2

Message from IPSF

Dear IPSFers,

I would like to take this opportunity to

present to you the asupplement of IPSF –

Phuture 2011. The theme for this year’s edition

is “Mapping a New Vision – Translating ideas into

practice”. This educational supplement is created

with the idea of sharing with all you aspiring

young pharmacists some “personal opinions”

written by our very own fellow pharmacy

students throwing light on the current situation of

our profession in their country and how they

envision the future of their careers. We have

tried to showcase the technological

advancements observed in our field through an

expert opinion followed by a review on the global

status of a major health threat – Tuberculosis.

I am grateful to Bastien and his team for

providing the glamour and beauty through their

design of the Phuture. I am indebted to Lena K

for her constant efforts in compiling and creating

this edition. We hope you enjoy reading this as

much as we enjoyed building it.

Viva la pharmacie!

Message from the Phuture coordinator

Dear IPSFers,

It’s my pleasure to present to you this year’s

theme of “Mapping a New Vision-Translating

Ideas into Practice”. In this edition we included

the personal opinions of our fellow pharmacists,

from students to professors, about different

aspects of our profession. They are all based on

their personal experience and their belief in the

significance of these topics in our professional

future.

I hope it will inspire you to follow your visions and

to create the future as you wish it to be!

Special thanks to Dimple M for all the hard work

and her devotion to Phuture, and to Bastien V for

the beautiful and creative design.

Enjoy reading!

3

Dimple Modi

IPSF Chairperson of Education 2010-11

Lena Kojukarov,

Phuture coordinator 2010-11

4

New Pharmacists, New Media, New Environment, New Issues 5

Prof. Jeff Cain

Pharmacy Over the Counter 9

B.Pharm Or Moskovich

Role of Pharmacists in Tuberculosis Management 13

Zamzam Torabi

Pharmacy in my Generation's Perspective 16

Jasmit Singh Suri

How my Pharmacy Education Prepared me to be a Pharmacist 18

Asma Khanniche

Table of Contents

5

Introduction

Students today live in an era of

unprecedented social communication

capabilities. Due to the immense

popularity of social media platforms such as

blogs, microblogs (e.g., Twitter) and social

networking sites (e.g., Facebook), it is extremely

simple to share aspects of everyday actions,

attitudes, and opinions with others. Maintaining

communications with friends, classmates, and

family members has never been easier.

Because of this, young healthcare professionals

embarking on their careers face a different set of

situations than their predecessors. E-

professionalism, online reputation management,

and health 2.0 are three new concepts that did

not exist prior to the age of social media.

E-professionalism

Because of social media’s quick ascent to

worldwide popularity, society has not been able

to adjust fully to the changes wrought by the

openness of social communications. Social

media is so new that we have not had role

models from which we learned proper and

acceptable behavior. Until now, most of our

privately shared beliefs, attitudes, and opinions

have had little role in the professional aspects of

our lives. However, once we voluntarily share

those same beliefs and attitudes to an online

public then we expose them to the criticisms of

that same public. This has led to numerous

instances of individuals who have been expelled

from school1 and even lost jobs because of their

actions in the online environment.

The emerging construct of e-professionalism is

new and one that practicing healthcare

professionals and students should comprehend.

In its most basic form e-professionalism is simply

an extension of traditional professionalism

attributes (e.g., empathy, integrity, excellence,

etc.) to the online setting. Pharmacists and other

healthcare professionals are expected to treat

patients with utmost care and respect. That now

applies when conversing with or about them

through social media. Face-to-face interactions

are no longer the only way that professionalism

can be observed and assessed. If you are active

on social media, you should consider the

following questions as you prepare to become a

new professional. How do you want to portray

yourself to the online public? Are you

comfortable revealing the details of your

opinions, attitudes, and relationships with

others? Will you be outspoken regarding your

religious and political beliefs? Will you openly

criticize others through social media? Which

context of your life will dictate your online

persona? Do you care about how others

New Pharmacists, New Media, New Environment, New Issues

Jeff Cain, EdD, MS

Adjunct Associate Professor

Department of Pharmacy Practice & Science

Director of Education Technology

University of Kentucky

College of Pharmacy

114M BPC Bldg

789 South Limestone St

Lexington, KY 40536-0596

(859)257-4429

jeff.cain@uky.edu

6

perceive you through social media? If you offend

someone with what you say or do online, how

might that affect your career?

