Pima Medical Institute: Cirrus 2.0 for Pharmacology, Practice, Calculations, Labs, Certification Exam Review, and Pocket Drug Guide

SARAH LAWRENCE

Sarah M. Lawrence, PharmD, MA, BCGP has over 18 years of experience in the profession of pharmacy, as a technician, intern, and pharmacist. Her pharmacy experience includes community pharmacy, corporate long-term care, medical education, and academia. She is board certified in geriatrics. Dr. Lawrence served as program director of an ASHP-accredited pharmacy technician program and earned the Roy Kemp Award in 2019; it recognizes the national pharmacy technician educator of the year. She has taught at all levels of higher education, including undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral students. Dr. Lawrence is director of pharmacy technician education for PharmCon freeCE, a division of Knowfully Learning Group, a leading provider of continuing education. Dr. Lawrence served as national president of the Pharmacy Technician Educators Council 2019–2020.

Paradigm Courseware

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• Certification Exam Review for Pharmacy Technicians, Fifth Edition
• Pharmacy Technician Essentials, First Edition

CHERYL AIKEN

Cheryl Aiken, BS, PharmD, RPh, is an assistant manager and pharmacy informatics specialist at the Brattleboro Retreat, a private psychiatric hospital in Brattleboro, Vermont. In addition to her work in the psychiatric field, she has served as a community pharmacist for independent and chain pharmacies, and as a staff pharmacist at the Brattleboro Memorial Hospital. She serves as the preceptor for IPPE and APPE Pharmacy Interns from Albany College of Pharmacy, Western New England College of Pharmacy and Husson University. In 2002, she helped establish an associate’s degree and the Pharmacy Technician Training Program certificate at Vermont Technical College.

Paradigm Courseware

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• Certification Exam Review for Pharmacy Technicians

DON A BALLINGTON

JASON SPARKS

Jason Philip Sparks, MEd, CPhT, CPhT-Adv (NPTA), PhTR, has more than 20 years of experience in education, product management, and pharmacy practice as a pharmacy technician.

He has contributed to learner success by building solutions by leading product teams at Swing Education, eLumen, Learning Objects, Instructure, and Blackboard. He has taught courses in pharmacy practice, law, mathematics, medical ethics, business, and academic success across the U.S., including The George Washington University School of Business, Cedar Valley College in Dallas, Arkansas State University—Mid-South, and Austin Community College.

Jason has been recognized for his contributions to the profession of pharmacy and advancing the role of the pharmacy technician by the Pharmacy Technician Educators Council (PTEC), the Texas Pharmacy Association, and the Capital-Area Pharmacy Association.

He has also served the profession as a twenty-year veteran member and former president of the Pharmacy Technician Educators Council (PTEC). Jason loves to solve problems faced by learners and educators. His passions include pedagogy, student engagement, instructional design, product management, the proper use of technology to enable learning, and assessment.

When not focusing on the evolving needs of learners and the use of emerging technology, such as the application of generative artificial intelligence and large language models or enterprise technologies, Jason enjoys time traveling (10 countries, 45 states, and counting!), spending time with family, enjoying a well-made cup of coffee, and enjoying the outdoors across Austin, Texas.

Jason holds a Master of Education in Career and Technology Education focusing on human performance and the assurance of learning and a Bachelor of Arts in English from Texas State University—San Marcos, as well as an Associate of Applied Science in Pharmacy Technology from Weatherford College in Weatherford, Texas. He earned PTCB pharmacy technician certification in 2001 and registered with the Texas State Board of Pharmacy in 2004. Jason earned his CPhT-Adv (NPTA) credential in 2023.

Paradigm Courseware

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• Pharmacy Labs for Technicians, Fourth Edition

JENNIFER DANIELSON

Dr. Jennifer Danielson, PharmD, MBA, CDE, has been a pharmacist since 1993 and a recognized leader in pharmacy education since 1996. She has spent most of her academic career serving as Director of Experiential Education at four pharmacy schools (University of Washington, University of Colorado, Campbell University, and Oregon State University). From 2004 to 2006, Dr. Danielson served as chair of the pharmacy technician program at Pikes Peak Community College in Colorado Springs where she taught pharmacology. It was her work in Colorado that formed the basis for her approach to teaching this topic to pharmacy technician students in this textbook.

