Courtesy of Jessica Anderson/Medicine Hat College

By Jett Schwaier

IN THE COMMUNITY

Video: Medicine Hat College cuts the tape and welcomes a new Pharmacy Technician lab space

Jan 28, 2026 | 6:08 PM

Medicine Hat College has officially opened a new pharmacy technician lab space on Jan 28, 2026, to replicate a real pharmacy environment for students.

The new space, located in the Co-op Mall on 13th Ave., includes sterile and non-sterile compounding rooms.

Students enrolled in the program will receive the training necessary to compound, prepare, and dispense prescriptions and pharmaceutical products under the direction of pharmacists.

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The lab has been made possible with support from the Yuill Family Foundation, as college representatives and regional partners gathered to celebrate the achievement.

Jason Openo, Dean of the Yuill School of Health and Community Services, said these programs honour Bill Yuill’s legacy.

“It means that we are fulfilling the mission of the college. To build a vibrant region with our learners, and that’s what we’re doing,” Openo said.

“We fill workforce needs, we heard from our community that they needed pharmacy technicians; this program fills that need,” he added.

“I think this program will just show that we’re responsive to our community’s needs, that we’re building what the community wants.”

The Instructor and Coordinator for the Pharmacy Technician Program, Maryanna Foerster, said there has been a demand for pharmacy technicians in Medicine Hat for a long time.

“To be able to move forward and provide the community with trained, professional pharmacy technicians, it’s an amazing feeling,” Foerster said.

Foerster said the hands-on and practical learning portion of the program is huge.

“We do have all the theoretical pieces in place, like the pharmacology and the dosage calculations and learning the software,” Foerster said.

“The simulated drugs are very lifelike; they will get to see the process of filling a prescription from start to finish, from when we receive it from the physician to when it gets to the patient,” she added.

“We have our sterilized clean room, the laminar airflow bits; they are the same as what [the students] will use when they start working in a hospital environment.”

A student attending the pharmacy technician diploma program, Emily Eresman, said this workspace offers many opportunities to the college.

“You have the training to get into pharmacies,” Eresman said.

“You could go higher up in Calgary, where they do more sterile stuff,” she added.

“It just opens the door a lot with all your knowledge and training.”