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Introduction: One way to understand a profession is to examine the job tasks undertaken by professionals within the field. The profession of vision rehabilitation therapy is examined by finding the frequency at which 100 specific job tasks are performed on average by current vision rehabilitation therapists (VRTs). Fifty-one of the job task frequencies are compared to 1989 frequencies for changes across the last 28 years. Methods: An anonymous online survey was carried out with current and recently retired VRTs. Participants were asked to rate the frequency at which they perform 100 specific job tasks and 13 demographic questions. Results: One hundred eighty-nine practitioners completed the survey. Mean frequencies for the 100 job tasks fell between a low of 1.08 (slightly above "do not perform the task") for "writes grants for funding of agency services" and a high of 5.51 (above "perform 4 or 5 times a week") for "writes case notes and reports for documentation." Half of the 51 comparable job tasks indicated statistically significant changes in frequency across the 28-year period. Discussion: Statistically significant changes in job task frequencies occurred across job roles of teaching, case management, and professional or administrative activities, indicating that many aspects of the therapist's job have changed. Individualized teaching remains a common aspect of the job, personalizing the skills taught and the teaching methods, for the individual client. VRTs are less frequently providing consultation to medical and community organizations. Implications for practitioners: The results presented provide an understanding of current job tasks of a practicing VRT. Understanding the changing trends of job tasks may inform university personnel preparation programs to better prepare students for employment demands. Decreasing community outreach may negatively affect the visibility of blind rehabilitation services and inadvertently affect referrals for vision rehabilitation therapy services.

This Practice Report describes the development and implementation of the "Maine Employability Skills Program," a model employment program developed by the Maine Division for the Blind and Visually Impaired (DBVI). The program was designed to support the efforts of the chronically unemployed or underemployed. These consumers were either "job ready" (reported that they were ready to work in their desired profession) and "not job ready" (reported that they recognized that they did not have the necessary skills to begin working at their desired job). A core team of DBVI staff members developed a one-week intensive course, and once the structure for the employability skills program was created, all the adult blindness system staff members at the Maine DBVI, which consisted of approximately 70 professional and support staff members, gathered for two days of training to learn what roles they could play in helping to deliver this new program. All attendees became familiar with the program's components so they could integrate their specific discipline's perspective into it. A week-long employment training was structured for participants with individual and group learning activities designed to help consumers with visual impairments identify and address barriers to employment, resolve discrepancies between perceived ability and measured ability with respect to their own job skills, set career goals, explore vocational options, develop or refine job-seeking skills, and practice interviewing. In addition, the training offered participants the opportunity to learn several blindness-specific employment skills. Participants worked with co-facilitators during the day on self-awareness, career exploration, and their employability skills. In the evenings, they attended networking sessions with panels of successful employees with visual impairments, employers and human resources personnel, DBVI staff members, and vendors who specialized in technology and training opportunities specifically for visually impaired participants. There was evidence from the evaluations that participants improved their job-seeking skills and applied what they learned more consistently than they had done prior to their participation in the employment program.

The prevalence of visual impairment (that is, blindness and low vision) is increasing in the United States, especially in persons aged 65 and older, with more than half of all people who are blind in this age demographic. It has been estimated that about 6.5 million Americans aged 55 and older report vision loss, and this number is expected to double by 2030. Furthermore, the use of prescription medications will rise because persons who are older also tend to use more prescription medications, with more than 40% of older persons taking at least five different prescription drugs. Because of these factors, it is important to determine if, and how, these individuals are reading the labels of their prescription medications. The lack of access to the printed information related to medication can be a barrier for a person who is visually impaired to manage his or her prescriptions and health information optimally. The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act mandate that the print information commonly used by sighted persons (referred to as "effective communication") must be accessible to those who cannot access the information in the typical manner. In addition, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (2002) requires protected health information to be made available in print and other accessible media. These print-accessibility mandates, combined with the increasing number of persons who are elderly and visually impaired and the greater risk of being ill or hospitalized because of adverse medication outcomes, make it important to determine what, if any, accessibility issues exist for this population. This article reports a survey addressing how often, and using what methods, persons who are visually impaired access or independently read the labels on their prescription medications. (Contains 1 table and 3 figures.)

Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) identifies and maps biologically important molecules by localizing specific constituents with a stain that is visible through the microscope. This method enables biologists to produce a detailed picture of how molecules function and how they are distributed. Research to further improve SIMS' potential effectiveness as a mapping technique is still on going.