Society for Pharmacists with Disabilities

This survey ran in 2019: Out of 839 respondents to a Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) survey , 56% thought more should be done to support pharmacists with disabilities. The survey, which ran from 28 August 2019 to 11 September 2019, was designed to help inform the RPS’s new inclusion and diversity programme , which launched in August 2019. Read more about the survey here:  https://pharmaceutical-journal.com/article/news/pharmacists-with-disabilities-should-be-better-supported-rps-survey-finds

Journal article: Academic accommodation strategies for pharmacy students with learning disabilities: What else can be done ? Abstract Introduction: Colleges and schools of pharmacy in the US are faced with the challenge of providing appropriate academic accommodations for students with learning disabilities (SLD) including those with dyslexia, dyscalculia, or dysgraphia. Although there are no population statistics about SLD in pharmacy schools, current data show that their number at higher education institutions across the US has increased. This commentary discusses how the rigorous pharmacy school curriculum affects SLD and proposes creative and innovative measures to overcome these obstacles. Perspective: The shift in the public perception about SLD from a state of stigma to a manageable condition in recent years has greatly contributed to increase the number of SLD enrolled in higher education institutions. Although most colleges and universities can now offer some type of academic ...

An article published in the March 25, 2015 issue off the Am J Pharm Educ. is titled, "Examining Pharmacy Workforce Issues in the United States and the United Kingdom." The authors note: The number of colleges and schools of pharmacy has expanded by approximately 50% in both the United States and United Kingdom over the previous decade. In the United States, continued demand for the pharmacy workforce has been forecasted, but this need is based on outdated supply figures and assumptions for economic recovery. In the United Kingdom, workforce modeling has predicted a significant future oversupply of pharmacists, and action within the profession has attempted to address the situation through educational planning and regulation. The most recent job outlook figures for pharmacists from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) at the US Department of Labor predict more than 41 000 new positions (a 14% increase) by 2022.

The case of Weldon Williams, vs. Revco Discount Drug Centers, Inc., d.b.a. CVS Pharmacy Inc. involves a pharmacist (Weldon Williams) suing his former employer CVS. Williams filed this employment action alleging that CVS failed to accommodate his reasonable requests for assistance under the ADA, terminated him despite his FMLA request, placed unreasonable demands on him before allowing him to return to work, and treated younger pharmacists more favorably. Although this case was file in January, 2014, the case was petitioned and it appears that the petition was denied  in October, 2014.

Earlier this year, a story came out about an Oregon pharmacist who was accusing Walmart of firing him for his disability. The disability: substance abuse disorder. The suit notes that Doran was diagnosed in 2007 with a disabling medical condition: "Addiction is recognized as a serious health condition by the medical profession (Substance Abuse Disorder), and is a recognized disability under federal and state laws." David Shane Doran filed a federal lawsuit in Medford on Thursday that accuses Walmart of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act.   Read the story here .

Pharmacy students who wish to pursue a career in the biopharma industry may be interested in this: Rutgers Pharmaceutical Industry Fellowship Program In 1984, the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy and two pharmaceutical companies initiated a collaborative pilot program to evaluate the potential contributions of clinically trained pharmacists within a pharmaceutical industry practice setting. The program has grown exponentially to include 12 partner companies (including several of the top ten global companies) within the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industries. Over 500 Post-Doctoral Fellows have completed the Program to date, many of whom are pursuing influential and rewarding careers in industry throughout the US and abroad. Over 80 PharmDs now participate in the Fellowship Program annually. The Rutgers Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy Pharmaceutical Industry Fellowship Program is a structured program designed to provide hands-on training in areas ranging from coordinating ...

The Campaign for Disability Employment is a collaborative effort between several disability and business organizations that seek to promote positive employment outcomes for people with disabilities by encouraging employers and others to recognize the value and talent they bring to the workplace as well as the dividend to be realized by fully including people with disabilities at work. People with disabilities can and do make important contributions to America’s businesses every day. By implementing good workplace practices, like maintaining a flexible and inclusive work environment, businesses can capitalize on the talents of qualified people with disabilities, benefitting everyone. The Campaign is a collaborative effort between several organizations that are working to raise awareness and change attitudes about disability and employment, including: American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD); National Business and Disability Council (NBDC); Job Accommodation Network (...

Google+ is a social media platform that is powered by Google. Google+ Hangouts is a video-based interaction that is similar to Skype and Apple FaceTime where you can have several faces showing on the screen simultaneously. Google has added a Sign Language Interpreter app for Google+ Hangouts.  Also, we now have keyboard shortcuts that let you navigate the interface easier. You can read more about this here .

Pharmacists who have computer experience may want to consider jobs in pharmacy informatics . Some of the jobs are positions like: Manager Pharmacy Informatics Pharmacy Informatics Technician Pharmacist Informatics Clinical Informatics Pharmacist There are assistive technologies that can make it easier for people with disabilities to work on computers. Take a look at some of those Pharmacy Informatics jobs here . Jobs by Simply Hired

Here's another example of student services provided by the UT Austin College of Pharmacy for those who have disabilities: The University of Texas at Austin provides a variety of special programs and services to assist students with disabilities in their academic pursuits. Based on the needs of the individual, many different kinds of services are offered to students with visual impairments, hearing impairments, mobility impairments, learning disabilities, and other disabilities. Staff in the area also work with faculty and staff to ensure that all University classes and services are accessible to all students. The office is in the fourth floor of the Student Services Building . The phone number is 471-6259. The Speech and Hearing Center, located in CMA 2.200, provides evaluation, remediation, and referral services for speech and hearing problems. These services are rendered on a sliding fee scale. Their phone number is 471-3841. The Texas Commission for the Blind, Flawn Academi...

