International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation News Bulletin | 2010 Dear IPSFers and friends of Pharmacy, I'm Mohamed Sultan, from the beautiful city of Alexandria, which is on the north cost of Egypt. My IPSF experience started back in 2007, when I did my Student Exchange Program in Budapest, Hungary. In 2008, in Cluj Napoca, Romania I got elected as Chairperson of Public Relations. During this year I had the honour to be the first Egyptian to serve the Federation as President. Through this News Bulletin it will be my great pleasure to inform you of IPSFs’ achievements this year as the Federation has been moving from success to success and challenge to challenge throughout the last few years. In terms of international collaboration, IPSF has managed to renew its relations with World Health Organization (WHO) during the WHO 126TH session of Executive Board meeting in Geneva, Switzerland in January 2010. In addition, IPSF has had a couple of new developments with other International relations. Through strengthening IPSF relations with International partner organizations, starting with participating in the UNESCO International Youth Forum in Paris in October 2009 and through co operation with other non governmental organizations’ (NGO), IPSF has set the stage for future years of great collaboration and work with these exemplary organizations. The 3rd World Healthcare Students’ Symposium (WHSS) was held in November in 2009 in Alexandria, Egypt and IPSF took responsibility as joint organizers along with European Pharmaceutical Students’ Association (EPSA), International Federation of Medical Student’ Association (IFMSA) and European Medical Students' Association (EMSA). The aim of the symposium was to discuss the importance of effective cooperation between different professions in health care professionals. Furthermore, students representing IPSF supported the importance of the pharmacists’ contribution to a healthcare system. In addition the discussion of possible cooperation of projects between the different student organizations in terms of public health and humanitarian activities was addressed. A major IPSF event that was launched this year was IPSFs’ humanitarian project, The Mobile Pharmacy in Northern Uganda Project (MPNUP). The project aimed to provide basic health care services to Ugandan citizens in refugee camps in the Pader District. In addition Public health campaigns on Hygiene and Sanitation, we were tried to provide people with basic health education to allow them to help themselves to prevent the spread of disease. Furthermore, IPSF provided pharmacy students from all over the world with the opportunity to undertake humanitarian work in Uganda and gained some important life changing experience. With regards to regional activities IPSF initiated a strong co operation with European Pharmaceutical Students' Association (EPSA), through the organization of IPSF Leaders in Training (LIT) Workshops during EPSA Autumn Assembly in Genoa, Italy in October 2009. In addition several joint workshops in Anti Counterfeit products, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis (TB) were offered to the delegates in order to share the collaborative work done by the two associations on these very important public health issues. The IPSF Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office (EMRO) also deserves a special mention as has recently launched its first Eastern Mediterranean Pharmaceutical Symposium (EMPS) from the
International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation News Bulletin | 2010 2nd to 9th of July 2010 in Amman, Jordan. It is themed ‘A Dose of Change’ and will be the first IPSF symposium to address the challenges of pharmacy profession that are specific to that region. IPSF also has also taken big steps to re structure IPSF congresses in order to establish a quality framework for all future IPSF congresses. This is with the aim of improving the data and workshops presented during the congresses to allow maximum member involvement. In addition, full evaluations for each congress and for each session have been enforced in order to produce a sufficient and accurate summary for the congress in a Post congress booklet. In addition, this will allow congresses to develop over the years in a way that they can benefit members to the fullest extent. Over the past few months IPSF has been working on re building and re activating its’ Pharmacy Education portfolio, starting with the creation of a new Subcommittee for Pharmacy Education and reviving IPSF Moving On 2 Project. This is a questionnaire based project designed to investigate the learning skills of Pharmacy students and is being conducted in cooperation with Pharmacy Education Taskforce along with preparing the IPSF Educational supplement (IPSF Phuture). Furthermore an IPSF international Essay competition was launched in April 2010….. Last but not least, relations between FIP and IPSF have been strengthened through IPSF involvement in the organization of the IPSF – FIP Students' day in the FIP Congress in Lisbon, in co operation with the Pharmacy Education Taskforce. It is themed "Leadership in Practice" and during this important event, IPSF will have its own reception. IPSF have also created special page for FIP and especially the Young Pharmacists Group (YPG) on IPSF website in order to show the connection between IPSF and FIP to promote FIP amongst young pharmacists. Furthermore, IPSF are working on arrangements to establish an IPSF FIP Joint publication and Educational supplements. In addition, FIP will be present at IPSF Annual Congress in Ljubljana, Slovenia in August 2010. We hope that there will be more progress in the next year that can take IPSF forward into the ever changing world of pharmacy. I also hope that this has whetted your appetite and has given you some food for thought. I would like to say a warm hearted word of thanks to FIP for their continued support over the years and we sincerely hope to continue to strengthen collaboration between both federations in the future. Viva la Pharmacie! IPSF, where students make the difference! Mohamed Sultan IPSF President 2009 10
International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation News Bulletin | 2010 Dear IPSFers, My start in pharmaceutical students’ association was in 2001 and my first IPSF involvement was during the world congress held in Cairo in 2001. Since that I’ve been the contact person, SEO and vice treasurer for ATEP (Tunisia) in 2001 2003. After a couple of years of a “long distance relationship” with IPSF world, I joined the executive committee in 08 09 and it has been a pleasure to serve the federation as a treasurer. After graduating from pharmacy school in Monastir, Tunisia, I’ve started an MSc in management in the School of Management of Lyon, France. So my involvement as a treasurer fits with my background. This year has been really challenging. A lot of projects have been implemented, although there were limited incomes and human resource issues. All the members deserve big thanks, whom have shown their generosity and devotion with donations and participations. Besides the progress made in several projects, the main goal is still to have financial independency that will facilitate the executive and the members to use their