These are just a few of the issues to take into

consideration. For those who have grown up in

the online environment, you may not have given

these questions much thought. For those who

have lived in a society pre-dating social media,

these questions are ever present. Ten years

ago, it was easy to separate the different roles

we played and contexts in which we lived

because they were usually separated by time

and space. However, that is no longer the case

for social media users. The line between public

and private has been blurred beyond recognition.

Whether it is right or wrong, traditionally private

information may be considered public if

voluntarily published online.

Like many others, the pharmacy profession can

be stressful at times. Sharing job frustrations is

one method of reducing that stress. If done in

private, complaints about the job, patients, or

fellow professionals are usually innocuous.

However, when the grumblings enter the digital

sphere, especially through social media, the

situation becomes more tenuous as it now is

open to a much larger audience. Social

networking posts and blogs that expose attitudes

contrary to those espoused by the profession

may begin to erode the trust and respect that

patients have for pharmacists. While blogging

about stressful encounters may serve as a

release valve and humanize pharmacists, they

can also portray the profession in a negative

fashion. This is not to say that all social media

posts describing problems or issues are

negative. There are several examples of

pharmacists who are adept at depicting issues in

a way that is not demeaning or “whiney”. Using

social media to present constructive criticisms is

a way for pharmacists to potentially influence the

profession in a positive manner by bringing

attention to the issues. “Pharmacist’s Place”

(http://www.pharmacistplace.com) and “Eric,

Pharmacist” (http://eric-rph.blogspot.com) are

two prime examples of blogs that seek to

advance the profession rather than broadcast

anger and vitriol.

If you examine e-professionalism from the

employer’s perspective, you should be able to

see the importance. No employer wants an

employee who portrays a negative image and

runs the risk of alienating patients or other

professionals. How one is perceived by his/her

patients is a significant matter. It would be

difficult for patients to trust a pharmacist who is

known to use social media to copmlain

incessantly about negative interactions with

patients.

Personal branding and reputation

management

What is your personal online brand? In other

words, if someone were to know you only from

your information on blogs, microblogs, and social

networking sites, what would the impression be?

As online technologies become more prevalent

in all aspects of our lives, your online brand will

become an important extension of yourself.

Pharmacists have the opportunity to “define” who

they are to the online public. “Online reputation

management” is a relatively new concept

pertaining to how an individual or organization

manages and maintains the impression

generated through their online presence. It is

very common (and almost second nature for

many) to use a search engine (eg, Google) or

social networking site to discover information

about someone. Individuals, especially young

professionals, should project an impression that

does not conflict with career goals. The reason

is that others in authority positions may seek

additional information about you when evaluating

you for jobs, fellowships, residency positions, or

other career-related honors. The online persona

that one projects through blogs, social

networking, and other social media applications

may influence one’s opinion of your character,

judgment, and even professional abilities. Many

younger healthcare professionals have missed

opportunities due to information discovered

through online searches. What may be even

more troublesome is that those individuals are

probably not even aware that this information

negatively impacted their careers. Most

employers will not reveal to an unsuccessful

7

candidate that they were not offered a position

due to an offensive Facebook comment.

Instead, they will suggest that someone else was

a better fit for the organization or more qualified

for the position. If you have not already

performed an online search for yourself, do so

from the perspective of a potential employer.

What does that information reveal about you?

Do your posts, comments, photos, and group

affiliations reflect positively or negatively upon

you as a healthcare professional?

Health 2.0

In addition to the major role played in social

communications, pharmacy students should be

aware that healthcare and social media are now

crossing paths. Health 2.0 (sometimes referred

to as “Medicine 2.0”) is defined differently by

different groups, but in general refers to patient

involvement in their healthcare aided by Web 2.0

technologies. The vast majority of pharmacy (or

any other) professors have not experienced this

phenomenon; therefore, it is unlikely that many

students are currently receiving formal training in

this area. This means that students are entering

uncharted territory and will need to adapt to the

world of Health 2.0 by learning how to navigate

through the issues and opportunities.

Health 2.0 also refers to how members of the

healthcare environment (patients, healthcare

professionals, biomedical researchers, etc.)

utilize social media to connect, share, and learn.

