APRO NL, Issue 8

APRO Chairperson’s Message

Dear IPSF-APRO members, 2012 has been a year of experiences. From the formation of the new APRO RWG in Taipei, Taiwan our team has worked tirelessly in balancing out work, study and life to bring to you an amazing year.

In 2013 I anticipate APRO to enter into a new era of change. I hope to see APRO expand its horizons in terms of network and aid within its associations. It has always been a wish of mine to see APRO moving forward and stepping into innovative areas of education, professional development and public health. Not only will we be striving to showcase our members’ activities, I believe that we can showcase these activities to non-member countries in the hopes that they will join this amazing organisation.

I would like to wish everyone a prosperous year ahead and hope that you will be able to achieve anything you seek. I hope to see you all at the 2013 APPS in Tokyo, Japan.

I would like to give everyone a quote for the upcoming year:

‘Our experiences in life come in difference shapes and forms, what is important is how we fit them into place and appreciate what we learnt’

Geoffrey ChaiAPRO Chairperson

2012-2013

January2013 IssueNo8

SEP in Japan

SEP was held over 2-3 weeks across two university’s in

Japan, with all six students having an enjoyable time. They visited Osaka Hospital, local pharmacies including traditional Chinese herbal pharmacies, laboratory’s in the university’s and venues where senior citizens gather.

It was held in 2 areas, TOKYO and OSAKA. In Osaka, 3 students, one from Spain, two from Iran, participated SEP.

Although the students could not actively participate in the clinical venues, they did spend their time being involved in enthusiastic discussions on the differences between the Japanese health

system and their original country’s system. During their free days, the Osaka exchange students visited Hiroshima, the famous site of the World War 2 atomic bomb. It was at Hiroshima that they were able to expand their knowledge of Japanese and world history by visiting sites such as the Dome memorial and the Peace Memorial museum.

In the Tokyo branch, three students - two from Canada and one from Taiwan- were being actively involved similarly to their Osaka counterparts. The students were also lucky to visit Tokyo Disneyland for some well-deserved fun.

Students today, Pharmacists tomorrow

Additionally, with their newly-made Japanese friends they were able to visit Hakone, where they enjoyed spectacular views of Mt Fuji as well as enter an ‘onsen’ (a public bath).

Each student also spent their time visiting different sites representative of Japan - manga museums, ‘electronic city’ Akihabara and famous cities such as Kyoto, Asakusa and Nara.

Students were invited to stay with local families, where strong bonds of friendship were developed. On the last day of SEP, there was not a dry tear in the house - for the families or for us Japanese staff!

The next SEP will be held from 5-19th August 2013, in both Tokyo and Osaka. We encourage all those interested to attend SEP in Japan and of course, after SEP you can join the APPS in Japan!

All of us here in Japan invite you sincerely and welcome you heartily!

article and photos by:

Kiharu ArakiStudent ExchangeOfficerAPS-Japan


SEP in Malaysia

In 2012, 14 students from various countries came to Malaysia

for the IPSF Students Exchange Program (SEP). Two students were sent to Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Pulau Pinang, another three were sent to AIMST University in Sungai Petani while nine of the students went for SEP in Puchong, Kuala Lumpur. The program lasted for almost two months which is from the 20th of July until 12th of September 2012.

On the 20th of July 2012, Blessing Onyinye Chiadikobi from Ghana and Lina Salama Abou Zaid from Egypt were sent to Universiti Sains Malaysia. They both went there and did a clinical attachment for

three weeks. Both of them were hosted by two USM students who were also the LEOs of MyPSA. The clinical attachment was done under the supervision of a lecturer from USM.

On the 20th of July 2012 too, Ndiana Abasi Sunday Peter, also from Ghana, together with two students from India, Himadri Jagdeep Dave and Dhwani Deepak Jerajani went for a hospital attachment at Hospital Sultan Abdul Halim. They were hosted by few LEOs from AIMST University and they stayed in AIMST for around three weeks until the program finished on the 15th of August 2012.