enthusiasm, passion and energy for the good of the federation. Today, IPSF and its members are facing constant challenges and it’s in your hands. Pharmacy students from all around the world will drive our federation to constantly stay on the top and to achieve projects. Yours in IPSF, Mehdi Zeghal Vice President and Treasurer 2008 10 Dearest IPSFers, I am Pedro Lucas, a 23 year old recent pharmacy graduate who is honoured to write you as the IPSF Secretary General 2009 10. I started my journey in IPSF back in 2005, when I became CP of AEFFUL, Lisbon, Portugal, and attended my first IPSF Congress in Bonn, Germany. At the Bonn Congress, everything looked astonishing marvellous and I got easily contagious by the IPSF Spirit. I also attended the Taiwan Congress 2007, and the Bali Congress 2009. At every congress I gained friends for life and became a richer person. A long discussion could be generated about what bring us together in IPSF. For me, in a simple sentence: it is the belief that pharmacists have an important role to play in society, and that students can help define this role. This is why I think students come together every year at the IPSF
International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation News Bulletin | 2010 Congress, we want to be better pharmacists, to have a positive contribution to the health outcomes of the society. This vision, together with the will of pharmacy students all around the world, is reflected in the IPSF Team and Structure. Some people have to be in the centre of this global network of pharmacy students in order to assure communication, communication, and communication. Only by assuring communication can we aspire to discuss goals, cooperate in projects, and improve ourselves as students and future pharmacists. Being part of this Team and Structure is a great privilege and a big responsibility. I was privileged to be appointed to the Secretary General position and I rapidly connected to the Executive Team. I tried to fulfil all my portfolio responsibilities, and more than that I tried to contribute to other aspects of the Team as much as possible. The 2009 10 was very rich in terms of brain storming and was very sincere in terms of internal thinking of the Federation. I hope the Executive can clearly pass this message to all of you during the Congress in Slovenia, but from my point of view the conclusion to all the discussion is simple: pharmacy students can greatly benefit from daily international networking and IPSF can only grow with every students’ efforts. Yours in IPSF, Pedro Lucas Secretary General 2009 10 Namaste (The Indian way of greeting) IPSFers, I am Murthy Chittoory from India. I graduated with a Bachelors of Pharmacy from Bombay College of Pharmacy, Mumbai in June 2009. I am currently pursuing my Masters in Pharmaceutics at the Northeastern University, Boston, USA. I was infected by the IPSF virus in Nepal at IPSF APRO Asia Pacific Pharmaceutical Symposium back in 2007. It was amazing to see how student pharmacists from all over the world came together for a unifying cause under the IPSF banner. I have been working for IPA SF (Indian Pharmaceutical Association Students' Forum) for the last few years and am currently Immediate Past Chairperson. It has always been a dream since APPS 2007 to serve the International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation. This year was my opportunity to do this as part of the IPSF executive. We have taken many new initiatives for the pharmacy education portfolio including revival of the Moving on II, establishing the Pharmacy Education Sub committee and working with WHO on the patient safety curriculum guidelines. It was a great experience to be part of the IPSF executive and share the IPSF vision. Murthy Chittoory Chairperson of Pharmacy Education 2009 10
International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation News Bulletin | 2010 Dear IPSFers, I am Shirley Yeung, a 23 year old from the beautiful city of Vancouver, Canada. I graduated from The University of British Columbia last year and I got my license shortly after. I just finished my hospital residency, so I am a clinical pharmacist; however, I decided to work as an academic detailing pharmacist instead, where I educate general practitioners on various treatment guidelines. My first exposure to IPSF was back in 2007, at the 53rd World Congress in Taipei, Taiwan. Ever since going to the congress and getting involved in the PCE, I was hooked to IPSF. After winning the beginner PCE, I went on to become the PCE coordinator the next year at the Cluj Napoca, Romania World Congress. Afterwards, I noticed the need to bring back the Clinical Skills Event (CSE) and was the coordinator for that the subsequent year. Although I was unable to attend the Bali congress, I assisted with the CSE workshop. And afterwards, I applied for the Chairperson for Professional Development and here I am, hoping to push the boundaries of our professional skills. I hope to share my pharmacy passion and spirit with everyone around the world. Since my appointment in November 2009, our professional development team have been working away at patient counselling events, clinical skills events, and leaders in training programs and compiling campaigns for pharmacy professional awareness. Our goal is to help you, as young and future pharmacists, to have all the necessary skills to become successful in not only patient care, but also as leaders and inspirations to others. We are critical members of the healthcare team and when we are the best that we can be, we can make differences in our patients’ life. With that in mind, I hope all of you will participate in at least one professional development event in the near future and see what you already know and what you can gain. School will give you the therapeutic knowledge that you need to know but this will show you how applicable that knowledge is! It’s also a great way to meet new friends and have some fun. You may surprise yourself and I promise you that it’ll be an experience you wouldn’t want to miss! Slovenia was amazing, see you all in Thailand! Shirley Yeung Chairperson of Professional Development 2009 10 A big HELLO from Luxembourg to all IPSFers out there! I am Anca Pop, one of the oldies in the executive committee. For the past 5 years, just thinking about IPSF made me feel super energetic and positive. My great IPSF adventure started back in 2005, in Bonn, Germany as an official delegate for FASFR Romania. Wonderful time… And then Cairns, Taipei, Cluj Napoca and finally Bali, when thought that it will be officially my last IPSF experience. But things were not as I thought, and I am glad they turned out this way. I was appointed as Chairperson of Public Health and I feel that this is the best way to express my gratitude to IPSF for the beautiful moments offered all my student life. I hope that the work done
