SASKATOON — When Bahar Farzan first started the program at Saskatchewan Polytechnic she created a PowerPoint presentation outlining her career aspirations. Among her goals were securing a position as a pharmacy technician at Royal University Hospital (RUH) in Saskatoon and becoming an instructor at Sask Polytech. Graduating in 2022, Farzan received a job offer from RUH before she walked across the convocation stage. Today, she continues to work part-time at RUH and is fulfilling another of her ambitions, working at Sask Polytech as a lab assistant.
“I am happy I made the decision to take the Pharmacy Technician program,” says Farzan. “I am grateful I chose to study at Sask Polytech. This is a rewarding career and the hard work and stress during my studies were worth it. Medication changes people’s lives and I can help patients battling cancer. When I make a chemo dose for a cancer patient, I know I’m helping them. And now I’m helping train future pharmacy technicians as well.”
Farzan didn’t always want to be a pharmacy technician. She grew up in Iran and worked as a dietitian, motivated by her journey with weight and nutrition to help others achieve better health. Despite a fulfilling career and a supportive family, Farzan felt constrained by the limitations imposed on women in Iran and often worried about her future and the future of her family. “As a woman living in Iran, to be what you want to be and to be independent can be a challenge,” she shares.
Determined to create a new life, Farzan and her husband decided to move to Canada, a journey that took five years of stress and uncertainty. Adding to the complexity of their transition, Farzan became pregnant. This experience made her even more determined to move to Canada to ensure her son would have a bright future. Finally, they arrived in Canada, initially planning to settle in Montreal with Farzan’s sister. A short visit to Saskatoon changed everything. “After 10 days in Saskatoon, I said, ‘I really love this little city.’ Despite the winter cold, I fell in love with the people and the beauty of Saskatoon and we decided to stay.”
When researching a new career path in Saskatchewan, Farzan discovered the Pharmacy Technician diploma at Sask Polytech. The program’s high employment rate and 100 per cent pass rate for the national Pharmacy Technician Qualifying Examination assured her that it was the right choice.
Farzan secured her permanent residency in Canada and emailed Sue Mack-Klinger, Sask Polytech program head and instructor to see if the Pharmacy Technician program was a good fit for her. “Sue answered all my questions and was very helpful but she mentioned in her email that strong communication skills in English are needed to be successful in the program. Although I provided an IELTS score, my email contained spelling and grammatical errors. With the level of English Sue saw in my writing, she suggested I might struggle with the program,” recalls Farzan. “At first, I was discouraged. But then I was thankful for her honesty. Instead of being upset, I took her advice and improved my English while applying to the program. Language can be a barrier to learning; her advice wasn’t personal, it was needed to help me succeed.”
The supportive environment within the program played a crucial role in Farzan’s success. “The instructors were incredibly kind and helpful, making me feel welcome and part of the program. The diversity among the instructors and students enriched my learning experience. It’s impressive to have such a high pass rate for the national exam. While all the students work hard to pass the exams, the instructors also work very hard to support the students in their studies.”
While working full-time at RUH Farzan would often assist with the Pharmacy Technician program, helping students with IV assignments and assisting instructors with other hands-on learning assignments in the lab. Her previous instructors were pleased to see her. “I remember talking to my colleague Janet when I got the job and she said, ‘I don’t know if I should say welcome back because you never left!” laughs Farzan.
Farzan is happy with her education and career decisions. She is positively impacting people's health and supporting students in their learning journey. She is equally happy to be living in Saskatchewan and mentioned that she and her husband recently became Canadian citizens.
Farzan reflects on her past, “In Iran my situation was okay, but my future was unclear. In Canada, people from all over the world come here to make a better life for themselves and others. I know I made the right decision for my family.”
Within the Pharmacy Technician program, there are staff and instructors from East Asia, Iran and Canada. “Having an inclusive and respectful learning environment requires honest feedback and discussions between students and instructors,” says Mack-Klinger. “The biggest barrier to learning is when we don’t know what we don’t know about ourselves. Our program promotes learning to assess ourselves, whether you are student, faculty or staff to achieve competent pharmacy practice and care for patients.”
Farzan shares, “I’m proud to be a part of a program that includes people from different cultures. We work together, respect each other and make the program better for our current and future students with our diverse backgrounds and experiences.”
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— Submitted by Sask Polytech Media Relations