From left: Blessing, Lina Salama, Dhwani, Himadri, Hui Pin (AIMST), Idsalliany (USM), Suffian (USM), Lina’s brother


The last nine students were sent to International Medical University (IMU) Bukit Jalil, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) Community Pharmacy and to a retail pharmacy namely Vitacare which is situated at Kota Damansara. Five students, including Ahmed Adel from Egypt, Sadik Ahmet Canan from Turkey, Heleen van der Meer from Holland, Iwona Ziehlen from Poland, and Bojana Baselj from Slovenia went for research attachment in IMU for two weeks. All five of them were supervised by different lecturers. At the same time, Marcela Safratova and Ester Dohnalkova both from Czech Republic, and Raras Hermanto Fatmaningrum from Indonesia did a community pharmacy attachment in UKM. All three were supervised by the pharmacist in-charge each day and by the dispenser at the pharmacy. Aya T-Allah Adel, from Egypt did an attachment at a retail pharmacy ‘Vitacare’ on the same weeks the others did their attachment. They also went to visit Putrajaya Hospital, National Pharmaceutical Control Bureau (NPCB) of Ministry of Health (MOH) and also to HOE Pharmaceutical Industry. They program officially finished on the 12th of September 2012.


FARIDAH BINTI MOHD YUNOSStudent ExchangeOfficerMyPSA - Malaysia


I just wanted to share with you all what NAPSA has been doing

over the last few months to help promote NAPSA on a national level in Australia.

Our first stop was the Pharmacy Business Network (PBN) organised by the Pharmacy Guild of Australia on the 14th to the 16th of September in Canberra and then NAPSA jetted off to the Pharmacy Australia Congress (PAC) organised by the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia held on the 19th to the 21st of October in Melbourne.

NAPSA visited two conferences with the ambition of helping to promote NAPSA and get more pharmacists aware and involved

in the position that NAPSA plays in helping represent students. NAPSA sent 6 students on the PBN conference and 11 to the PAC conference.

PBNThe first conference we attended

was PBN. The PBN conference aimed to provide practical business solutions to current pharmacists, managers and owners as well as students who were interested in pursuing such careering in their professional future. NAPSA feels that displaying a strong presence at these sort of conferences is vital and we were involved in asking questions during educational

NAPSA - Australia activity report

The NAPSA Executive (L-R) Frank Kazantzis, Bon Jones, Chris Braithwaite and Ellen Pedler at the Pharmacy Business Network (PBN)


if they are willing to host students in the future

- Follow up on any business cards you may have received from the networking

- Get involved on any social media they have – i.e. Facebook and Twitter, it’s a great way to get your name or organisation out there and a fantastic way to have some fun!

PACThe PAC conference was held more recently and featured a few more of the NAPSA National Council. It was a weekend of great speakers and wonderful networking opportunities. The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia also announced free student membership to help students access online educational modules and reduced price textbooks. Chris Braithwaite, the president of NAPSA supported the change remarking that this can help to reduce the gap between students and the profession, thanks to the complimentary membership.

Besides the educational event, the conference was a hit because NAPSA was able to organise a stand at the conference. If your organisation needs more exposure, this is a great way to get it. A stand is a great opportunity for people who are wondering around to get to know a bit more about NAPSA, what we do, the services we offer and how they can get involved if they want. We put up our banner, a few photos and a few things from the archives including old NAPSA yearbooks and a songbook which was more than 20 years old!

sessions, networking through the conference and making sure that we all carried our business cards with us so that people could easily contact us after the conference.

At PBN, we had a networking night, where specialists in networking came to help us learn how to be better at getting to know people. A few tips we picked up during and after the conference that may help you out:

- Don’t be afraid to go sit with someone new in an educational event and say hi – don’t always stick with the group you know, sometimes meeting new people is great!

- Introduce yourself and find some common ground with the person you’re engaging

- Try and maintain a professional attitude at all times

- Keep your business card on you at all times so you can exchange details easily

- Try and advertise your student position i.e. IPSF – you can try to talk to pharmacists to see

NAPSA Executive and Committee Chairs at PAC12Back row (L-R): Cassandra Lee, Luke Vrankovich, Francseca Bennetts, Matthew Tom,

Manisha Singh, Xavier Agostino, Ayden Brown


SEP in Malaysia

The Vampire Cup initiative sets the task to each of NAPSA’s

branches to raise awareness and promote the importance of blood donation to the Australian public and our own pharmacy students. During the 6 week campaign the Pharmacy Awareness Committee work collaboratively with the Australian Red Cross to actively encourage people to donate blood, plasma or platelets at their local Red Cross Blood Bank on behalf of their NAPSA branch. It is hoped the Vampire Cup encourages our members and the wider Australian community to become regular donators beyond the Vampire Cup campaign.