PharmQD (http://www.pharmqd.com) is one

example of a professional social networking site

for pharmacists. PharmQD was created by

pharmacists for pharmacists and was designed

to enhance individual and collective

understanding of professional pharmacy issues

and to help members create and maintain

connections with pharmacy peers and

employers.

With the push towards patient participation in

their healthcare and the increasing use of the

internet for information, healthcare professionals’

roles are slowly evolving from that of gatekeeper

to more of a caretaker. However, numerous

opportunities exist for pharmacists to play a

major role in impacting health through the use of

social media. While popular social networking

sites like Facebook and Hi5 may not be the best

platform for sharing healthcare information, other

social media applications excel at this. For

example, PatientsLikeMe

(http://www.patientslikeme.com) embodies

principles of participatory medicine by

empowering individuals to share with and learn

from others who have similar afflictions.

Healthcare providers are available to vet

information for accuracy. Communications are

open and data is voluntarily shared in order to

promote healthcare advances on the individual

and at the population level. This is in sharp

contrast with traditional healthcare models that

typically prevent transparency and data sharing

for various reasons. Your future role as a

pharmacist might involve expanded use of social

media to evaluate, recommend, and ensure

accurate healthcare information for patients and

other professionals..

8

Conclusion

As you enter the professional field of pharmacy, you will be confronted with challenges and

opportunities that have not previously been encountered. Each individual must decide for

him/herself what it means to be a healthcare professional in the era of social media.You will need

to define your online presence by carefully considering your conversations and affiliations in online

spaces. Even if you choose to use social networking for non-professional reasons only, you should

still be aware of your digital footprint and what is says about you as a person. Ethical or not, you

may be judged professionally by how you present yourself to the online public. If you really want to

be progressive, then stay abreast of developments pertaining to Health 2.0 and consider how you

as a pharmacist can take advantage of these new communication capabilities to positively affect

healthcare. You will probably still perform a traditional role in a pharmacy or in the hospital, but you

can enlarge this role (and hence make yourself more valuable) through innovative uses of

technology. The opportunities will continue to expand and probably at a rapid pace, so pay attention

and set a positive example for students who follow you.

References

Resources :

1. Morris A. Nursing student dismissed over blog posts. Available at:

http://internetdefamationblog.com/2009/03/14/nursing-student-dismissed-over-blog-posts/.

Accessed July 10, 2010.

2. Smith C, Kanalley C. Fired over Facebook: 13 posts that got people CANNED. Available at:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/26/fired-over-facebook-posts_n_659170.html. Accessed

April 29, 2011.

3. Cain J, Romanelli F. E-professionalism: A new paradigm for a digital age. Currents Pharm

Teach Learn. 2009;1(2):66-70.

4. Evans T, Gerwitz AE. E-Professionalism Dos and Don'ts. Available at:

http://www.tourolaw.edu/cso/docs/eprofessionalism.pdf. Accessed April 25, 2011.

5. Thompson LA, Dawson K, Ferdig R, et al. The intersection of online social networking with

medical professionalism.J Gen Intern Med. 2008;23:954-957.

6. Cain J, Dillon G. Analysis of pharmacy-centric blogs: Types, discourse themes, and issues.

J Am Pharm Assoc. 2010;50:714-719.

7. Clauson KA, Elkins J, Goncz CE. Use of blogs by pharmacists.Am JHealth-sys Pharm.

2010;67(23):2043-2048.

8. Dutta S. Managing yourself: What's your personal social media strategy? Harvard Bus Rev.

2010;88(11):127-130.

9. Madden M, Smith A. Reputation management and social media. Available at:

http://pewinternet.org/~/media//Files/Reports/2010/PIP_Reputation_Management_with_topline.pdf.

Accessed April 28, 2011.

10. Eysenbach G. Medicine 2.0: Social networking, collaboration, participation, apomediation,

and openness. J Med Internet Res. 2008;10(3):e22.

11. Eytan T. e-patients: Participate in defining "Health 2.0". Available at:

http://www.tedeytan.com/2008/05/07/917. Accessed April 28, 2011.

12. Bottles K. Patients, doctors and health 2.0 tools. Physician Exec.2009;35(4):22-25.

13. Cain J, Romanelli F, Fox B. Pharmacy, social media, and health: Opportunity for impact. J

Am Pharm Assoc. 2010;50(6).

