CSHP + UCONN SOP PARTNERSHIP
We are pleased to share CSHP is partnering with the University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy (UCONN SOP) Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee to help support our some of our goals. This includes ensuring all patient populations of community have equal opportunities to access pharmaceutical care, provide advancement for all pharmacy professionals in every stage of education, career development, and offer mentorship to diverse groups in the pharmacy community.
CSHP members are invited to participate in several opportunities with UCONN SOP DEI. Some examples are listed below:
- Precepting students conducting outreach activities (eg, health fairs, student presentations)
- Serve as a guest speaker (eg, Lunch & Learn, Students of Color Mentorship, Professional Development lecture series, etc)
- Mentor a student member of the UCONN SOP DEI
Here is the link for a general sign up to select the various ways in which you would like to support our DEI Committee’s initiatives with UCONN SOP: https://forms.gle/hmZdeUDecWcXpbpf9
To become involved in once monthly meetings to help achieve our DEI goals for CSHP, please sign up via our website Connecticut Society of Health System Pharmacists - Get Involved (cshponline.org). For any questions, please contact Teresa Papstein at Teresa.Papstein@bpthosp.org.
FOREIGN PHARMACIST PATHWAYS
The U.S. population is more racially and ethnically diverse today than it was 20 years ago. Pharmacy profession diversity follows the same trend.
We created the CSHP DEI committee to advocate for equity, diversity, and inclusion in pharmacy professional work environment as well as to support underserved community and advocate to improve patient access to pharmacist care.
One of our focus areas is advocating for and supporting internationally trained pharmacists based upon our membership feedback. The process of foreign pharmacy degree evaluation and licensure in the US is quite a challenging experience. It takes on average from 3 to 5 years to accomplish and include multiple exams and about a year of full-time internship (here you can reference the Foreign Pharmacist Path. PDF). Foreign trained pharmacists often come with a diverse background and different levels of experience where they can bring new perspectives and innovation in organizations’ practice. Inclusivity in health systems encourages their employees to bring their whole selves to work to drive happier, more engaged employees, which in turn contributes to organizational success.
As a result of this and membership feedback, we created resources and mentorship opportunities to support this professional minority group.
CSHP DEI task force identified the following goals to support foreign-trained pharmacists:
- Advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion for internationally trained pharmacists by ensuring access, opportunity, and advancement for all pharmacists in every stage of education and career development.
- Provide guidance on the degree transfer process and US licensure for internationally trained pharmacy professionals.
- Mentorship to internationally trained pharmacy professionals pursuing heath system career opportunities
Resources for Foreign Pharmacists