How local employers benefit from partnership with Torrance Adult School
Externships are an essential part of education at Torrance Adult School. Students in the pharmacy technician program, for example, must complete a 120-hour externship after their coursework before they can apply for their pharmacy tech license. As such, it is important for Torrance Adult School to have local employers to partner with in the community to facilitate these hands-on training opportunities.
Stepping up to the plate is Premier Infusion and Healthcare Services, Inc. A home infusion provider based in the city of Torrance, Premier Infusion has a relationship with the community dating back three decades. And for the last few years, they’ve worked with Torrance Adult School to provide externships and employment opportunities for TAS students.
Jessica Jocson, recruiting supervisor for Premier Infusion, sees the partnership as mutually beneficial: “We get the cream of the crop from Torrance Adult School,” she says. “Their curriculum is applicable to what we do, and their alumni have great work ethics.”
“We get the cream of the crop from Torrance Adult School. Their curriculum is applicable to what we do, and their alumni have great work ethics.”
Jessica Jocson, Recruiting Supervisor for Premier Infusion and Healthcare Services, Inc.
From TAS’s side, these externships offer valuable training that transcends what can be taught in the classroom. Pharmacy technician students shadow experienced pharmacists and licensed technicians, watching them compound, fill prescriptions, dispense medications and make IV admixtures. Students who are not yet licensed by the state of California as pharmacy techs cannot touch the medications, but they nevertheless learn a lot through over 100 hours of observation. This process makes them more desirable as employees.
“Whenever we have a pharmacy tech position open, I check with our managers and ask, ‘Do we need someone with experience or can we take a new grad?’” Jocson says. “In the busy seasons, we need someone with experience who can go right away. When it’s not as busy and we’re able to train, I ask Torrance for some of their students who are licensed and looking for positions.”
In addition to hiring pharmacy technicians, Premier Infusion currently employs three TAS students as “desk techs,” a position comparable to a pharmacy clerk which doesn’t require a license. These students are currently in the pharmacy tech program at TAS and plan on doing their externships at Premier Infusion after completing their classwork. In the meantime, they are learning while getting paid.
Premier Infusion also has reached out to TAS about doing externships with students in the medical billing and coding program. Like pharmacy tech students, medical billing students must complete an externship as part of their program. \
Additionally, Premier Infusion has attended TAS job fairs and is in the process of organizing a field trip for current graduating students. The goal is to meet with these students and determine which ones are suited to an externship, or even employment, with Premier Infusion.
“Hard workers,” Jocson says, when asked what she looks for in an extern or future employee. “That’s all you can ask for with new grads. To get someone who wants to work hard, learn, and grow with the company.”
And Jocson knows she’ll get that with TAS students.
“Torrance Adult School really cares about their students,” she says. “That translates into their students excelling.”
For more information on how Torrance Adult School can help you achieve your goals, visit www.tusd.org/tas or call 310-533-4689.
Written by Raul Clement
| Regions | Classes |
|---|---|
| South Coast California | Careers in Health Care |