9

For students, taking a little glimpse of what

the future may or should hold for our

profession as a whole is often put aside for

more pressing matters in the everyday

exhausting routine of hard studying, job chasing

and occasional partying. Unfortunately, true

change starts from the bottom up, so on top of

our other duties it is also highly important for us

students and soon-to-be graduates to take an

active role in mapping out the future of pharmacy

as a profession.

In this day and age the need for professional

personal in the field of pharmacotherapy is

bigger than ever. The major advances in the

different fields of medicine and pharmacology,

such as pharmacogenomics, drug delivery

systems, the complexity of drug therapy in

managing various chronic conditions like

diabetes mellitus, hypertension and other

cardiovascular morbidities, different kinds of

cancer, etc, along with the growing phenomenon

of polypharmacy in the elderly, are all providing

this need with the fuel to only increase demand

more. But who will provide the solution for this

ever growing problem? The pharmacist is, of

course, the natural answer. The increasing

complexity of drug therapy described earlier and

the state of most national health systems leads

to the following fact: Medical doctors and nurses

cannot stand alone on the front lines of patient

caregiving.

It is true that pharmacists in some places of the

world are already an integral part of the health

providing team, and that the field of clinical

pharmacy is growing and developing, but it’s not

enough. Taking a quick look into the wonderful

world of drug-related problems is the key to

understanding this fact. Drug-related problems

(DRPs) are defined as ill outcomes of the drug

therapy process. It can occur in any stage of the

pharmacotherapy procedure- from prescribing to

dispensing to following the drug therapy regimen.

The literature indicates that the incidence of

hospitalizations caused by DRPs is

approximately 4-7%. DRPs are related to

considerable morbidity, mortality and substantial

financial burdens. About 50% of total DRPs are

considered avoidable – that the underlying

reason for them is either a medical error, like

prescribing the wrong drug, or lack of compliance

to the pharmacotherapy regimen.

I met those problems face to face last summer

when I took part in research designed to assess

the incidence nature and outcomes of DRPs in a

government hospital in Israel (Hillel-Yaffe,

Pharmacy Over the Counter

Or Moskovich

Graduating 4th year pharmacy student

School of Pharmacy, Ben-Gurion university of the Negev.

12

Hedera). In the course of our research we found

that about half of the DRPs that eventually

resulted in hospitalization (about 7%) were in fact

avoidable. The majority of these were linked to

lack of compliance. Most of the patients that

suffered the consequences of the DRPs had a

chronic condition like diabetes mellitus or heart

disease. Not at all surprising, considering the

growing prevalence of different chronic

conditions. For example, according to current

trends more than 360 million individuals will

suffer from diabetes mellitus by the year 2030.

In light of those facts, as I see it from my humble

position of a student that is about to start his

hospital internship, the pharmacy profession’s

future needs to be shifted more towards the

prevention of DRPs, as well as optimizing and

individualizing personal health care. Those

improvements must happen in both the hospital

and community settings. Suitable changes in the

academic curriculum are needed in order to give

students and new graduates the tools to reach

the goal of individual health care optimization.

Effective ways to approach and guide patients,

together with further deepening of clinical

studies, are among the essential topics that have

to be present in current and future curriculums.

In the hospital setting the role of clinical

pharmacists needs to be further defined.

However besides clinical pharmacy, other

pharmacists in the hospital can also have an

important role in providing the patients with

proper guidance. Pharmacists should counsel

patients about how to use their medications as

part of the discharging process. They can also

play a role in the detection of DRPs in patients

that arrive to the ER as a part of the patient

screening process, and also detect possible

drug/drug or drug/food or herbal remedy

interactions after the patient admission is

completed. Pharmacists can also take part in

certain aspects of patient monitoring as a part of

the hospital’s pharmaceutical care.

In the community setting, a suitable infrastructure

needs to be built so that the pharmacist will be

able to properly counsel the patient, rather than

just sell a drug. They could even guide chronic

patients that have a complex treatment regimen

and/or compliance problems on a regular basis.

It may sound unusual, but projects like this

(mostly with diabetic patients) already exist, and

some of them show very good results. Most of

the individuals in my class and I participated in a

project that provided guidance and counseling

for diabetic patients in the community. Every

student held meetings with his patients

throughout the semester. In those meetings the

students explained to their patients the different

aspects of their disease and guided them as to

how to use their medications in the correct

manner. The students also provided their

patients with moral support and the feeling of

solidarity. Although there were certain difficulties

with the process, a lot of the patients showed

improvement. They had better control of their

glucose levels, improved HbA1C’s, and better

general well-being. Projects like that can take the

pharmacy occupation another step forward.

