#PHN

Tag: #PHN

Practicing Patient Care and Communication in a Pharmacy Simulation

I recently completed the Walmart Pharmacy Technician Job Simulation through Forage, because I have always been interested in healthcare, but the pharmacy environment sometimes seemed intimidating from the outside. There are so many responsibilities happening at once, patient safety, communication, insurance issues, medication handling, and teamwork, that I wanted a better understanding of what pharmacy technicians actually do on a daily basis. This simulation made the field feel much more approachable and realistic rather than overwhelming.

One thing I appreciated was how practical the activities felt. Instead of only reading about pharmacy work, I had to think through real-world situations and decide how I would respond. The simulation focused heavily on communication, professionalism, patient safety, teamwork, and problem-solving. I practiced how to respond calmly to frustrated patients, how to prioritize tasks during busy moments, and how to recognize situations that should be escalated to the pharmacist. It also emphasized empathy and attention to detail, which are extremely important skills in healthcare settings.

Another part I found valuable was learning how much pharmacy technicians contribute to patient care beyond simply filling prescriptions. The simulation showed how technicians help keep workflows organized, protect patient privacy, support pharmacists, and notice potential safety concerns before they become bigger problems. I also liked that the scenarios encouraged initiative and collaboration instead of expecting you to know everything immediately. It reinforced the importance of asking questions, communicating clearly, and working as part of a healthcare team.

I would recommend this simulation to students interested in healthcare, especially those considering pharmacy, nursing, medicine, public health, or other patient-facing careers. Even students who are unsure about healthcare careers could benefit because the simulation develops transferable skills like communication, critical thinking, teamwork, and professionalism. It is also beginner-friendly, so you do not need prior pharmacy knowledge to understand or enjoy it.

In an interview, I would talk about this experience as an example of proactive career exploration and skill-building. I would explain how the simulation helped me better understand patient-centered care and taught me the importance of staying calm, empathetic, and detail-oriented in fast-paced environments. I would also highlight how it strengthened my understanding of teamwork and patient safety, which are skills that apply broadly across healthcare professions.

Here is the link to the Walmart Pharmacy Technician Job Simulation

Dennis Boakye ’26 is a senior with a major in Neuroscience and a minor in Mathematics. Dennis is the current career peer educator for the Health and Medicinal Professions (HMP) and the Physical and Natural Sciences (PHN) career communities at Lawrence University. Connect with Dennis on LinkedIn.

My Experience as a Career Peer Educator: Nadika Sharma

Working as a Career Peer Educator has been one of the most meaningful parts of my time at Lawrence. This role helped me see career development from a different perspective. Before this position, I mostly thought about career preparation as something personal, like improving my own resume, preparing for interviews, or searching for opportunities. But as a CPE, I learned how important it is to support other students as they figure out their own goals.

One of my most memorable experiences this year was doing graduate school research. As I started looking into different programs, requirements, faculty, courses, and application materials, I realized how much planning goes into the graduate school process. This research helped me understand that choosing a program is not only about ranking or name recognition. It is also about fit, location, funding, faculty interests, and long-term career goals. Through this experience, I became more comfortable comparing programs and thinking critically about what kind of environment would help a student grow.

Another memorable experience was practicing interview skills during our staff meetings. These practices helped me understand how important it is to prepare clear, specific answers instead of trying to memorize perfect responses. I learned how to use examples from my own experiences, organize my thoughts, and speak with more confidence. It was also helpful to hear feedback from others because it showed me what sounded strong and what could be improved. This experience made interviewing feel less intimidating and more like a skill that can be practiced over time.

I also enjoyed contributing articles to the Career Center blog. Writing these articles helped me turn career topics into information that students could actually understand and use. Some examples of articles I wrote this year include “My Experience as an Interviewer: Nadika Sharma,” where I reflected on what I learned from reviewing recorded interviews, “Siemen’s Project Management Forage Simulation Experience,” where I wrote about practicing project management, dashboards, and communication and “Niche Job Sites and Decoding Job Descriptions,” where I explained how students can search more strategically and understand job postings better.

Professionally, I have grown in several ways through this role. First, I became more confident in communication. Whether I was speaking during meetings, practicing interviews, or helping students think through career questions, I learned how to explain ideas more clearly. I improved my research skills, especially through graduate school research. I learned how to compare programs, look carefully at requirements, and think about long term fit. I also became more comfortable with professional feedback. Staff meetings and interview practices helped me see feedback as something useful, not something to be nervous about.

Being a Career Peer Educator helped me grow as a communicator, researcher, and peer mentor. It also reminded me that career development is not always a straight path. Students are often figuring things out step by step, and sometimes the most helpful thing is to give them support, resources, and encouragement. This role helped me do that for others while also learning more about myself and my own professional goals.

Her Next Play: Sophie Morey’s Summer Experience

As we approach the end of Spring term, summer is almost here! With that comes summer jobs or internships for the 2026 summer. Yet, what were Lawrentians up to last summer?

Sophie is a current senior about to graduate with two Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Gender Studies, with a minor in Government. As well, she is on the Women’s Basketball and Women’s Lacrosse teams.

In the 2025 summer, Sophie was an intern for Her Next Play, a nonprofit in the Twin Cities focused on developing the next generation of female leaders through sports. She worked virtually and helped maintain and run their social media accounts, primarily on Instagram.

