Making a difference one prescription at a time Published April 15, 2011 By Tech. Sgt. Michael Voss 455th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan -- A small group of Airmen in the Craig Joint Theater Hospital here is making a difference in service members and Afghans lives filling one prescription at a time. Each day, nine personnel, two Air Force pharmacists and seven technicians, fill hundreds of prescriptions for everything from amoxicillin, an antibiotic, to tetanus shots. "We have an enormous responsibility, as does anyone in the medical field," said Capt. Jennifer Baker, 455th EMDG chief of pharmacy services. Captain Baker explained that their duties at Afghanistan's most advance hospital are similar to a civilian pharmacy, like keeping an array of needed medications in stock, but here they also work hand and hand with doctors. "The amount of responsibility placed on the pharmacy technicians, for example, is much higher than it would be working in the civilian world," said the Omaha, Neb., native. "There they may simply slap a label on a bottle and greet the customer at the counter, here our techs mix some of the medications our patients need." As she went on explaining how pharmacy technicians like Staff Sgt. Jackie Wolfe prepared intravenous medications by adding liquid antibiotics or drugs such as morphine to the saline filled bag, her face filled with satisfaction. "We definitely feel like part of the 455th EMDG team here," explained the pharmacist deployed from Scott Air Force Base, Ill. From March 2010 to March 2011 the 24 hour-a-day shop issued more than 15, 279 drugs to combat health issues, but their contributions in the hospital extend past the metal bars and locked doors of the pharmacy. Every time a pager goes off calling a trauma surgical team, one of those pagers belongs to member of the pharmacy. Almost immediately one of the technicians scrambles in, opens their prescription trauma cart, a small toolbox on wheels filled with the emergency medications needed and assists with pain management before and after the procedure. "In the last six months we got the cart, and now we are there hand and hand with the docs. So when they ask for something we have it ready for them right away, there is no calling down to the pharmacy for meds," Captain Baker said. During their rotation Captain Baker's team has also found ways to reclaim unused drugs prescribed to patients before arriving at Bagram and donate those to Afghan hospitals in the area. "I think it is great that we can help the locals, because they are really good people who without our donated drugs would not have access to these needed medications," said Master Sgt. Irene Esquibel, CJTH pharmacy technician also deployed from Scott AFB. "It is sad to see someone's life change in a second, but the mission we do here helps," explained 455th EMDG pharmacy technician, Staff Sgt. Martha Lugo Gil. Although Sergeant Lugo Gil hasn't made up her mind on staying in the Air Force, considering finishing college and returning as a pharmacist, she is sure her experiences have been worth the journey. "It's been a very intensive learning experience. It opens your eyes," the deployed sergeant from Travis Air Force Base, Cali. explained. "Just learning to communicate with different cultures has been difficult, but being able to make a difference in their lives makes me feel my time is well spent." Like the Air Force the medical community, including pharmacies, has begun leveraging technology such as script center prescription refill pick-up machines, but to say that pharmacy technicians simply count pills or slap labels on bottles is an insult to some of the members here. I don't like when people compare or say we are like robots. There are times patients are prescribed a medication, and ask a simple question while picking up the pills at the counter about the drug interacting with other medications. It may seem small, but he may not have thought to mention it to the doctor, and by paying attention to those small moments we can save a life, explained Sergeant Esquibel. It is much more than slapping a label on a bottle, it's about caring for patients. "Here we are an integral part of the team; trying to help one patient at a time," Sergeant Esquibel said.