Disabled Pharmacists

[Platypus311]

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I've been wondering if it is feasible to have a physical disability and work as a pharmacist. I used to work as a pharmacy tech and was doing pre-pharmacy, but didn't get the best grades. A little over five years ago however, I suffered a spinal cord injury that left me as a C5 quadriplegic. I do have movement in my arms, but I have no tricep function and I can't move my fingers, which are permanently curled. I had several years off of school after my injury and was not planning on going back. Fast forward a couple years and I am back in school getting all A's except for a B in calc 2 and C in a summer calc 3 class. I was originally planning on doing engineering, but I realized that what I really want to do is pharmacy. I know I obviously could not work in retail, as I can't manipulate bottles and I definitely cannot give immunizations. I was thinking I would either go into research or work for an insurance company. My brother works at Catamaran (not as a pharmacist) and he told me that they're always hiring pharmacists. My question is does anyone know of any other pharmacists with disabilities and what troubles they faced? Also, I've just been taking part-time classes and I worry since I move so much slower than able-bodied students that I might not be able to handle the workload in pharmacy school.

 

[pms_testosterone]

Not the same, but I know of (not personally) a deaf pharmacist and a pharmacy student in a wheelchair. You could probably work (some) hospital jobs as this is mostly checking orders and doing rounds. Techs generally do all the work filling prescriptions. At least in the hospital I was in.

 

[Platypus311]

Not the same, but I know of (not personally) a deaf pharmacist and a pharmacy student in a wheelchair. You could probably work (some) hospital jobs as this is mostly checking orders and doing rounds. Techs generally do all the work filling prescriptions. At least in the hospital I was in.

I am confined to a wheelchair in addition to the things I stated. I probably should have included that.

 

[pms_testosterone]

That wouldn't have been a problem in the hospital where I was, as the wards had to be accessible to disabled patients and visitors. The pharmacists had to spend a ton of time typing/on the computer and checking orders others had filled, some time interviewing and counseling patients, and almost no time filling prescriptions themselves.

 

[Freespirit91]

What fields in pharmacy would be appropriate for deaf pharmacists?

 

[Modest_anteater]

What fields in pharmacy would be appropriate for deaf pharmacists?

Central fill locations where you are just verifying hundreds of orders in front of a computer.

 

[BlackDiamond277]

A girl in my class was born with one of her arms unformed below the elbow. She does just fine in all of our compounding labs and has been working as a tech for a few years. I definitely think it is doable, especially since you don't want to go into a dispensing role.