International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation News Bulletin | 2010 this year together with public health coordinators and public health subcommittee is a big step forward. This year had a variety of feelings to experience, successful initiatives, less successful ones, but, overall, with my executive fellows, I think we manage to leave something big to be carried on. Currently I am doing an internship in Luxembourg, internship that will end just before the IPSF congress, perfect moment to draw the line and analyze together with the congress participants the work done, the future steps and how we should make them. I hope that this bulletin will be an inspiration for students all over the world to get more involved in IPSF projects and I am looking forward to meeting you in Slovenia! Cheers, Anca Pop Chairperson of Public Health 2009 10 Dear Pharmacy Friends Worldwide, Many warm greetings from Taiwan, China! I am Jane Ai Chen Ho, the Chairperson of Public Relations 2009 2010. The IPSF experience has been simply phenomenal for me. It started off with the 2007 IPSF World Congress in Taipei, where I was part of the Reception Committee as English Training Coordinator, hostess on stage for all social events and Chief Editor of the Congress Daily. It showed me the dynamics of the only international organization representing pharmacy students, I made so many friends around the world and so it inspired me to join my own national association, the Pharmaceutical Students’ Association of Taiwan (PSA Taiwan, China), where I became the Contact Person and external Vice President. In 2008, when I attended the Regional Symposium of IPSF in Asia: Asia Pacific Pharmaceutical Symposium (APPS) in Thailand as an Official Delegate for PSA Taiwan, China, I also ran for election for the Regional Relations Officer (RRO) of the Regional Working Group (RWG) of the Asia Pacific Regional Office (APRO) of IPSF and was elected. Working on the regional level was a whole other special experience, been able to contact with pharmacy students regionally and to be able to assist in finding new members for IPSF. All this encouraged me to get involved more on the international level and hence here I am as the Chairperson of PR. This year has been the busiest year of my life, but at the same time the most rewarding. Getting involved in student organization does not only inspire you more to promote our great pharmacy profession, it also taught me so much of the skills in life that can only be gained through experiences within these organization: project, event, stress, time management, brain storming for solutions, writing, leadership and most of all: a lot of communication with different people from all over the world, which was the main part of being a PR. Being passionate about what you do will increase one’s level in communication. Every single person that I have communicated with has taught me more of its importance. Getting to know more about the different activities that pharmacy students
International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation News Bulletin | 2010 are doing around the world will make a difference and be able to promote IPSF to new joining members this year has been the most rewarding part of my portfolio. Get involved in IPSF! Make a difference! Viva La Pharmacie! Jane Ai Chen Ho Chairperson of Public Relations, 2009 10 Hey everyone! One turning points of my life was joining the international Executive Committee of IPSF by being elected as Chairperson of Media and Publications 2009 10 in Bali. I consider myself one of the luckiest persons to be in this position. I’m a senior pharmacy student in Egypt studying at Tanta University. Ever since I got elected in Bali, I tried to take publications of IPSF into another level of creativity and professionalism. This year we conducted partial re designing for the website, released many stylish and dynamic newsletters, and with the help of Design and Creativity subcommittee we were able to publish Phuture and this news bulletin in their current form. Working in an international organization in a multi ethnic, multi cultural environment has broadened my scope and added a lot to my experience, it has been a great pleasure to travel, represent IPSF in many events and work among a team of enthusiastic hard working individuals , it’s a dream came true . Big things start small, joining IPSF executive committee was just a small thought inside my head; therefore, my message to all IPSFers, trust your abilities, confront new challenges and always thrive for more, you’re the future of IPSF . Cheers, Amr Sobhy Chairperson of Media and Publications 2009 10 Dearest IPSFers! I am Bálint Tóth, current Chairperson of Student Exchange from Hungary. Having worked for IPSF in 3 out of my 4 years in the degree so far, I can surely say the Federation made a huge impact on my life! During the term with the other great Executive members, my love for multiculturalism and international cooperation got even stronger than before. In other words, IPSF rules!
International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation News Bulletin | 2010 As the administrator of one of the larger projects of the Federation, the Student Exchange Program, I was responsible for liaising with the Student Exchange Officers of member organizations, chairing the ever great Student Exchange Committee as well mediating and solving various issues regarding the Program. Besides these activities, I contributed to general Executive topics in which I felt competent about. Since my appointment not long after Bali, I enjoyed every moment of my job regardless how challenging it was at times. If you have a passion for international mobility and professional development with a hint of fun here and there, SEP might be for you too! I can only support everyone to try what the famous SEP and IPSF spirit is about, you will not regret for sure. You can contact me at sep@ipsf.org if you have any queries. As our slogan goes: Let’s SEP! Bálint Tóth Chairperson of Student Exchange 2009 10 Dear IPSFers, I first became involved in IPSF when I was appointed CP of Nairobi University Pharmacy Students’ Association (NUPSA), Kenya in 2007. Representing Kenya at the 2nd World Healthcare Students’ Symposium in Albufeira, Portugal in November 2007 courtesy of the IPSF Development Fund Events grant was such an eye opener to the magnificent IPSF world. As anyone who has had a taste of IPSF would attest, IPSF is like a virus, once you are infected, you can just spread it but not eradicate! On appointment as the Chairperson of AfRO, I felt the immense desire to spread this IPSF spirit to the whole African continent to ensure that all corners can feel it too and that the regions’ voice in IPSF becomes louder than ever before! The ultimate fruit of active IPSF participation is just so sweet: cementing friendships globally and personal and professional development. I am a living proof of that! Give it a try! See for yourself! Bedan Maina, Chairperson of African Regional Office 2008 10 Greetings from the Asia Pacific Regional Office of IPSF, My name is Melissa Hong from Malaysia. My first experience with IPSF was back in 2008 where I attended the 7th Asia Pacific Pharmaceutical Symposium in Khonkean, Thailand. Since then, I have been actively promoting IPSF back in my home country and decided to bring it up a notch by getting involved in the Asia Pacific Regional Office of IPSF in the following year. It has been a wonderful journey where many friendships and inspirations were made. I look forward to work with a very passionate team, which has shown great enthusiasm to serve and work for IPSF. In the coming year, the office will continue to carry out more activities and we hope to