With just one donation, three lives can be saved. The 2011 Vampire Cup was NAPSA’s most successful campaign to date, with 253 donations registered and total of 759 lives touched; a testament NAPSA and all those who participated.

NAPSA - Australia Vampire Cup 2012


Above shows a group of students for University of Sydney after successfully donating blood. Michael Wu (pictured centre) really enjoyed the Vampire Cup experience and couldn’t speak more highly of the campaign.

“After being rejected from donating blood three times, I finally made it through this time and I can say it was worth all the time and effort; that feeling of having given something so valuable. If you’ve been putting it off, don’t. It’s worth doing.” Michael Wu

NAPSA thoroughly enjoyed Vampire Cup and can’t wait to do it all again next year! If you have any questions or want some ideas on how to run Vampire Cup at your branch, please don’t hesitate to contact us! NAPSA is always happy to help!


Manisha SinghContact PersonNAPSA - Australia


SEP in Malaysia

Xperience Pharmacy Camp 2012

Xperience Pharmacy Camp is a 3-day-2-night annual

camp organized by the Pharmacy Profession Awareness Committee (PPAC) of the NUS Pharmaceutical Society (NUSPS). This is an exposure camp targeted at Junior College students to introduce them to pharmacy. The various activities carried out during the camp aimed at equipping participants with more knowledge of pharmacy as a course of study, as well as a choice of career in the future.

One key highlight of the camp was the Know Your Drugs Workshop conducted by Year 2 Pharmacy students and the corresponding practical sessions. These were conducted on the first and second day of the camp. Participants had the opportunity to make preparations such as creams and capsules, and knowledge of such dosage forms and ingredients involved were delivered through the workshop conducted before the lab sessions.

Another highlight of the camp was the pharmacist dialogue session conducted on the second day of the camp. Four pharmacists from various fields (academia, clinical

NUSPS - Singapore activity report

Xperience Pharmacy Camp 2012


participant walked away with a gift bag from National Healthcare Group that included goodies from several sponsors like Sephora and Hada Labo. Lucky draw prizes included hampers from Shishedo and thumbdrives from the Rainbow Factory.

The first booth focused on aspects of pharmacy practice. Participants could sort pills based on prescriptions, learn short-hand notations used in pharmacy and count a fixed number of pills within the fastest time. Nutrition and Supplements, the second booth, introduced the importance of various vitamins and educated participants about nutrition in their daily diet. The Acne booth gave participants a chance to learn about acne through a matching game while the booth on Beauty and Cosmetics allowed participants to make their own homogeneous paste. The final student-manned booth was on obesity, where participants were encouraged to get trim and fit in order to reduce their risk of developing with chronic diseases.

pharmacy, sales and marketing, pharmaceutical manufacturing and regulatory affairs) were invited to speak to their students regarding their own field of practice, and to answer queries they might have regarding pharmacy. This session gave students a deeper insight into pharmacy practice and the various career prospects of pharmacy which might be unfamiliar to them.

Night games which integrated knowledge about drugs and monographs were also incorporated into the camp to allow participants to apply what they have learnt through the workshops, lab sessions and talks effectively to enhance their exposure and learning.

Overall, this camp serves as a good exposure to students who are interested in finding more about studying and practicing pharmacy in Singapore.

Pharmacy – More Than Just Drugs (Health Bazaar)This year’s Pharmacy Bazaar was

held on the 27th and 28th August. With a theme of ‘Pharmacy – More Than Just Drugs’, it aimed to inform the public about the different – lesser known – aspects of Pharmacy to the general public. The two-day event was held at the Science Foyer, outside LT27, and attracted a great amount of attention from the other students of different faculties.

There were 10 booths set up – including booths from corporate organisations like Nescafe and Watsons – and the participants were encouraged to visit every booth to collect stamps, in order to take part in a lucky draw at the end of the event. Every

proclaiming how they didn’t know that pharmacists actually handle such a myriad of tasks and that pharmacists must be really ‘smart’ to be on top of many different fields of knowledge. It is heartening to know that all the hours spent (and the many more in future) learning about our trade and profession is actually acknowledged by the public. All in all, the event was a great success. It definitely exposed the Pharmacy profession to the other students in NUS, and provided a great bonding experience for members of the Pharmily!