Dr. Danielson has presented and published on various topics in pharmacy education on the national, regional, and local levels. Her current teaching and scholarship responsibilities are in interprofessional education and diabetes-related topics. Her practice background in diabetes care in the ambulatory clinic setting provides inspiration for her teaching and writing. Her most recent work at the University of Washington involves the provision of collaborative learning opportunities between pharmacy and allied health students.

Dr. Danielson lives with her family in Mill Creek, Washington.

Paradigm Courseware

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• Pharmacology for Technicians

LISA MCCARTNEY

Lisa McCartney, MEd, CPhT, PhTR, has been a certified instructor in sterile compounding and aseptic technique (SCAT) since 1997. She is the department chair for the ASHP/ACPE-accredited pharmacy technician program at Austin Community College (ACC) where she also serves as the lead educator responsible for training certified SCAT Instructors throughout the U.S. through the ACPE-accredited continuing pharmacy education (CPE) providership at ACC. 

Lisa has been educating and training pharmacy technicians since 1999 and has worked as a pharmacy technician for more than 40 years, with over 15 years as a lead IV trainer and pharmacy supervisor in a level I trauma center. She became a PTCB-certified pharmacy technician in 1995 and has been registered with the Texas State Board of Pharmacy (TSBP) since 2005. She received her pharmacy technician AAS degree from Weatherford College, Weatherford, Texas in 2008. In 2011, she received her BAAS degree in occupational education, and in 2013 her master’s degree in education from Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas.

An award-winning professional, Lisa was the 2011 International NISOD Award winner for Teaching and Leadership Excellence. In 2012, she received the Roy Kemp award from the Pharmacy Technician Educators Council, and in 2013, the Mike Knapp award from the Texas Society of Health-System Pharmacists.

Lisa has served in leadership positions on the Pharmacy Technician Educators Council and the technician executive committee for the Texas Society of Health-System Pharmacists, and has served on the PTCB Sterile Compounding Task Force, PTCB Stakeholders Conference, and the TSBP Sterile Compounding Task Force. Lisa co-authored Paradigm’s Pharmacy Labs for Technicians and is the author of the first edition of Sterile Compounding and Aseptic Technique.

Paradigm Courseware

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• Pharmacy Labs for Technicians, Fourth Edition
• Sterile Compounding and Aseptic Technique, Second Edition

MARY M LAUGHLIN

RJA CONSULTANTS LLC

SKYE MCKENNON

Dr. Skye A. McKennon, PharmD, BCPS, ACSM-GEI is a healthcare educator, clinician, preventionist, and leader with national/international recognition in pharmacology, scholarship of teaching and learning, interprofessional education, diabetes, preventive health, and wellbeing. Dr. McKennon completed her bachelor’s and Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) degree from Washington State University. She completed postdoctoral residency training at Swedish Medical Center in Seattle, Washington and received her teaching certificate from the University of Washington. Dr. McKennon has practice experience in the institutional, ambulatory, and community pharmacy settings. Her passion for teaching and education led her to faculty positions at the University of Washington School of Pharmacy, Washington State University College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, and the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine where she has received honors for excellence in teaching, mentorship, scholarship, and community service.

Dr. McKennon has published in multiple peer-reviewed journals (including the American Journal of Pharmacy Education and Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning), authored several pharmacy book chapters, and co-authored eight pharmacy textbooks. She has presented at international and national symposiums such as the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy annual meeting, the Pharmacy Technicians Educators Council conference, the National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education annual meeting, and the International Conference on Interprofessional Practice and Education.

Courses designed and directed by Dr. McKennon include pharmacology, applied pharmacotherapeutics, institutional pharmacy practice, diabetes prevention, evidence-based preventive health, and interprofessional education. She has been both an instructor and a guest lecturer for various courses for pharmacy and other health science trainees, including calculations, therapeutics, pharmacology, pharmacotherapy, global health brigades, and law and ethics.