Making other pharmaceutical services, such as

individualized drug counseling and drug therapy

review more available to the general public is

another way to improve the future of care

through pharmacy. All of those changes must of

course be accompanied with the proper

infrastructure.

In Greek mythology, Ascelpius, the god of

medicine, delegated the role of compounding

medicines to his daughter Hygieia. While her

father’s duty was most associated with direct

healing, she was responsible for the prevention

of sickness and the continuation of good health.

The past seems more relevant than ever…

In conclusion, to stay relevant the future

pharmacist should probably leave the safety of

the counter, and be a more “over the counter”

kind of professional.

13

Introduction

TB is a curable disease only if patients are

given a complete and uninterrupted course

of drug therapy and if they take these

medications as prescribed. Pharmacists have an

important role to play in the management and

prevention of TB especially in aspects related to

improving availability and accessibility of drug

treatment, improving adherence to therapy and

educating patients on the treatment and on the

disease.

General facts about Tuberculosis

According to the World Health Organization’s

(WHO) Global Tuberculosis Control short update

to the 2009 report, there is an estimated

incidence of 9.4 million cases of tuberculosis

(TB) globally.

Provisional analysis of this data by age and

gender indicates that women account for an

estimated 3.6 million cases. Most of these

estimated cases in 2008 occurred in Asia (55%)

and Africa (30%).

Why, in defiance of efforts to stop TB, does it

still kill millions of people each year?

1.The Menace Of HIV/AIDS

2.The Increase Of The World's Poor

3.Poor health facilities in impoverished countries

4.Multi-Drug Resistant Tuberculosis

5.Immigration: The Developed World's Problem

Role of the Pharmacist

Pharmacists may not be aware of the recent

trends in tuberculosis

resistance or of the impact that they can have on

educating the public

about this disease. The main objectives of the

Pharmaceutical Management for Tuberculosis

Manual include:

•Providing data on TB pharmaceutical

management practices

•Identifying ways to improve the pharmaceutical

management system

•Monitoring to ensure an uninterrupted supply of

quality TB medicines

•Creating country-based operations research

capacity by transferring this self assessment

technology .

Role of Pharmacists in Tuberculosis Management

Zamzam Torabi ,third year pharmacy student

Semmelwies University

14

Pharmacists can deliver quality treatment

and care for HIV and TB patients and take

part in this process efficiently by:

•Maintaining high standards of pharmacy

practice and observing any official codes of

practice

•Working as members of multi-disciplinary

healthcare teams

•Acquiring skills in patient counseling.

•Promoting holistic and wellness concepts to HIV

positive and TB patients and providing psycho-

social support or referral to support service

providers.

•Supporting families within nationally approved

guidelines on MCH supported by the respective

governments, or referring patients to appropriate

facilities, where they are available.

•Recording and notifying incidents of observed

drug resistance

The role of the pharmacist in collaboration

with other organizations

Working collaboratively, the Pharmaceutical

Associations and their

members can maximize impact by:

•Interacting with networks of people living with

HIV and TB to better meet their needs and

requirements.

•Assisting major data collecting agencies to

strengthen and improve systems for the strategic

use of HIV/AIDS, TB and MCH related

information, providing information on counseling

and testing services, and providing consumer

information on sexually transmitted infections,

including referral services.

•Participating in community, school and faith-

based activities

Pharmacists and government:

As the government has direct access to the

country’s statistics, has a strong influence among

organizations and owns the tool required to help

reach the goal of stopping such global diseases,

it is important to have the appropriate

communication with government and health

administration.

Main goals of pharmaceutical actions

regarding the government can be:

•Build working relationships with politicians and

officials within the respective national and local

ministries of health

•Contribute to policy development and

implementation as it relates to pharmacy

practice, pharmacy education and public health

(with special focus on reducing stigma and

discrimination)

•Advocate for and assist the government and

appropriate agencies to combat the importation

and distribution of counterfeit and substandard

medications.

•Advocate and negotiate with governments to

increase patient access to affordable and

sustainable antiretroviral therapy for antenatal

patients where appropriate.