This Pharmacy Bazaar served to validate everything that Pharmacy students understand and/or are learning. The various booths, such as pill counting and paste making, allowed the non-Pharmacy students to finally have a taste of what our profession is about. It had also opened their eyes to the lesser known responsibilities of pharmacists, such as vitamin education and cosmetics education. Our pharmacy profession indeed was ‘More Than Just Drugs’.

During an encounter at the pharmacist-led health-screening booth by Watsons, we overheard a conversation by some Engineering students


Henry WilliamContact PersonNUSPS - Singapore



BEM KMFA UGM - Indonesia World Diabetes Day Running Man

World diabetes day is celebrated on November

14th every year with the blue circle logo, highlighting the increasing concern of diabetes. Despite many medical advancements made regarding diabetes prevention and treatment, there is a large proportion of individuals who are not aware of diabetes nor its serious consequences. Like how they control their daily-consumption, how much sugar in daily-take, how many times they exercise, risk factors for developing diabets and methods in preventing or delaying diabetes. Diabetes may not receive as much attention or awarenes as other disease states, such as cardiovascular diseases, but there is an increasing number of people being diagnosed

possible because of the increasing obesity trend, sedentary lifestyle we lead and because of medical advancements, we are living longer.

Therefore, our faculty is actively engaged in raising awareness of diabetes to the community. At starting point, we can begin by spreading news about the case of diabetes and then, making some activities to support their aims.

There are many ways in putting focus to diabetes. One of them with celebrating World Diabetes Day. Often campaigns are the traditional route in raising awareness, but this can become repetitive and become bland and not eye-catching. Instead, BEM KMFA UGM developed a new and unique way so that participants will

The top six teams that completed all missions successfully entered the final round. The final round involved with one member from each team having their group name stuck as a tag on their back, and the other two members were given the task to find the World Diabetes Day sticker, which was hidden under one name tag. Each group had to collect other group members’ name tag and the WDD sticker to win.

become excited in participating.

The campaign that BEM KMFA UGM made was adopted from the variety show from Korea called ‘Running Man’. In this event we divided the participant into 10 teams, each team consisting of 3 people. Each team raced and completed all 8 posts. The first team that completed all the missions won and received a prize.

Each mission was directly related to diabetes, such as testing our knowledge about diabetes, actively inviting the audience to participate in physical activity’s.


Siti NurMufydaContact PersonBEM KMFA UGMIndonesia&

Shofy Ramadhani Putri



BEM Farmasi UI - Indonesia World AIDS Day

AIDS or Autoimmuno-deficiency Syndrome is a syndrome caused by the Human

Immunodeficiency virus. AIDS is a disease that kills more that 2 million people all over the world each year.

In the present, people who do not suffer from HIV/ AIDS see victims of AIDS as “very contagious” so that victims are neglected and looked down on. Therefore, we carried out a HIV/AIDS campaign to raise awareness to the community that we should treat victims of AIDS HIV just like everybody else.

At 7.00 am Sunday, 1st December 2012 45 students from the Faculty of Pharmacy University of Indonesia gathered at the parking area of Pharmacy University of

The third event was done from 10.00 am – 12.00 pm, in which students carried out a campaign called PPAC, Pharmacy Profession Awareness Campaign. The students went around to other faculties within the University of Indonesia to show and tell others about the profession of pharmacists.

Indonesia in remembrance of World AIDS Day. The event was divided into three different yet sequential events.

The first event was jogging around the campus site; this was done from 7.00 am -8.00 am. The aim of jogging together was to build a close relationship among the participants, and also to gain good health.

The second started at 8.10 – 10.00 am, during this activity, the participants made a giant Red HIV/AIDS ribbon out of the participants. A photograph of the Red Ribbon was taken from above, and was later spread through social media.


Natasya Linsie CoronaDatunsolangContact PersonBEM Farmasi UIIndonesia



PSUT - Thailand Pharmacy Profession Awareness Campaign

Pharmacy Profession Awareness Campaign (PPAC) that we‘ve

done this year is a continued campaign ,which mean we inserted this campaign into PSUT’s calender activities such as Freshy First Met Day, National Pharmacy Game, Multidiscipline Camp and PSUT Volunteer camp.