Paradigm Courseware

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• Pharmacology for Technicians
• Pharmacy Calculations for Technicians
• Pharmacy Practice for Technicians
• Pocket Drug Guide: Generic-Brand Name Reference

TOVA WIEGAND GREEN

NICOLE DAVIS

Nicole Davis, MS, CPhT, has been a dedicated pharmacy technician since 2001, earning her PTCB certification in 2003. With extensive experience in retail pharmacy, technician training, and curriculum development, Nicole served as a district pharmacy training coordinator for a major pharmacy chain before transitioning into academia. In 2007, she became the Department Chair and Program Coordinator for the ASHP/ACPE-accredited Pharmacy Technician Program at Pikes Peak State College in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where she developed the state’s first and only Advanced Pharmacy Practice Certificate and Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree in Pharmacy Technology. Her program was recognized with the Outstanding CTE Program award by the state of Colorado in 2009.

As the Associate Dean of Health Sciences at PPSC, Nicole continues to lead with a focus on innovation and educational excellence. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Organizational Leadership (2022) and a Master of Science in Instructional Design and Technology (2023) from Southern Nazarene University. Throughout her career, she has remained committed to providing students with cutting-edge training, earning certifications in extemporaneous compounding, online pedagogy, immunization administration, and sterile compounding.

Nicole is a contributing writer and reviewer for several pharmacy technician training texts and manuals, and she served on the inaugural advisory board for pharmacy technicians with Paradigm Education Solutions. A passionate advocate for standardized education, she played a pivotal role in the 2019 legislative efforts to require national certification and state registration for pharmacy technicians in Colorado. Her dedication to advancing the profession has been further recognized through her volunteer work as a co-surveyor for ASHP’s pharmacy technician program accreditation team and as a member of the PTCB Education Subcommittee from 2020-2024.

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• Pharmacy Labs for Technicians, Fourth Edition

WENDY LUBIN

Wendy Lubin, MS, CPhT, began her career as a certified pharmacy technician at Safeway Pharmacy during her undergraduate studies. She earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology with a minor in psychology from the University of Colorado at Denver. Seeking to expand her expertise in institutional pharmacy, Wendy transitioned to Denver Health Medical Center and later to Sky Ridge Medical Center, where she worked as a pharmacy technician operating room specialist.

Driven to share the knowledge she gained throughout her career, Wendy applied to the Pharmacy Technician program at Front Range Community College. While serving as the program director, she earned a master’s degree in teaching and learning with a concentration in organizational change management from Colorado State University.

Following her master's degree, Wendy became the Allied Health Department Chair at Front Range Community College. In this role, she led the successful creation of a pharmacy technician apprenticeship program in partnership with Centura Health, aligning the curriculum between Centura Health and Front Range Community College to address workforce needs. Her work has contributed to the training and certification of skilled pharmacy technicians, bridging the gap between education and employment in healthcare.

Wendy is now the Academic Dean at Red Rocks Community College, overseeing a diverse range of programs, including Emergency Medical Services, Fire Science Technology, Law Enforcement, Outdoor Education, the Social Sciences departments, and the College Gateway Program. Her leadership is centered on collaboration, innovation, and operational excellence, with a strong focus on student success and equitable outcomes.

In addition to her academic leadership, Wendy is deeply committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion. She serves as the Chair for the Hispanic Serving Institution Task Force at Red Rocks Community College, is fluent in both English and Spanish, and is an active member of the Colorado Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Wendy is also pursuing a Doctorate in Higher Education Leadership from Maryville University.

Her passion for education and her dedication to creating pathways for underserved students continue to define her career as she works to promote academic excellence and inclusive opportunities for all.

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• Pharmacy Labs for Technicians

SARA BURDA ALVAREZ

Dr. Sara Burda Alvarez, PharmD, MS, BCPS, is a licensed pharmacist and board-certified pharmacotherapy specialist (BCPS). Dr. Alvarez received her doctor of pharmacy from the University of Nebraska Medical Center and obtained her post-doctoral residency training from The Johns Hopkins Hospital. Additionally, she holds a Master of Science degree in Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy from the University of Florida. Dr. Alvarez’s experience includes practicing in health system settings in critical care and pharmacy department management; in the managed care setting in clinical program development and pharmacoeconomic evaluations, and in the pharmaceutical industry in health economic outcomes research.

Dr. Alvarez has been adjunct faculty at the University of Washington School of Pharmacy since 2010. Her practice and research interests include health economics and outcomes research, diabetes, obesity, general medicine, leadership, as well as patient and medication safety.

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• Pharmacology for Technicians