Private pharmacies, their role and facts

The private sector offers an acceptable but non-

affordable service for many TB patients. A

substantial amount of anti-TB drugs are being

sold in private pharmacies, and therefore a

potential role for pharmacists to play in

collaborative efforts between the private and

public sector in TB control exists. In contrast of

15

the helping aspect of private pharmacies, in

many cases violation of the laws in private

pharmacies may amplify the disease.

Research done in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC)

Vietnam has estimated that between 1100 and

3400 people buy anti-tuberculosis drugs each

month in the 1814 registered private pharmacies

in HCMC, and that about a quarter of them do so

without a prescription. At least 40% of all anti-

tuberculosis drug dispensing in HCMC occurs in

the private sector.

Effect of pharmacist-led patient education on

adherence to tuberculosis treatment

To assess the effect of a clinical pharmacist

directed patient education program on the

therapy adherence of first-time tuberculosis (TB)

patients and to identify the major pharmaceutical

care needs and issues of first-time TB and

multidrug-resistant (MDR)-TB patients, research

was done by several scientists and published in

the American Journal of Health-Systems

Pharmacy in 2007.

The final results showed that the adherence in

patients who received pharmacist directed

patient education was greater than that of

patients who did not. The attendance at

scheduled visits and urine screen for the

presence of isoniazid metabolites yielded better

results for adherence in the EDU group, while

medication counts did not differ between the two

groups.

The important conclusion is that patients’

adherence to TB treatment improved when a

pharmacist provided patient education on

medication use and addressed patients’

pharmaceutical care issues.

Conclusion

Pharmacists already contribute to the safe and

effective use of medicines throughout the

healthcare system. They also have a critical

responsibility towards ensuring a consistent

supply of medicines, promoting rational use of

drugs and providing information to patients and

this should be no different for anti-TB

medications. The private and public sector need

to work together if TB is to be brought under

control.

Government needs to begin to involve the private

sector in tuberculosis control programs, so as to

ensure a more comprehensive management of

TB patients.

Resources :

1.Treatment of extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis and role of the pharmacist , Mitrzyk BM. 2008

Oct;28

2.TB management . By Gail Mkele, BPharm, MSc(Med)Pharm SA Pharmaceutical Journal – March

2010

3.Indian Pharmaceutical association

The Chennai Statement ,the Role of the Pharmacist ,in the Prevention &

Management of HIV/AIDS and in Maternal and Child Health (MCH) and Tuberculosis (TB),2010

4.The Role of Pharmacists in Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis

Yvette C. Terrie, RPh .Published Online: August 1st 2003 in http://www.pharmacytimes.com

5.Global Tuberculosis Control. A short update to the 2009 report.

http://www.who.int/tb/publications/global_repor

6.Private pharmacies and tuberculosis control ,Lönnroth K, Lambregts K, Nhien DT, Quy HT, Diwan

VK. in http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/

7.Effect of pharmacist-led patient education on adherence to tuberculosis treatment

Philip M. Clark, Turan Karagoz, Sule Apikoglu-Rabus andFikret Vehbi Izzettin , American Journal of

Health-System Pharmacy, Vol. 64, Issue 5, 497-505

16

Delving into the thought processes of a

particular profession, especially in the

health care arena, is a tough proposition.

The values and goals of a profession cannot be

easily defined. There is historical data to be

accounted for, as well as a wealth of anecdotal

information and observations. But nothing quite

takes you to the heart of a matter like a personal

one-on-one conversation. Capturing feelings and

thoughts in one’s own words and then

quantifying them into statistically significant

analyses provides a valuable insight in

understanding the aspects of a profession.

Here, an effort is made to bring out the common

perspective of my generation towards this noble

profession of pharmacy by presenting this essay

using my personal opinion along with some

general public discussion.

Every coin has two faces, one winning side and

one losing side, but it is never pre-determined

whether a side is doomed to win or lose. One’s

own actions and decisions make him/her lose or

win. Pharmacy by default is like such a coin,

where if one is more basic and spiritual in belief,

he will tend to do great towards humanity and

nature, but on the other side, if a person is more

materialistic in his actions &decisions, he brings

out a little ugly side of this noble profession.