International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation News Bulletin | 2010 extend the IPSF hand of friendship to non member countries whilst improving our relationship with our beloved members. Viva la Pharmacie! Melissa Hong Chairperson of Asia Pacific Regional Office 2009 11 Dear pharmacists of tomorrow, Warm greetings from Egypt, especially from the charming Alexandria, where I had my first steps in my IPSF life. Locally, I started in ASPSA as the Chairperson of Public Relations and IPSF Contact person, then shortly I was appointed as the IPSF Eastern Mediterranean Regional Coordinator and now I have the honour of working together with the first EMRO Regional Working Group in the history of IPSF. My policy is that with each privilege comes higher responsibilities and my personal belief is that each one of us was brought to this world for a unique reason and that the journey of our lives, is the journey of finding this reason and fulfilling it. Working in IPSF resembles an opportunity for me to try to carry out what I believe in; I believe in humanity, in our potentials, in our abilities to create a brighter future a future where we can eradicate the frowns of people in pain and draw a smile, a glimpse of hope. So dare to dream, dare to believe, dare to make a difference and make your life count. Marwa Beltagy Chairperson of Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office 2008 11
International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation News Bulletin | 2010
News Section IPSF has reached several progresses during the last few months. Through strengthening IPSF relations with international partner organizations, starting with participating in the UNESCO International Youth Forum in Paris, October 2009 and started to improve relations between IPSF and UNESCO along with cooperating with other NGOs that have a relations with UNESCO, also IPSF managed to renew its relations with World Health Organization (WHO) during the 126th Session of the Executive board meeting in January 2010 In Geneva, Switzerland. During November 2009, IPSF managed to co organize the 3rd World Healthcare Student Symposium (WHSS) in Alexandria, Egypt, with European Pharmaceutical Students’ Association (EPSA), International Federation of Medical Student’ Association (IFMSA) and European Medical Students' Association (EMSA). The symposium aim was to discuss the ways of cooperation between different professions in health care and possible cooperation projects between the different student organizations in terms of public health and humanitarian activities. The IPSF major event this year was launching IPSF humanitarian project Mobile Pharmacy in Northern Uganda Project (MPNUP). The project is to provide basic health care services in refugee camp in Pader District and also running several public health campaigns by the IPSF volunteers there. In terms of regional activities, IPSF started a strong cooperation with European Pharmaceutical Students' Association (EPSA),
by organizing IPSF Leaders in Training Workshops for IPSF and EPSA members during EPSA Autumn Assembly in Genoa, Italy during October 2009. There were also several joint workshops in Anti Counterfeit products, HIV\AIDs and TB in order to share the efforts done by the two associations in terms of this very important public health issues. On the other hand, IPSF Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office (EMRO) launched its first Eastern Mediterranean Pharmaceutical Symposium (EMPS), which took place from the 2nd to 9th of July 2010 in Amman, Jordan with the theme (A Dose of Change). EMPS this year was a great success, as the first IPSF symposium to address the challenges of pharmacy profession in the region. IPSF has also taken big steps in restructuring the IPSF congresses and establishing a quality framework for the future IPSF congresses in order to improve the data and workshops presented during the congress. This will increase involvement for IPSF members in structuring the congress along with making a full evaluation for the congress and for each session and make a summary for the congress in a post congress booklet. In the past few months, IPSF was trying to rebuild and activate its Pharmacy Education portfolio, starting from creating a new Subcommittee for Pharmacy Education and reviving IPSF Moving On 2 Project, which is a questionnaire based project to investigate the learning skills for students in cooperation with Pharmacy Education Taskforce. We also prepared the IPSF Educational supplement, IPSF Phuture, and the IPSF international
International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation News Bulletin | 2010 Assays competition, which was launched in April 2010.
Last but not least, in terms of cooperation between IPSF and FIP, IPSF is organizing the IPSF – FIP Students' day in the FIP Congress in Lisbon, in cooperation with the Pharmacy Education Taskforce with the theme of
"leadership in practice". Also, IPSF is planning to have its own reception during the FIP congress, along with inviting FIP to have its own reception in IPSF congress in Slovenia 2010. IPSF have created special page for FIP specifically YPG in IPSF website in order to show the connection between IPSF and FIP and that FIP is the step after IPSF. We also intend to have IPSF FIP Joint publication and Educational supplements.
HLM Message (Or How IPSF Changed My Life...)
To IPSF to IPSF, Viva la Pharmacie! The words of the song are guaranteed to lift my spirits and remind me of many happy IPSF times. Without IPSF, I may not have seen the mountains and beaches of El Salvador, the palaces and temples of Thailand, the fantastic city of Singapore and not to mention the international version of the renowned BPSA rave! IPSF started for me when I entered and won the BPSA competition to win a place at IPSF Congress and I was on the way to El Salvador. Friendships made there remain strong today, and I still have souvenirs and pharmacy clothing from the DF auction. My volunteer
tendencies got me a job working on IPSF subcommittees and the new President of IPSF was my friend and fellow Scot Lindsay McClure. Over the years, I gained a real professional awareness and a sense of what pharmacists could achieve all over the world as well as a fantastic group of international friends of whom many were also at the recent FIP Congress in Istanbul, where we helped the IPSF Exec celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Federation. I experienced the IPSF spirit in two main ways, which I would encourage members from all over the world to try – through the Annual Congress and by working on the Executive. I loved all of the Congresses I attended from El Salvador to Bonn; whether I was participating in the General Assembly by submitting points of order from the back of the room or trying to answer them from the Secretary General’s seat or whether helping lead a Future of the Federation workshop or trying to catch up with the Congress bar crawl in Halifax, Canada. I have not seen anything else in the world like International Evening where each country performs something to entertain the audience. I must also have bought hundreds of Euros worth of pharmacy fashions from the DF auction over the years coming pretty close to Lindsay McClure and Simon Bell in the all time rankings.
