Episode 125: Exploring Career Paths with Denetra Wiggins

Sep 8, 2026

In this episode of CPhT Connect, host Mike Johnston, CPhT-Adv, sits down with returning guest Denetra Wiggins, a certified pharmacy technician of 16 years, to trace a winding career journey across retail, compounding, laboratory testing, and now specialty medication access in a major North Carolina health system.

Denetra shares how she originally pursued a pre-pharmacy track in college before deciding to test the waters as a technician first—only to fall in love with the role and never look back. We dive into her detour into laboratory testing, the family reasons that brought her home to Durham, and how staying close with a former compounding pharmacy owner and coworkers led directly to her next opportunity, proving that up to half of job openings are filled through relationships rather than job boards. Denetra also opens up about accepting her current role just weeks before the pandemic hit, and how she's learned to treat feelings of being "stuck" as a sign that it's time for her next assignment.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Testing the Waters First: Why Denetra became a pharmacy technician before committing to pharmacy school—and how that decision shaped 16 years of career fulfillment.
• A Career That Zig-Zags: Her path from retail to compounding, to laboratory testing, and back into pharmacy—proving career journeys rarely move in a straight line.
• Relationships Over Job Boards: How staying connected with a former employer and coworkers, even after leaving, led to her current role through a personal referral rather than a public posting.
• Starting a New Job Mid-Pandemic: Denetra's experience onboarding into a brand-new specialty medication access role just as the world shut down in March 2020.
• "Your Assignment Is Up": Denetra's mindset for recognizing burnout and feeling stuck as a signal to move toward something bigger, not a reason to settle or leave the field.

About Our Guest:

Denetra Wiggins has been a Certified Pharmacy Technician for 16 years, with experience spanning retail, compounding, hospital pharmacy, and laboratory testing. She currently works with a major healthcare system in North Carolina, where she's part of "One Great Team" of CPhTs, an RN, and a Clinical Pharmacist Manager optimizing patients' access to and utilization of high-dollar specialty medications. Beyond her clinical expertise, Denetra has a true niche for healthcare and a gift for bringing encouragement and joy to everyone she encounters along her journey.

Listen now to hear Denetra's advice for anyone feeling stuck: "It doesn't mean you've reached your final destination—it means it's time to go be a blessing somewhere else."

Check out this episode and previous episodes at cphtconnect.com