Careers at CEENTA: Allergy Technician

Treating your sniffing, sneezing, and watery eyes is not a one-person job. It takes a collection of expertise and attention to provide consistent allergy treatments to a variety of patients. One of the most important roles in this team may be the difference between a stuffy nose and a sunny day outside. Today, the career spotlight for CEENTA is: allergy technician.

What is an allergy technician?

Allergy technicians are medical assistants who deal specifically with allergy-related tasks. They work directly with physicians to help diagnose and treat allergy symptoms that a patient may exhibit.

What does an allergy technician do?

An allergy technician has a streamlined role in a patient’s allergy care. This includes:

• Administering allergy shot injections
• Testing patients by skin test or blood work
• Teaching patients about allergy precautions, self-administering injections or sublingual drops, and how to use an epinephrine auto-injector
• Relaying messages and appointment information between the patient and physician
• Ordering prescriptions for allergy medication or epinephrine

In addition, an allergy technician may be involved with mixing. Mary Gardner, an allergy technician trainer at our Matthews office who has been with CEENTA for over forty-five years, elaborates on this procedure. “A tech may mix vaccines in a quite area away from patients in certain offices. The mixer will mix a variety of our vaccines and send out to various locations.”

What are the job requirements for a CEENTA allergy technician?

To be an allergy technician at CEENTA, ideal candidates must have their high school diploma or equivalent, be a graduate of a medical assisting program from the CAAHEP or ABHES, and have current certification from the Certifying Board of American Association of Medical Assistants or the American Medical Technologists. BLS certification from American Heart Association or Red Cross is also required, and top candidates may have at least three years of clinical allergy experience.

Who would be a good fit for an allergy technician job at CEENTA?

Allergy care is a very personalized experience, as many of a patient’s senses are interrupted by symptoms. To be an effective allergy technician, you have to have an empathetic attitude and effective communication skills to treat patients. As Mrs. Gardner puts it, “I always tell prospective allergy techs that if they love people/patients and find that rewarding, they will love the allergy department.”

Why should someone start their career at CEENTA?

Aside from the ability to give patients a better standard of living, being a part of CEENTA means being a part of a team that trusts and relies on each other to achieve that goal. “One of the other most rewarding things about my job as an allergy trainer at CEENTA is seeing a new tech come on board with no allergy experience and watch them grow and catch on,” Mrs. Gardner says. “It's like they are trying to grasp all the concepts of testing and treating a patient and you feel they are having doubts about their progress, and suddenly that ‘light bulb’ comes on they get it. They really settle in and become great assets to our allergy staff.”

Take part in our award-winning team by viewing our open positions, extensive benefits package, and more about how CEENTA is changing lives in the Carolinas. Apply today so you can help others breathe in the possibilities.