International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation News Bulletin | 2010 colleagues felt right at home. I also remember a fancy dress party in the apartment attended by something like 30 people from 15 countries that exemplified the IPSF spirit.
I also feel privileged to have been part of two fantastic Executives. I responded to a call to serve on my first Exec when the post of Secretary General was unfilled and although I did not move to The Hague, there was still a fair bit of work for me to do! Staying in The Hague is a real experience and you definitely need an IPSF veteran to show you the ropes – luckily I had Boyan and later Katja. That year was a year of many developments within the Federation, including our links with WHO, regional developments, and steps towards our online SEP. We had a great Congress in Halifax and I thought that was the end of my active participation in IPSF. I quickly discovered I was wrong and experienced a very large IPSF shaped gap in my life, so when the opportunity came up (again) to serve the Federation and work with a new great Exec team I jumped at the chance. That last year on the Executive included many stories including being in The Hague for an Exec meeting during the worst snow in 20 years, so much so that our Canadian
I feel lucky to have been part of IPSF over the years and would strongly encourage members everywhere to experience the Congress and consider running for Executive posts. If not, there are so many other ways to experience the IPSF spirit whether writing for News Bulletin or supplements to tell students all over the world what you are doing, attending national or regional events, participating in student exchange or running public health campaigns in your schools and faculties. It’s fair to say my life would be completely different without IPSF. Yours can be too. Yours in pharmacy, Scott (from Scotland) Dalgliesh Secretary General 2003 2005
International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation News Bulletin | 2010
Being an IPSF CP‌ Veliki pozdrav iz Hrvatske (Greetings from Croatia),
reporting about different projects, I started to realize how diverse IPSF is and how different associations respond differently to challenges with interesting solutions.
My name is Mateja Vrtacnik. I'm a 5th year student at the Pharmaceutical and Biochemistry Faculty at the University of Zagreb. For about a year, I've been a Contact Person (CP) for Croatian Pharmaceutical and Biochemistry Students' Association (CPSA). This was my first experience with IPSF. Our president, Samy Jebrini, and Student Exchange Officer (SEO), Maja Lisjak Besedic, asked me to step up and take over the CP position. I was very honoured but scared because I didn't know if I could do the job, so needless to say that my beginnings were a bit bumpy. When I took over this position, a whole different world opened up to me. I was very overwhelmed and not actively involved in discussions because I didn't want to do or say anything wrong. The thing was by not communicating, I was actually doing everything wrong. But then I got a wakeup call that I needed from my amazing and motivating team who told me to relax because being a CP means being a bridge between my association and IPSF. I started to loosen up and opened my communication lines. That's when I realized something, communication is a two way street. So in order to communicate, you have to contribute to the conversation. By
A couple of months ago, I reported about one of our biggest projects, Sign Language, which was organized by Nikolina Kelava. The responses I got from other associations were so amazing and motivating. When I reported the responses back to my association, we were all very glad to know that we are doing something new and interesting but also that our association is heading in the right direction. For me, being a CP is an honour and privilege. I'm able to promote my association and active members from my association in IPSF but I'm also able to exchange ideas with other amazing CPs around the world. Can it get any better?! Mateja Vrtacnik Contact Person Croatian Pharmaceutical and Biochemistry Students' Association (CPSA)
Hello everybody! I'm Bastien Venot, vice president in charge of international affairs for Association Nationale des Etudiants en Pharmacie de France (ANEPF). I'm in 6th year, and at the moment, I'm having a practice in a community pharmacy for 6 months. I got involved in IPSF last year in Bali, during the Annual Congress. There, I met a lot of new friends. For sure, this was the most amazing
International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation News Bulletin | 2010 experience of my life. At that time, I was not sure that I wanted to run for my ANEPF position few months later, but I have to admit that this international spirit went directly into my blood there. I started my role of Contact Person (CP) in October. This means I'm the link between my country, my students, my association and IPSF! Well, OK, this is the definition so I’m not saying anything new. But I wanted to give you my own definition. The main reason that led to the creation of IPSF is to encourage cooperation between the countries. The CP will never hesitate to ask for other countries’ opinion and will always be free to give a hand to countries in need for support or help. The CP has to be devoted to his position. It's kind of full time job. You have to be connected with the other CPs 95% of the year behind your computer and 5% during the Congress. To my mind, the Congress is the CP's moment of glory, there, CP is the one aware of all the international stuff in his own association so he can explain everything to his/her national executive. And, the most important point, CP can talk about everything in real life to other CPs that he only met virtually. In accordance with my predecessor, this is really amazing. But still, as I said to you, my first IPSF congress was unforgettable and at that time, I was not even CP, that's why I'm even more than impatient to attend the next one in Slovenia! But to make this one legendary, I need to see you there, yes, you. You, that is reading these few lines! As Slovenian says: “Come on! Taste it, live it, never forget it!” Bastien Venot Contact Person Vice President of International Affairs Association Nationale des Etudiants en Pharmacie de France (ANEPF)
Our Future, Our Responsibility IPSF and its members do not believe in standing and waiting for things to happen, they make things happen. Some of our members have written about what they did to bring the change, which they had envisioned starting with a peek about what IPSF did to improve Pharmacy Education globally. MOVING ON II PROJECT INTERNATIONAL TRENDS IN PHARMACY EDUCATION There is an increasing interest in standards of pharmacy education as health policy world wide becomes more focused on extending the roles of pharmacy practitioners. As students are at the centre of pre service education, their input is important in the development of educational policies and practices. Therefore, it is of interest to survey the extent of the student learning experience for the construction of an evidence base for educational development. Educational equity cannot be achieved without assuring the quality of education. Several approaches have been made to quality; measuring the student learning experience is a convincing marker for quality and satisfaction to provide information for educational policy development and implementation. As changes occur in our profession, the requirements for education are changing as well to meet the new services that are emerging or even new roles due to public demand. Curriculum design and delivery is as important as curriculum content to ensure that students’ expectations are met, effective learning takes place, and competent graduates are produced. Pharmacy students’ educational experience is likely to affect their decisions to join or remain in the profession,