The Freshy First Met DayThe Freshy First Met Day was held

on May 20th 2012, for the next generation of pharmacy students in Thailand. The freshmen will have chance to know each others from different Universities. As a new generation of pharmacist we tried to make them aware about what theyare going to tbe in the future.

by Walk Rally activity which included:

- discussing the role of the pharmacist and how important of the pharmacists are

- teaching basic knowledge about some medications the basic knowledge about drugs

- Station of history of pharmacy

- Station of ethical of pharmacy

-Update news about pharmacy in Thailand for the society - The role of and pharmacists- Patient counseling booth - organisations who work collaboratively with pharmacists, pharmacies and Asian economic community (AEC)

Multidisciplinary student camp 4th(5th-6th Jan 2013 at Nakhonprathom province)

We worked co-operatively with other allied healthcare students from medical, dental, nursing, medical technology and public health to deliver an overall health care to the community. This campaign involves us performing health check-ups, educating the community about medication usage, good hygiene practices, chronic disease prevention and the importance of alcohol and smoking cessation. We also mobilised a patient counselling team in the theme of health delivery.

We got very good feedback.People in the village gained more knowledge and misunderstood information regarding medication

use was clarified. Additionally, this opportunity allowed us to demonstrate the skills and roles of the pharmacist and pharmacy and their importance in the health care setting.

Pharmacy students who were involved did a great job and had a fabulous time experiencing the real world of pharmacy.

PSUT volunteer camp(Chiyapoom Province Thailand)

The volunteer camp was held over 7 days in local villages. It was an opportunity for the community to have free access to health care services and to raise any health concerns they held. In response, the pharmacy students brainstormed and held discussions to find the best solution for these issues.

-Students were educated on basic health principles which were then passed onto the villagers.

-A ‘walk rally’ was held in which the students were able to experience how the villagers lived and their living conditions, which led them to understand their health concerns on a personal level, but also how the villagers manage their own health.

-Exhibition Day was the opportunity for all 120 participants to share their knowledge and skills. Many booths were set up with different topics that was both educational and fun.

- Booth for basic check up and counseling- Thai herb Booth- Polypharmacy booth- Medication booth- Kids booth- Exercise booth

National Pharmacy sport dayThe National Pharmacy Games

were held on the 14th October-16th October 2012 .The aim of National Games Day is to give students the opportunity to meet their fellow peers from other universities in a friendly yet competitve environmnet.

On the 14th : We held a parade in the opening ceremony which contained the information about :

- What is pharmacy?- Ethical of pharmacy professional - The appropriate method in using and taking medications-Health promotion and prevention

On the 16th we have a symposium which talk about:-Visualization of the society to the Pharmacy professionaland we also have a pharmacy land (exhibition)that show - what and how pharmacy can do



The whole community was thankful and appreciative of our efforts in helping them to manage their health in a practical manner.

This camp was also beneficial to the students because it provided them the experience in working with the community in a public health setting.


NawaratThinsookContact PersonPSUT - Thailand


SEP in Malaysia

In Indonesia, the pharmacist is not recognised as an approachable

health professional, especially in remote areas.

Often, patients have personal contact with their doctor’s and not with a pharmacist. Thus, it is important that all pharmacists be actively involved with the individual in improving their health by raising awareness of the role pharmacists play, beyond the task of compounding.

Methods and Used Tools / Materials:

- Going to Jatimukti village in Sumedang

-Giving 75 medication free tickets for Jatimukti’s unfortunate inhabitants

- Fund raising help purchase needed medicines ((by inviting sponsors and holding food stalls)

- Coorporate with Volunteer Doctor Organization

-Pharmaceutical Care application by the apothecary

BEM Farmasi UNPAD - Indonesia Free Medication


The event was very successful, with the villager’s grateful to the students.All of the students who participated demonstrated great team work.Also, the event was succesful in promoting the pharmacist and raising awareness of the role of the pharmacist.

In the future, i hope that our ‘Free Medication’ event continues on so that we are able to play a part in helping to improve the health of the disadvantaged.