With this, she started cleaning up their page, mainly matching color schemes and aesthetics. Sophie has been running the Wellness Center’s social medias for the past three years, so this felt very natural. She also created posts for events and various spotlights, such as the intern alumni series “Motivation Mondays”. Here, she would post a female athlete with a quote about their leadership style, including both incredibly famous and more lesser known athletes. The goal was to motivate and encourage women and girls in sports in every capacity.

“Leadership takes many different forms and I wanted to encourage girls to find their voice and leadership style that works best for them! I really enjoyed my experience at Her Next Play and would really encourage folks to check them out and consider partnering/donating!!” exclaimed Morey.

Her Next Play works directly with Lawrence University, as a Lawrence Funded Internships. When applying for these kinds of internships, you are only competing with other Lawrentians, as they hold spots directly for us. Keep an eye out for Her Next Play around winter term next year, and a huge congratulations to Sophie as she graduates in a few weeks!

Good luck Lawrentians!

Branding and Design Forage Simulation: What to Expect

Job simulations can be great tools when it comes to understanding an industry you aren’t yet in, or aren’t sure if you want to go down that route. It helps you get a decent idea of what kind of work someone in your simulated role would be doing, so you can get a feel for if this job is something you may want to do. I recently completed the Branding and Design Forage Simulation and simulated working with a clothing company called Lumea. The entire simulation was about their new tote bag.

With this tote bag, there were tasks that had to be completed, but don’t worry I won’t give you spoilers. Thinking about branding and what that means, the tasks were related to how to set yourself apart as a brand and how important continuity and consistency are. Think of any brand, maybe Apple, Google, Old Navy, or lululemon. They all have very specific things that make them unique and well known. This simulation walks you through how that may look in practice.

Social media is a huge aspect of branding, and of course design. Knowing how to use it properly is key to success in this industry. How do you engage your followers? Local communities? How do you partner with other brands? What about influencers? How do you choose which influencers to work with? How do you go about expanding your audience? Or keeping those already in yours? These are all questions that this simulation actually works through pretty well.

Overall, I enjoyed this simulation and it felt more engaging than i was expecting. I think you learn a lot of valuable information, and it’s definitely worth your time.

Good luck Lawrentians!

Learning UX Design with Lloyds Banking Group: My Forage Experience

I’ve always been curious about what UX (user experience) design really is and how designers create digital products that are easy and enjoyable to use. Recently, I explored this through the UX Design Introduction Job Simulation with Lloyds Banking Group on Forage, and it was both eye-opening and very helpful.

In this simulation, I took on the role of a junior UX designer, working as part of a team tasked with creating a new digital banking feature. My first challenge was to conduct a competitive analysis, researching what other banks were offering and analyzing customer spending data. This helped me understand how companies identify market trends and make decisions based on data, skills that are useful in almost any field.

Next, I focused on customer research, designing surveys and observing user behavior to see what real customers need. This experience taught me practical ways to collect feedback, analyze patterns, and use insights to make digital products easier and more enjoyable to use. I especially enjoyed learning how UX design combines research, creativity, and problem-solving. It showed me that great design is not just about aesthetics, but about truly understanding the user.

This simulation was incredibly helpful because it gave me a hands-on experience with real-world UX tasks. It clarified concepts I had only read about and gave me tools I can use in the future, whether in design, marketing, or other creative projects. For someone like me, always curious about UX, it was a clear way to see how research and creativity come together to improve user experiences.

Overall, completing this simulation strengthened my skills in research, analysis, and designing with the user in mind, and it gave me confidence in exploring careers that combine creativity and data-driven decision-making.

Try it for yourself: https://www.theforage.com/virtual-experience/N65hfzBKXRiATv6yd/lloyds-banking-group/ux-design-introduction-xhef/intro-scenario

What Reviewing Interviews Taught Me About Communication

Before this assignment, I mostly thought about interviews from the perspective of the person answering questions. Reviewing asynchronous interviews through Big Interview completely changed that. Watching multiple responses back-to-back made it easier to notice what immediately captured attention and what made answers difficult to follow. The strongest responses were not always the most polished or formal. Instead, they felt genuine, organized, and easy to connect with. The students who stood out usually explained a real experience, gave enough context for the listener to understand the situation, and spoke with a sense of purpose instead of sounding overly rehearsed.

One thing I especially noticed was how important structure becomes in recorded interviews. In a live conversation, interviewers can ask clarifying questions, but in asynchronous interviews, the recording has to speak for itself. Answers became confusing when people jumped straight into details without explaining the bigger picture first. On the other hand, some responses worked really well because they balanced storytelling with clarity. A few students also did a great job connecting their experiences back to the role or skill being discussed, which made their answers feel more meaningful instead of just descriptive. I also became more aware of things that are easy to overlook when recording yourself, such as pacing, lighting, eye contact, filler words, and nervous habits. Even small adjustments in those areas made interviews feel more professional and engaging.

After reviewing these interviews, my biggest advice for students completing asynchronous interviews is to practice communicating naturally rather than trying to sound perfect. Interviewers are not expecting flawless delivery. They want to understand how you think, communicate, and reflect on your experiences. Watching your own recordings can definitely feel uncomfortable at first, but it can also be one of the best ways to improve. Instead of focusing only on mistakes, students should pay attention to what is already working well and build from there. Peer feedback is not about criticizing someone’s personality; it is about helping each other grow into stronger and more confident communicators.

Dennis Boakye ’26 is a senior with a major in Neuroscience and a minor in Mathematics. Dennis is the current career peer educator for the Health and Medicinal Professions (HMP) and the Physical and Natural Sciences (PHN) career communities at Lawrence University. Connect with Dennis on LinkedIn.