International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation News Bulletin | 2010 as well as their attitude towards, and competence in, practice.1 "Moving On II,” allows worldwide comparisons of the learning experiences of students (undergraduate) enrolled in pharmacy programs. It is the first survey to make international comparisons in the field of pharmacy education and is the largest study of its type to date. Data collected will be used as a tool for education advancement. In particular, the project is interested in why pharmacy is an attractive profession to young people, and the motivations that are currently driving enrolment at pharmacy schools. It has already obtained evidence of student demographics and their motivations for choosing pharmacy from around 10,000 students in 32 countries. Data collection started in 2004/2005 and has been collected until 2008. This year we are launching the survey once more, this time an online version to make it easier and simpler for the student to reply. If you would like to participate again or for the first time, please contact your local CP. Some of the previous results show that pharmacy students’ learning experiences and course satisfaction vary widely. Gender, social support, geographical regions and level of country development affect the measurement variables and indicate that efforts are needed to narrow the quality and equity gap in pharmacy education globally. If you would like to read more about the previous results regarding the Moving On II, please see – “Pharmacy students are moving on – but how was the journey?” Zhining Goh, Luis Lourenço, Lesley Zwicker, Tana Wuliji and Sarah Carter. International Pharmacy Journal Vol 22, No. 1 June 2007 pages 23 26.1 Students’ have a voice that can be responsible for the way their future is shaped. Engaging
with associations is one way to be heard. Tell us how you feel about your learning experience, what you think can be different, what you like to see in a near future… Remember that the students of today will be the pharmacists of tomorrow! Grab the IPSF experience and be change makers… Andreia Bruno Research Associate, FIP Collaborating Centre IT STARTS WITH ONE: PROPER RX DISPOSAL “It Starts with One” is the project of American Pharmacists Association – Academy of Student Pharmacists (APhA ASP). On January 2009, a group of student pharmacists, including myself, decided on Proper Rx Disposal as the topic of the project for our chapter. The aim of this project is to educate community members on proper way to dispose their unused or expired medications. There is increasing awareness on how the medications that got into the environment have brought harm to pets, plants, and wildlife. Based on smarxtdisposal.net, unused or expired medications should not be flushed or poured down a sink. Some simple steps to properly dispose medications include: (1) pour medication into a sealable plastic bag; if solid, crush the medication and add water to dissolve; (2) add kitty litter, sawdust, or coffee grounds to the plastic bag; (3) seal it and put it in the trash; (4) remove all identifying personal information from all medication containers before recycling or throwing them away. However, there are some medications that FDA recommends to be flushed, such as narcotics and drugs with high abuse potential. For one semester, we gave presentation at local community pharmacies to educate the public on this matter. This small project,
International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation News Bulletin | 2010 which was started by five pharmacy students, was developed into a larger scale project this year. From “It starts with one: Proper Rx Disposal,” the program has changed to “Take Back Rx.” The “Take Back Rx” project is a county and community organized program in conjunction with the pharmacy students. At these events, community members were able to bring their unused medications to be properly disposed. Also, pharmacy students together with preceptors provided health screenings called brown bag. At brown bag events, patients can bring their medication lists to be checked for any interactions or side effects. This new project provides the opportunity to all pharmacy students at the college to participate in educating the public and in health screenings during different health fairs and pharmacy events. Proper medication disposal has also been a part of the Toxicology class materials for pharmacy students. We are hoping by increasing awareness among students and local community members, more people can be influenced to reduce and to prevent the harm that can be caused by medications that get into the environment. Juliane Christina, APhA ASP Tucson, Arizona, USA OUR JOURNAL CLUB When I was in the first year, I always wondered “What is research, how are they done, can our small mind really understand such great work?” There was no one to help me. When I asked my seniors and faculties, I got same reply –“it is in your final year, don’t worry now, you will learn then”. I wasted whole of my first year just wondering about the research. When I was in second year, I heard that there were few activities by journal club in the past,
but remained somewhere in the history. I tried to understand what journal club is, and then I got solution to all of my wonderings. I soon contacted my seniors, passed out and faculties and our students society and determined to revitalize it. I managed our journal club for a whole year. The meetings were well attended by faculty and students alike. Sometimes we also managed to bring external speakers, which added to experience. The faculties showed interest and most importantly, our final year students, who need to make research presentations, showed great interest. Towards the end of my tenure, we came to see a very satisfactory result. Those final year students who made a presentation in our journal club and attended it regularly were found it very helpful. They were also able to have a better insight to various aspects of their own research work by understanding crucial terms like of confidence level, sampling procedure, eliminating biasness, referencing style etc. The Department of Pharmacy also realized that journal club has really improved the critically analyzing skills and understanding of a research work. This helped us have a better understanding of research and improve our analytical thinking. Amit Subedi, NPSA Kathmandu, Nepal. THE DRIVE TO INTEGRATE TECHNOLOGY INTO OUT SCHOOLS “Education is a fundamental human process; it is a matter of values and action.” I was the key member of my college student’s advisory committee during the second year of my undergraduate course. We initiated an e learning system in our university and its affiliated colleges. The university chancellor
International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation News Bulletin | 2010 was impressed by our proposal and also funded our project.
to establish e learning system in their schools.
Firstly, we started our project with the help of few engineering students of our university in the engineering college and then slowly to other departments. It took nearly 18 months to finish the project within the university campus. Later we took the project to other schools in our locality.
