
Thankfully, the patient was resuscitated. Lara was named Employee of the Month and nominated for a Department of Labor Certificate of Special Recognition.
“I still think about it every day,” Lara said. “But now that I experienced my first code, I know I can do it and not be scared. So, if I hear a code now, I’m the first one to go. It’s kind of inspired me to become a nurse one day.”
Krystal Sankar-Ramjohn, a certified pharmacy technician at Texas Health Hospital Frisco, received the Department of Labor’s Apprentice Champion of Excellence Award after completing the apprentice program for pharmacy techs.
“I thought it was a spam email when I first got it,” she said with a laugh. “Then I took my time and read it again and realized it was real. I didn’t expect anything like that.”
Sankar-Ramjohn was nominated by 11 other employees, including most of her colleagues and Kenneth Carr, the hospital’s professional and support services officer.
“It’s the first time a candidate has been nominated that many times,” said Chad Friece, Pharm.D., BCPS, pharmacy director at Texas Health Frisco. “The award was open to all participants in apprenticeship programs facilitated through Dallas College.”
The award came as no surprise to Friece, who said he’s been impressed by Sankar-Ramjohn from the beginning. Although she was in the final two when they were selecting a candidate for the apprenticeship program, the pharmacy team ultimately chose someone else. That selection fell through, and Sankar-Ramjohn was contacted a week before the cohort was supposed to start.
“Human Resources was able to onboard her very quickly, but she ended up having to start the program about a week late,” Friece said. “She finished the curriculum a week early. So, we couldn’t be happier that it worked out the way it did. Krystal has been a great addition to the team.”
Sankar-Ramjohn echoes that sentiment on how things turned out.
“I prayed to get this job, so when I didn’t get it initially, I was so disappointed,” she said. “But this showed me the power of prayer. Some things, you’re just destined to do.”
For more information on the Pharmacy Tech Apprentice Program, click here or email THRPharmTechTraining@texashealth.org.
To learn more about the Patient Care Technician Apprentice Program, click here or email PCTApprenticeship@texashealth.org.