Let us try to evaluate & dwell into our

generation’s mind and ponder upon the latest

views of pharmacy. To understand the depth and

essence of this profession over the generations,

we begin with a simple question:-What does a

pharmacist of today actually do?

Previous generations had a variety of answers.

A general answer is-“He is an individual in the

back of a dispensary wearing a white coat and

counting pills”. So, here we see that pharmacy is

being set in minds of people of previous

generation as a money-making job. Another very

interesting answer to the question is-“an

individual with some sort of medical degree

(though less valuable than a doctor) and working

in a medical shop”. Now, here you see people

had limited the pharmacist’s role to just a

dispensing counter and to a profession not as

valuable as a doctor.

Brushing aside these previous generation’s

opinions, we now move on today’s generation of

pharmacists & students and their views on this

noble profession. There are basically two

categories of views: - one is business oriented

and the other is research oriented. These two

categories are seen in most pharmacy students

these days, along with a perfect mixture of the

3rd kind- the serving nature.

To begin with the first kind- the business

oriented, we bring out a simple but amazing

quote – “it is not in the hands of a customer to

understand a commodity’s use, but it is the art of

the seller to bring to light the importance of it”.

Today’s students studying pharmacy aim high to

generate cash out of this highly ranked

profession. Pharmacy today is not just a

lifesaving profession, it has become a source of

plentiful penny too. Some of the students have

Pharmacist in my Generation’s Perspective

Jasmit Singh Suri

Indian Pharmaceutical Association – Student’s Forum

17

clear cut goals to open a factory or a pharmacy

to begin their career and make it big, while others

have dreams of obtaining a highly paid job as a

retailer or a pharmacist in already well

established companies, thus offering their share

of expertise towards this noble profession which

too requires market and management.

Another portion of students fall into the second

category of research oriented. In this second

category, students are generally more innovative

and focused on doing something big in regards

to research and development, and for keeping

the spirit of this profession. Also, along with being

determined and intelligent, they are frequent

opportunity seekers, thus making themselves

career oriented in some aspects. They do well

within research & tend to shift towards more

famous establishments in order to gain

publications to publish their discoveries, thus

contributing significantly towards this noble

profession by drug discovery, testing and

maintaining good public health.

TThe third kind often seen in today’s generation

are those who are more service oriented. Today’s

generation tries to gain experience and derive

pleasure out of this career and pay off their share

of duties and responsibility towards nature and

mankind. They seek respect, love and words

of appreciation seldom. Along with generating

revenues they devote themselves to the local

hospitals, in the rural tribes and to the sick and

the wounded, just like the older generations of

pharmacists.

These three kinds of views have added variety

to the noble profession of pharmacy today. The

word noble has been used extensively

throughout this article in order to bring out the

essence of this profession, which has always

been constituted mainly of the services of the

third kind, the dedication and intelligence of the

second kind and the field work of the first kind in

the ratio of 3:2:1.

Today’s general perception of making money,

providing management and building a career out

of this field of expertise is justified when we look

at it in light of the ever increasing economy and

population growth, market growth and increasing

advancements. The market for pharmaceutical

drugs offers great opportunities and

moneymaking platforms, but in this race for

money, one should never forget to contribute

his/her share towards humanity and mankind.

It is often seen today that newly minted

graduates try to manage & help with the

medication regimens of patients with chronic

diseases, by looking for services in hospitals

or clinics, and not just in retail pharmacies.

Today, if the materialistic thought prevails in

society, an ethical sector too has grown over

time. If students of today are aspiring to acheive

acash generating career out of this noble

profession, they too are getting more involved

with the modern benefits of this profession.

Today, pharmacy is not just being limited to doing

community service or to sell drugs, it has crossed

its boundaries to explore the horizons of public

awareness, drug discovery, doctor assistance

and patient counseling too.

This essay is to be concluded with a very wise

thought which today’s generation still keeps in

mind even while making cash out of it, that: -

“Pharmacy is not about just ‘counter-selling’

of the drugs to the needy and the sick, it is more

about patient counseling and drug discovery”.

18

As a little girl, I used to be a dreamer. I grew

up and my dreams grew up with me.

When I got my high school degree, I was

the first on my province and among the first

twenty in my country (Algeria).My marks allowed

me to study any major I wanted to. In Algeria the

best students choose to study medicine or

dentistry, and my family was expecting me to do

so. However, my interest in drugs discovery and

helping the sick sparked my passion for

pharmacy .I could not find anything more

satisfying than being involved in saving lives by

dispensing medication or contributing to

research on new drugs and vaccines. At that

moment, I realized that I was destined to be a

pharmacist.