Manideep Gupta, IPA SF Hyderabad, India
Teachers and students have instantaneous access to vast amounts of information and a wide range of learning tools. We made these resources available not only to affluent schools but also to rural school districts and inner city schools. The main goal of this project was to spread the Broad access, which can reduce differences in the quality of online education and give children in all areas new opportunities to learn. To date, our project was implemented in our complete university and almost 9 schools in the near by rural and sub urban places of Salem district in Tamil Nadu, India. We provided schools with potential access points and online educational centres for exploring Internet resources. A software company called “Pancharam systems” owned by my university controlled the main database. My personal conclusion is that all students, regardless of race, ethnic group, gender, socioeconomic status, geographic location, age, language, or disability, deserve equitable access to challenging and meaningful learning and achievement. This concept has profound implications for teaching and learning throughout the school community. It suggests that ensuring equity and excellence must be at the core of systemic reform efforts in education as a whole. And we are trying my best to convince and explain its advantages to many more schools
WHERE IS THE PHARMACY EDUCATION HEADING AT IPSF??? The education portfolio is a relatively young area for IPSF, which has also remained relatively unexplored. This was also one of my reasons to run for the position of the Chairperson of Pharmacy Education. IPSF through its Moving on Projects has tried to create tools which to help pharmacy education globally. As part of my term, we were able to revive the Moving On II project again. This research project tries to compare the learning experiences of the enrolled in pharmacy programs in a global level. It is the first to make international comparisons in the field of pharmacy education and is the largest study of its type to date. I feel that MO II should be a continuous project where it is revived every 2 4 years to give a fresh global and national perspective of what students are thinking about their programs and how to improve them. We should also move on and get global opinion for other issues, which matter, for pharmacy students across the world by creating sequels to the Moving On projects. The International Essay Competition being started this year and should be promoted more aggressively. This competition could also be source for ideas and projects at IPSF. IPSF does not provide medium term and long term research opportunities for its members. The next chairperson should work towards
International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation News Bulletin | 2010 identification and creation of internship positions in pharmaceutical sciences research for interested members by tying up with institutions and companies alike. I also see the need for creation of an undergraduate research award, which will support a project, proposed by IPSF members to encourage pharmacy students to take up research early. IPSF should continue its close collaboration with WHO and FIP on the Patient Safety Curriculum Guide. The Pharmacy Education Subcommittee should be activated. Positions for Moving On coordinators and Phuture coordinator should be created. This will not only reduce the workload for the Chairperson but also ease human resources issues for the portfolio. The pharmacy education portfolio has immense potential to individuals and the education systems. We need to work on this portfolio, reviewing our progress and revising our targets to make the difference it can. Viva la Pharmacie Murthy Chittoory Chairperson of Pharmacy Education, 2009 10
PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES CLINICAL SKILLS EVENT (CSE) IN SERBIA Serbia has moved one step further in developing its pharmacy field toward clinical skills together with medical students. For the fifth time this event took a place in a Novi Sad, Serbia in March 2010, with the quite popular topic “Modern obesity therapy”. This topic was chosen because of potential failures and mistakes related with pharmacotherapy, nutrition counselling, and also with many misconceptions about the surgical aspect of obesity treatment. Improvement of
communication between pharmacy and medical students as well as increasing student’s knowledge of the mentioned relevant issues was the aim of this project. During the theoretical part of the project, the students had the opportunity to be introduced with newest discoveries, the most common therapy mistakes, diet of the target population groups and their physical activities. After gaining the theoretical basis, participants took part in a workshop in a groups made from pharmacy and medical students, where they under the supervision of moderators solved patient cases. In addition, the most valuable part of CSE was exactly that when students identified and recognized patient problems and then together made diagnosis and suggested therapy. NAPSer felt this event needful because of the importance of collaboration between healthcare professionals which is not recognized in Serbia as it should be. By giving them a chance to work as a team during their studies, they will perceive the importance of their communication and make them improving their clinical skills that can only bring benefits for the patients. Judging by the large number of students that have attended the conference and their very positive comments, this CSE was a full success and NAPSer will keep it doing like that. Nina Bukumirovic National Pharmaceutical Students´ Association – Serbia (NAPSer) FIRST PCE IN SLOVAKIA IN BIGGER SCALE Our SPSA (Slovak Pharmaceutical Students´ Association, www.sssf.sk) plan for year 2009 10 was really huge. We implemented two new and great projects for our members, the
International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation News Bulletin | 2010 Pharmaceutical Job Fair (Farmaceutický trh práce) and the Patient Counselling Event (PCE) in our national level under name Majstrovstvá v lekárenskej komunikácii. It was first time in 15 years that we have had this project and we are really happy that we achieved it. But how did it start?
Our preparation started in September 2009 when SPSA and SLeK (Slovak Chamber of Pharmacists, www.slek.sk) had meeting about PCE. We started to work on it, but in late of year 2009 Ján R der president of CPSA Czech republic called me with offer for SPSA join bigger Patient Counselling Event. CPSA has a lot of experience with this project, so the answer was YES. He explained to me that we will conduct it also with faculty in Brno and their student union. So in the end, the PCE project involved 3 faculties, 3 students´ associations, Czech and Slovak chamber of pharmacists and sponsor. It’s a huge project for the first year, isn´t it? The plan for the project was divided into few steps. First, there was an interactive whole day workshop about communication for students. Next, 12 students from each faculty moved on to national/regional PCE. Then, there were 4 winners, who advanced into Czech o Slovak PCE in Prague. From this round the winner is coming to Slovenia IPSF congress to compete with international students in PCE.
But more about the Slovak part. The effective communication workshop held place in headquarter of Slovak Chamber of Pharmacists on 18March 2010. 25 students attended this workshop and were really happy they could attend it. 12 of these students move on into national Slovak round. This happened on 8April 2010 in the faculty of pharmacy. Three actor students came to be a pseudo patient. One of them was buying medicine for 8 years old sister, who had a cough. He doesn´t know all symptoms so he called his mother. In mean time second patient was in a hurry and wanted only paracetamol quickly. The last patient were coughing all the time and making a stressful atmosphere. Students had to solve this horrible problem. And they did really great. This event brought also attention of media. Articles were in newspapers in local television and also afterwards SPSA were invited for studio interview about SPSA. Our finalists Matej Mydla, Eva Hroncová, Marián Sko ík and Katarína Krútelová moved on into Czech o Slovak PCE round in Prague on 21 April 2010. The finals were great and all three faculties could showcase their qualities. Our national winner Matej Mydla is also attending IPSF congress in Slovenia and we are really happy for this.