Derisha AmaliaContact PersonBEM KEMAFARUNPADIndonesia


SEP in Malaysia

External Day 2012We think that we need to internalize our external organization that we related to, including IPSF, to our organization as it is important to acknowledge our members about what they are, what they do, etc.

Aims

Increase awareness of APRO and IPSF to our internal organisation

Methods and used tools/materials

Seminar, talk show, and problem solving

RESULTS

Most of our members were enthusiastic with this activity. It was proven by the questions that were asked to the speakers (during the IPSF session, we invited the ex-ICCO of APRO, Alexander Stefan, and the recent RRO of APRO, Dyani N. Widyaputri, who is also the member of HMF ‘Ars Praeparandi’ ITB). We also made a brief talk show with the previous SEP participants to share their experiences during SEP 2012.

HMF ITB - Indonesia activity report

Patient counseling event 2012


Patient Counseling EventPCE is one of the annual project

under the name and behalf of International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation, Professional Development’s Project. PCE held periodically every year by HMF ‘Ars Praeparandi’ ITB, member in association of IPSF.

Aims

Encourage and increase the ability of pharmacy students in communication and their ability in counseling patients, thus strengthening the relation between pharmacist and patient.

World AIDS DayWorld AIDS Day is a day to

commemorate and increase awareness of HIV and AIDS.

During our Annual Meeting, participants wore red clothing which we commemorated by making a symbol of the red ribbon, which is representative of HIV and AIDS.


PCE was held in a general auditorium with 2 levels - beginner and advanced. PCE was divided into three rounds; 1st round was the preliminary session, 2nd round was the semi-final and 3rd round was the final. The beginner level was for undergraduate students and the advanced level was for professional students.

RESULTS

The PCE went well due to the schedule. Three winners were announced per level, with the grand winner from the beginner and advanced rounds, being given the opportunity to be Indonesia’s representative in PCE at World Congress 2013.

Also, we sold over 150 red ribbons to students throughout the campus to raise money for the Rumah Cemara Foundation, who’s aim is to offer support to HIV patients, especially to the vulnerable groups such as pregnant women and those orphaned due to HIV and AIDS.

Patient counseling event 2012

Leaders in TrainingLIT is important because it

teaches skills regarding leadership, management and team-work to new members of IMF Ars Praeparandi ITB.

Aims

We aim to train our new members to develop their skills and abilities in leading, managing and working effectively in teams.


We put them in groups of 13 then we gave each group a problem to be solved.

We also gave seminars, talk show, and games to create an interesting and fun atmosphere.

RESULTS

All participants solved the given problems successfully and their efforts were tremendous. We believe that our training methods were quite successful.

We have 40 participants that wearing red clothes and we succeed to sell around 150 red ribbons to the students in our campus and donated the money to ‘Rumah Cemara’ foundation.


Muhammad AzhariContact PersonHMF ITBIndonesia



Education Section

PHARMACYCURRICULUM IN ASIA PACIFIC COUNTRIES

to complete a semester. Because failing in just one subject in a semester will oblige students to retake that subject in the following year.The second hardest thing for Australian students is

that during their internship, they need to pass both a written and oral exam. If they fail either exam, they will not become a registered pharmacist and will still be an intern until they pass. (Written exams are held twice a year and the oral exam is held annually, so if you fail an exam, it can be awhile before you officially become a pharmacist!)

KOREATotal year of study in Korea has changed from

4-years to 6-years curriculum since 2011. Therefore, for anyones, one who wants to go to pharmacy school should be at least sophomore of any department of university. Then they can take an admission test for entering pharmacy school. This test is called PEET (Pharmacy Education Eligibility Test). Therefore, students from 3rd to 6th grade only take classes relating to pharmacy, since all other liberal art subjects have been completed in the first two years of universtiy. In the final year of sixth grade, students should take internship for about 1,000 hours and take national eligibility test to be a pharmacist. And voila, you’re a registered pharmacist.

THAILANDIn accordance the Pharmacy Council of Thailand

Pharmacy, the curriculum of pharmacy schools offer 6-years pharmacy professional program with minimum 220 total credits and minimum 2,000 hours of total practice hours. The curriculum comprises basic knowledge and basic skills for general pharmacy practice in the first four year, while advance pharmacy practice occurs in the

In this whole wide world, nothing is ever exactly the same. The food, the culture, the way we communicate, each of it varies in some way. And the differences also cover pharmacy field, in term of pharmacist role in society, pharmacy regulation, pharmacy curriculum, et cetera.At our capacity as student, pharmacy curriculum

plays important role to determine our ability as future pharmacist. Have you ever wondered how it feels to experience pharmacy curriculum in another side of the world? This time, yours truly here, the RPO team, will fly you all over Asia Pacific to figure out pharmacy curriculum in 5 different countries.

