Photo By Patricia Rose | With October designated as American Pharmacist Month and Oct. 18-24 as National...... read more read more
“I am Hospital Corpsman 1st Class (Surface Warfare designated) Aaron Souders, Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command (NMRTC) Oak Harbor.
Souders, a Gray, Ga. native, Jones County High School 1998 graduate and Central Georgia Technical College 2000 alumni with an Associates of Science in Computer Information Systems, is currently assigned to NMRTC Oak Harbor as Pharmacy department leading petty officer.
He has been a part of Navy Medicine for approximately 19 years, a span of commitment to his chosen career path that initially was a direction he had not considered or even contemplated.
“I wasn’t interested initially, but choosing a career as an hospital corpsman introduced diversity into my technical skillset and added a healthcare aspect which enabled me to be more in tune with the capabilities of Sailors and their ability to care for others,” said Souders.
Because of his background and technical school teaching, the cyber world originally seemed like a distinct possibility as the profession choice.
“I joined with the hopes of becoming an information systems technician specializing in computers and communications,” said Souders. “Choosing to become a hospital corpsman has allowed me to serve my country and apply my technical ability to a field that has evolved to be forever dependent on the world of information technology in a positive way.”
After completing his initial hospital corpsman training, Souders added specialty training to become a pharmacy technician.
“It caught my eye due with its heavy involvement with every aspect of the healthcare field, and it had a very technical side that intrigued me,” Souders said.
With October designated as American Pharmacist Month and Oct. 18-24 as National Pharmacy Week, Souders’ promptly acknowledges the recognition.
“It means being a part of a large interconnected team of professionals that take care of our service members and their families and have the ability to make positive changes that impact the way we deliver care to all branches of the service,” Souders stated.
As a pharmacy technician, Souders helps prepare and dispense prescribed medicines and pharmaceutical preparations; compound preparations according to prescriptions issued by medical officers; procure, store and issue pharmaceutical materials and supplies; and maintain files and records and submit required pharmacy reports.
As with other staff members, Souders is continually involved in helping stop the spread of COVID-19.
“We have implemented a variety of controls and mitigation strategies to help slow the spread and help our patients get the medications they need. I believe everyone at NHCOH has worked together well as a team to accomplish this and make it as painless as possible,” Souders said.
Some of the modifications include installed plexi-glass window guards at each window and appropriate spacing of lobby seating and floor markings
“If a patient answers yes to any screening questions in our clinic drive-thru and has to go secondary screening, our duty runner will inform the Pharmacy if the patient needs medications. We have those filled and verified and sent out to the patient while still in their vehicle to reduce exposure,” Souders said.
With the initial deployment of the Department of Defense electronic health record MHS GENESIS at NMRTC Oak Harbor in 2017, Souders became part of Navy Medicine’s extensive preparation and intensive training to keep pace with medical advances and technological innovations to enhance high quality healthcare.
“As with any new system, it has had its share of ups and downs. Initially it slowed us down and added a huge learning curve. The upgrade was needed to improve multi-service connectivity. Being one of the initial operating capability sites has given us a chance to change and mold the system to work for us,” said Souders, citing his background in the information technology world definitely helped him understand some of the troubleshooting practices of MHS GENESIS.
MHS GENESIS is designed to provide a single integrated electronic health record for service members, veterans and their families that will integrate inpatient and outpatient medical and dental information across the continuum of care, from point of injury – whether ship, shore, submarine, squadron - to the military hospital or clinic.
“Being able to see medication profiles for a patient across multiple MHS GENESIS sites regardless of the service branch is a great improvement,” added Souders.
Souders has also displayed a resourceful, artistic side. He has created the command logo for U.S. Naval Hospital (USNH) Guam as well as NMRTC Oak Harbor.
“Found my knack for doing vector graphics during a chance to work with a few different programs and have been working with them for quite some time now,” related Souders. “Having the experience and getting to know the people you work with, whether it is updating a command logo, putting together a coin design for the Navy Ball with a team of Sailors, or just working on a design for a t-shirt is enjoyable for me. I have always found enjoyment in improving things. It keeps things relevant and up-to-date. My wife has always encouraged me to do this from the beginning. So I thank her for pushing me.”
Navy Medicine has taken Souders far from his rural Georgia roots of Gray, located between Milledgeville and Macon. He has been ‘haze gray underway’ on the amphibious land docking ship USS Whidbey Island (LSD 41) before being stationed actually on Whidbey Island. He has provided medical care to others at Naval Hospital Jacksonville, Fla., and worked overseas at USNH Guam.
“Navy Medicine has taken my family and me from the east coast shore duty to shipboard duty to overseas and west coast duty,” shared Souders. “I was stationed, deployed, and able to visit so many places that I never thought we would ever have the chance to see and would love to visit again.”
| Date Taken: | 10.05.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 10.06.2020 09:30 |
| Story ID: | 380305 |
| Location: | OAK HARBOR , WA, US |
| Web Views: | 355 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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