'Pharmacists - Unsung Heroes' Teacher's Guide and Public Television Special Aim to Help Teachers Encourage Careers in Pharmacy, Health and Science

'Pharmacists - Unsung Heroes' Teacher's Guide and Public Television Special Aim to Help Teachers Encourage Careers in Pharmacy, Health and Science

- Free Teacher's Guide Available Online -

NUTLEY, N.J., Oct. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Taking strides to address the nation's impending need for more pharmacists, Roche has teamed up with the Parenteral Drug Association Foundation for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Inc. (PDA Foundation) and WLIW New York Public Television to create a Teacher's Guide that will help educators encourage secondary school students to consider a career in pharmacy, health and science. The "Pharmacists -- Unsung Heroes" Teacher's Guide, a companion piece to the public television special airing this month, will provide communication tools to help teachers counsel their students who already show an interest in science.

According to the PDA Foundation, most people will see a pharmacist three times as often as they see a physician annually. But by the year 2020, studies indicate there will be a shortage of 150,000 pharmacists in the United States.

"While helping address America's need for more health and science-focused classes in schools is important, encouraging students who already have an interest in health and science may be the key to closing the potential shortage gap of pharmacists," said Vivian L. Beetle, director, corporate relations and contributions for Roche. "Roche believes that teachers play a positive and vital role in directing students into a career path, and we are pleased to offer this guide free to teachers across the country."

The "Pharmacists -- Unsung Heroes" Teacher's Guide gives teachers the tools to identify students with science-based interests, shows them how to engage them in dialogue, and provides resources for teachers to share with students on career possibilities. The guide includes a student self-assessment tool, profiles of students who have pursued a career in pharmacy and a list of U.S. colleges of pharmacy and organizations that can help guide students pursuing careers as pharmacists.

The guide can be downloaded for free at http://www.wliw.org/pharmacists/. Roche is working with the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists and the American Pharmacists Association to distribute the guide among educators.

The "Pharmacists -- Unsung Heroes" Teacher's Guide is part of a larger initiative which includes a one-hour broadcast special, "Pharmacists: Unsung Heroes," premiering on producing station WLIW 21 New York Public Television on Tuesday, Oct. 11 at 8 p.m. in the New York tri-state area. The documentary explores the indispensable link between pharmacists and the communities they serve, and addresses the current shortage of pharmacists, as well as its implications on community medical care.

The documentary will air across the country on public television stations beginning in October to coincide with American Pharmacists Month (check local listings).

"The program explores the links between pharmaceutical professionals and the communities they serve. It addresses the current shortage of pharmacists and pharmaceutical researchers, the implications of this shortage on health care and the diversity of career opportunities available," said Jerold Martin, senior vice president, Biopharmaceuticals, Pall Corporation and PDA Foundation president. "The goal of the television program, the cornerstone of the PDA Foundation's Pharmacy Awareness Campaign, is to give viewers a better understanding of the important role to society provided by pharmaceutical professionals in the hope of encouraging more people to enter the field."

About Roche -- More Than a Century in the U.S. and the World

Founded in 1896 and headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Roche is one of the world's leading innovation-driven healthcare groups. Its core businesses are pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. Roche is one of the world's leaders in diagnostics, the leading supplier of pharmaceuticals for cancer, as well as a leader in virology and transplantation. As a supplier of products and services for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease, the Group contributes on many fronts to improve people's health and quality of life. Roche employs roughly 65,000 people in 150 countries, including approximately 15,000 in the United States.

Roche's U.S. operations celebrate their American Centennial in 2005. In another milestone this year, Roche was named in January to Fortune magazine's list of Best Companies to Work for in America. Roche today has more than a dozen U.S. sites located in California, Colorado, Indiana, New Jersey and South Carolina, as well as in Puerto Rico. Roche has alliances and research and development agreements with numerous partners, including majority ownership interests in Genentech and Chugai. Roche's Pharmaceuticals Division offers a portfolio of leading medicines in therapeutic areas including cancer, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C, transplantation, dermatology and influenza. Roche's Diagnostics Division supplies a wide array of innovative testing products and services to researchers, physicians, patients, hospitals and laboratories world-wide. For further information, please visit our worldwide and U.S. websites (Global: http://www.roche.com/ and U.S.: http://www.roche.us/).

Source: Roche

CONTACT: Media Contact: +1-973-562-2699

Web site: http://www.roche.com/ http://www.roche.us/ http://www.wliw.org/pharmacists

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