Melissa Murer Corrigan is Awarded the Weaver Medal

The Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) is pleased to announce that PTCB Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, Melissa Murer Corrigan, has been named as the 2010 recipient of Drake's Lawrence C. and Delores M. Weaver Medal of Honor. The Weaver Medal is the highest honor presented by Drake's College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences and recognizes a select individual's dedication to and impact on the pharmacy profession.

"Melissa Murer Corrigan is a visionary in the profession of pharmacy. She recognized, early on, that pharmacy technicians play a key role in improving pharmacy service in our country," said Dan Jorndt, retired Walgreen Co. Chairman and CEO. "Before there was a Pharmacy Technician Certification Board, Melissa was advocating for pharmacy technicians to be trained and certified."

Murer Corrigan has served as the Executive Director and CEO for PTCB, the largest NCCA accredited national certification program for pharmacy technicians, since its inception in 1995. She directs the overall conduct of the pharmacy technician program which has certified over 372,000 pharmacy technicians nationwide. In her role with PTCB, Murer Corrigan is responsible for the leadership of the highly successful certification program, management of testing for PTCB's high volume Pharmacy Technician Certification Examination (PTCE), marketing and new business development, and acting as public spokesperson for the organization. While at PTCB, she has created strategic alliances with state pharmacy associations, state boards of pharmacy, and major pharmacy employers such as CVS, Target, and Walgreens.

"Under Melissa's guidance and leadership, PTCB has positioned pharmacy technicians as an integral part of enhanced pharmacy practice and improved patient care. Trained, skilled pharmacy technicians empower pharmacists to spend time with patients to optimize their drug therapy and achieve the most positive outcomes possible," said Thomas E. Menighan, BSPharm, MBA, FAPhA, Executive Vice President and CEO of the American Pharmacists Association (APhA).

A recognized leader in credentialing and health care certification, Murer Corrigan received the National Organization for Competency Assurance's Certification Industry Leadership Award in 2008. She is president-elect for the Institute for Credentialing Excellence, for which she served on the Board of Directors. She also served for three years as president of the Board of Directors for the Council on Credentialing in Pharmacy. Additionally, Murer Corrigan was named one of six emerging leaders making a difference in health-system pharmacy by the Hospital Pharmacist Report in 2000.

Murer Corrigan was honored on Drake's campus in Des Moines, IA, on Wednesday, April 21, 2010. At that time she received the Weaver Medal and delivered her Weaver Lecture titled, "Making a Difference." During her lecture, Murer Corrigan shared experiences on PTCB's development and offered insight on the pharmacy profession.