The AAPD (American Association of People with Disabilities) and USBLN (US Business Leadership Network) are working together to produce a corporate benchmarking tool on workplace policies and practices regarding the employment of people with disabilities. The Disability Equality Index (DEI) will provide an objective way for companies to benchmark their progress and identify avenues for continued improvement. It will keep practitioners informed of best and emerging practices and point them toward peers in the employer community that are already demonstrating exemplary efforts. The DEI will become a unique tool that will focus on building relationships and consensus with executives in the private sector to advance employment opportunities for people with disabilities throughout the workforce. You can learn more about the DEI here .

What does the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) have to say about Health Care Workers and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)? You can read the EEOC’s Questions and Answers about Health Care Workers and the Americans with Disabilities Act here . You'll find answers to common questions like: When is a health care worker an individual with a disability under the ADA? Are health care applicants or employees who are alcoholics or who engage in illegal drug use considered to have a disability under the ADA? What determines if a health care worker is “qualified” to perform a job within the meaning of the ADA? What is a request for accommodation, and what should an employer and an individual with a disability do after a request for accommodation has been made? Will an employer’s “light duty” program satisfy its obligation to make reasonable accommodations under the ADA? and more Health care is the largest industry in the American economy, and has a high in...

A pharmacy technician is a person who assists a pharmacist with the practice of pharmacy. A pharmacy technician performs various functions, depending on how the pharmacy is organized. Possible job functions include taking prescriptions and entering them into a computer, selecting and counting medication, running a cash register, keeping track of and ordering supplies, and delivering medication. Pharmacy technicians with motor impairments may have difficulty performing one or more of these tasks. The Job Accommodation Network (JAN) is the leading source of free, expert, and confidential guidance on workplace accommodations and disability employment issues. Working toward practical solutions that benefit both employer and employee, JAN helps people with disabilities enhance their employability, and shows employers how to capitalize on the value and talent that people with disabilities add to the workplace. JAN is one of several services provided by the U.S. Department of Labor's...

The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy will hold a live webcast called Accessibility and Emerging Technology – Keys to Improving the Employment of People with Disabilities on August 16, 2012 from 2 - 3 p.m. Eastern Time. During this free event, panelists will discuss their views on the challenges and opportunities of emerging technologies, cloud computing and mobile applications in the workplace. This event will be live audio-captioned and will feature a real-time Twitter feed with the hashtag #ATworks. Learn more about this event here .

If you're a pharmacist and you have a disability, you can share your story with others by  joining the Society of Healthcare Professionals with Disabilities . Membership is complimentary and you can learn from others who have already started sharing their stories. You can read those stories  here in the Forum Section .

We Can't Wait: Obama Administration Announces New Initiatives to Get Veterans Back to Work Having served and defended our nation, veterans are well-trained, highly skilled and will add value to any company. But today’s veterans face unique challenges: As of October, over 850,000 veterans were unemployed and the jobless rate for post-9/11 veterans was 12.1 percent. And as we end the war in Iraq and wind down the war in Afghanistan, over one million servicemembers are projected to leave the military between 2011 and 2016. Accordingly, there is more work to do to ensure these men and women can find jobs at home when they return. On November 7, leading veterans’ organizations joined President Obama at the White House to announce their support for the Returning Heroes and Wounded Warrior Tax Credits, two provisions in the American Jobs Act Congress is scheduled to consider that will help create jobs and strengthen the economy. The Returning Heroes Tax Credit provides firms that ...

Informational Video on FDA's upcoming Virtual Hiring Event on Thursday Nov 3rd 2011 Instructions on creating your Federal Resume, Navigating the NEW USAJOBS, and applying at HHS and FDA http://www.fda.gov/hiringevent

Store Fired Worker with Diabetes for Eating Chips to Stop Hypoglycemia Attack, Federal Agency Charges SAN FRANCISCO — Drugstore giant Walgreens violated federal law by firing a worker with diabetes instead of accommodating her, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charged in a lawsuit filed today under the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). According to the EEOC, Josefina Hernandez, a cashier at Walgreens’ South San Francisco store, was on duty when she opened a $1.39 bag of chips because she was suffering from an attack of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). Hernandez had worked for Walgreens for almost 18 years with no disciplinary record, and Walgreens knew of her diabetes. Nevertheless, Walgreens fired her after being informed that Hernandez had eaten the chips because her blood sugar was low, even though she paid for the chips when she came off cashier duty.

There are a number of different types of assistive technologies that can help pharmacists working in the retail or clinical environment. In both of these settings, you may be required to move around on a regular basis. If your disability is related to mobility, then you may benefit from assistive technology devices. Assistive technology or adaptive technology (AT) is an umbrella term that includes assistive, adaptive, and rehabilitative devices for people with disabilities and also includes the process used in selecting, locating, and using them. AT promotes greater independence by enabling people to perform tasks that they were formerly unable to accomplish, or had great difficulty accomplishing, by providing enhancements to or changed methods of interacting with the technology needed to accomplish such tasks. Pharmacists who have a mobility-related disability would probably benefit by using one of the following: Durable Medical Equipment (DME) Seating products that assist peo...

RxPATROL® is a collaborative effort between industry and law enforcement designed to collect, collate, analyze and disseminate pharmacy theft information. RxPATROL helps protect the pharmacy environment and ensure legitimate patients' access to life-sustaining medicines. Collaborating with Crime Stoppers further enhances RxPATROL's efforts to disseminate information regarding pharmacy crime. By working with local media outlets, Crime Stoppers reward offers can expedite the identification and apprehension of these suspects. Learn more here: http://www.rxpatrol.org/