A major that crosses many disciplines

I entered pharmacy school full of excitement and

I was prepared to endure its hardships and

overcome its challenges. The education program

was rich and diversified and comprised of three

main components: Basic sciences,

pharmaceutical sciences and the internship.

Through the first two years I was learning about

natural and basic sciences on different levels, I

got several classes of: Biology,

Chemistry, Anatomy, Physiology, Genetics…etc.

It was fascinating to learn about the biological

and the chemical make-up of the human body

and the innumerable processes that are

occurring constantly inside us. After acquiring the

basics of pharmacy, I started the advanced

program and learned in great detail about the

different medicines from different perspectives.

The program explored ideas and principles in

more depth. A broad range of topics were

covered and the connections between them

were emphasized as well as their relation to

pharmacy. The Pharmacology and Galenics

courses gave me above all the feeling I was

waiting for, the feeling of being a drug expert!

The classes offered me the chance to practice

as an industrial pharmacist, and contributed to

deepening my understanding of the mechanism

of action of drugs, their clinical indications, their

different pharmaceutical forms and preparations,

and the list goes on. The curriculum also

included classes of pharmaceutical law and

management that taught me the laws and

regulations governing the health care system in

my country and distilled in me the good sense

and the ability to be cunning in difficult situations.

I liked the diversification of subjects and enjoyed

most of my classes. However, I was not very

satisfied with the clinical practice, and I hope the

program will offer a broader range of practice

opportunities to the students; and I wish that

better educational methods will be taken into

consideration, including moving from a lecture-

based to a problem-based learning curriculum.

Life outside the classrooms and the labs was

interesting; away from the scientific courses I got

the opportunity to be actively involved in

volunteer work and school activities. I got extra

classes in first aid that were of great benefit.

Pharmacy education opens doors for future

careers

During my final year, the school offered me a

hospital internship consisting of several rotations,

covering the hospital pharmacy and three

different laboratories .It was an amazing

experience that gave me the chance to put into

How my Pharmacy Education Prepared Me to Be

a Pharmacist

Written by: Asma Khanniche, a pharmacy graduate.

Shanghai Jiao Tong University-School of Medicine

Email: asmakhanniche@gmail.com

Tel: +8615921044839

19

practice the education I got through the past

several years and also the opportunity to explore

both hospital pharmacy and laboratory research

as future careers; my thesis project allowed me

to make my first steps into the scientific research

world. By the time my last year of pharmacy was

underway, I started looking back through all the

past years with a criticizing spirit, I realized that

many aspects of my education could be

improved, so that the next generations will enjoy

better education and get more skills. Therefore I

think it is important that the education program

focuses more on improving the interpersonal

skills necessary for future pharmacists while

interacting with patients and other healthcare

professionals; and also helping them integrate

pharmacotherapeutic knowledge, problem

solving skills, and communication skills into their

daily practice. Furthermore, it would be

interesting if the school would consider

expanding strategic collaboration with other

health disciplines and in the community to

establish participatory leadership programs,

pharmacy practice experiences, a virtual portfolio

and research activities that not only provide

health and wellness programs to a populace, but

monitor and evaluate the associated outcomes

of these efforts.

Lessons for life

Through those five years, I learned the meaning

of perseverance and diligence, and that being a

pharmacist requires a great deal of commitment.

I realized how essential the roles of pharmacists

are to improve patient adherence to drug therapy

and ensure optimal therapeutic outcomes.

Moreover, the multifaceted education I received

allowed me to speak multiple languages such as

the language of genetics, the language

of biochemistry and pharmacology and many

others, and most of all showed me how to

integrate all of it. At the end of my journey, I

graduated from my school as a valedictorian and

got a scholarship to follow further studies, I am

currently completing a master program in

Immunology, as I am interested in practicing in

an academic institution or more advanced clinical

settings. The adventure I lived in pharmacy

school was amazing, full of joy and excitement,

and it was also rewarding and opened doors for

me. Now that I am out of pharmacy school, I can

see clearly how that experience forged my

personality, raised my scientific spirit and

aroused my curiosity to seek more knowledge.

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