AUSTRALIAThe curriculum, as probably the same with other

countries, requires four years of formal education and one year of internship. The first year consists of basic pharmacy skills including biology, statistics and mathematics. Second and third years focus on more advanced theories and practices in pharmacy, and the last year focuses on clinical knowledge as well as the practical world of pharmacy including business skills and the legal knowledge needed. Throughout all four years, students need to complete placements in both community and hospital pharmacy’s to expand their skills and to show them the world of pharmacy beyond books and exams. Once succesfully graduating from university,

students need to choose an internship programme run by three different national organisations, which will help them perfect their skills and talent in pharmacy. Students are responsible for finding their own place of practice for their internship, which can be either a community pharmacy (majority of us end up in community) or in hospital pharmacy (which is very competitive). What makes Australian pharmacy curriculum distinct from the others is how hard it is

TAIWANThe first year of Taiwan pharmacy curriculum is

typical; it consists of basic sciences like general chemistry, physics, biology, calculus. But there is a class called “Introduction to Pharmacy” where there will be important people from specific pharmacy field to enlighten students about the life as pharmacist in their own working area. The rest of the curriculum in Taiwan is mostly the same, too, with other countries, except one which is Chinese Medicine. The subject is compulsory and it includes. Prescription of Chinese Medicine, Pharmacognosy, Herbology. Sometimes it’s funny because some theories are not scientific at all. For example, the color of the herbal will affect the use and the toxicity of it, so you have to try to modify the color, can it be by cooking it, boiling or frying it. And if the color turns darker, congratulations your herbal is less toxic now! Another unique subject is Pharmacy Administration and Law. That is a class about any law related to pharmacy. Since we need to know about what behavior is legal and what’s not in pharmacy practice. Imagine being a student in pharmacy school in Taiwan, you’d be able to compound Chinese Meds whilst defending yourself in the face of law! How cool is that?

Well, now that you have flown over almost half of Asia Pacific countries, what do you think about pharmacy curriculum in your country? Is it quite good enough compared to this diversity we present you? Share us what you think and see you on our next article in APRO Newsletter issue no9.

fifth and sixth year. Students can choose a focused study during the fifth and sixth year depends on their interests; be it patient-oriented or medication-related. In the last year, students will have a full year of internship based on their focused interest. Which focus would you pick?

NEW ZEALANDFirst year started with health sciences; this is the

main gate into all health science professions, such as medicine, physiotherapy, dentistry and of course pharmacy. The first year of pharmacy consist of a lot of ground-work for pharmacy study, such as pharmaceutical chemistry, physical pharmacy, physiology, microbiology, biochemistry and social pharmacy. Second year is more distinct because NZ students only do essentially two papers, Quality Use of Medicines (QUMs) and Social Pharmacy. There are QUMs A, B, and C. Every QUMs cover six different sub-modules. For example, QUMs A covers gastrology, cardiology, respiratory, and endocrinology, while B and C cover different ones. Social Pharmacy will be taken in the last year of study, with main emphasis on legal restriction on medicine use. And after 4 years of pharmacy plus 1 year of health science, there will be an internship. During their studies, students need to complete four compulsory placements: two days in a community pharmacy in second year, one week in a rural community in third year, one week in a hospital either during summer holiday or forth year intersemester break, and another 1 week placement in forth year. All of them were obligatory. Oh phew… That’s a lot of placements, wasn’t it? But considering the priceless experience you’ll get through, we suppose that’d be totally fun!



ASIA PACIFIC REGIONAL OFFICE (APRO)International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation (IPSF)

IPSF Secretariat :P.O BOX 842002508 AE Den HaagThe Netherlandswww.ipsf.org | apro.ipsf.org

8th Newsletter, September 2012Created by: Exaudi Ebennezer, IPSF APRO ICCOProofread by Christina Cho, IPSF APRO Secretary

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APRO NL, Issue 8