International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation News Bulletin | 2010 overcrowded, poverty and disease are widespread. Furthermore, moving citizens away from their homeland has resulted in a lack of crops being planted, fertilized and the abandonment of water systems, education and health services. The people of Pader want to go back to their homes and although arrangements are being made to allow this to happen, it may take until the end of this year. Last part of this project was releasing of DVD from Slovak part on 6May 2010. This DVD with 12 scenes could be really helpful tool for teaching students how to communicate better. Keep in touch with SLOVAKIA. May the IPSF spirit be with you! Viva la Pharmacie. Tomáš Valena
An example of one of these camps is Amoko Lagwai, which is home to 1,229 inhabitants. The majority of people are unable to read or write. The nearest health centre is 18 kilometres away, which is close to a 4 hour walk. The inhabitants of these camps commonly suffer from diseases such as malaria, typhoid, oral genital candidiasis, dysentery, fungal Infections, worms, schistosomiasis, HIV/AIDS and TB. A symptom of a number of the aforementioned diseases is diarrhea.
Board of Trustees of Slovak Pharmaceutical Students´ Association 2010 12 MOBILE PHARMACY IN NORTHERN UGANDA PROJECT The lives of nearly two million Ugandan citizens have been devastated by a twenty three year long civil war between the Ugandan government and the Lords Resistance Army (LRA). 25 000 children were recruited and forced to become children of war and thousands of people were killed or injured. In 1996 the government made a decision to move 1.8 million citizens out of the Pader district and into IDP Camp. Today, around 1 million Ugandans still populate these camps and although these camps were built and designed with the best intention, they lack infrastructure, education systems and health care. Not only they are
Diarrhea causes 1.9 million deaths in children under 5 every year1. In addition, unsanitary environments, such as those in IDP camps, increase the rates of pathogens that cause diarrhea and facilitate their ability to multiply more easily. And treatment is simple. The WHO has reported that oral rehydration salts decrease the effects and duration of diarrhoea1 and i the gold standard for the treatment of this condition. In Gulu, 1 USD
International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation News Bulletin | 2010 covers enough treatment for 100 people with diarrhoea. On identifying a need for the provision of basic healthcare in these camps, IPSF agreed to collaborate with Respond ReNU, a non governmental organization based in Northern Uganda, to establish and develop a project that would remedy this. Since the beginning of January, a team, consisting of the Field Operations Manager, a Physician, a Translator and three pharmacy students, visited the camps 3 times a week and provided basic healthcare to the inhabitants of IDP camps. Communication has been established with Village Health Team Leaders, who communicated the visitation days to camp inhabitants. On this day, people requiring healthcare assemble at a predetermined contact point and those requiring care are assessed by the physician. The role of the pharmacy students was to dispense medication and counsel patients on its use. In addition, they played a role in implementing public health campaigns on topics such as, hygiene, sanitation and malaria prevention. Healthcare for these patients could mean the difference between life and death and this project provides pharmacy students with the unique opportunity to change their world!
ANTI TB CAMPAIGN 2010 IPSF BEM KEMAFAR Padjadjaran University, Indonesia On the 24th March, we always organize the TB campaign. It is a day, when more than usual, we increase TB awareness because TB is still there and it kills people almost 2 million per year. This year, IPSF BEM KEMAFAR Padjadjaran University did a mini TB campaign with the tagline “We’re the Community Educators, Stop TB Now!” We organized the campaign at our faculty building and in front of the main gate of Padjadjaran University, Jatinangor. Besides this, we put up the TB posters in campus area, we gave people stickers that consist of TB information such as TB facts, how to treat TB, and TB prevention. We gave the stickers to the students of pharmacy and other faculties around our campus area, and also to the lecturers and administration employees. They were so excited because we also told them directly about TB facts and DOTs strategy to cure TB. We also approached the high school students that were visiting Padjadjaran University (School Goes to Campus event) and we gave them TB information and stickers. The weak points of the event were the limitation of stickers that we made and also there were students doing lab examination so they couldn’t join the campaign. But with this mini campaign and with a little preparation of the committee, the campaign could be held with a lot of enthusiasm from students, lecturers, and also the employees.
Hope they can remember the information and that we also made a difference!!!
International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation News Bulletin | 2010 presentation and debate. The students and also the people living around the hostel were addressed by the guest lecture on the awareness of HIV/AIDS. Later in the afternoon a BLOOD DONATION camp was organized, the students, staff members and other people had participated voluntarily. There was a marked achievement shown by ABMRCP by collecting more than 90 units of blood in a day. It is supposed to be the highest units collected by any college in one day. Nadia Putri Utami Dikti CP of Padjadjaran University References: 1. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)/World Health Organization (WHO), Diarrhea: Why Children are still dying and what can be done; 2009
WORLD AIDS DAY December 1st is celebrated as World AIDS Day all over the world. On the occasion of such an important day, the students of Acharya & B.M.Reddy College of pharmacy (ABMRCP) Bangalore, Karnataka – INDIA has arranged a
The event was a graceful one due to large number of enthusiastic participants and also everyone was guiding and making everyone else aware about the positive aspects of blood donation. The college is proud to have a great achievement and also looking forward to making a new mark, next year. The fundraising for the children and people suffering from HIV/AIDS was also done. People donating money got a red ribbon on their shoulder with slogan LIVE STRONG. It was great to see a huge participation; the funds raised were more than 15,000 Indian Rupees. This donation was used for caring people suffering from HIV/AIDS in hospitals and some was donated to NGO’s helping the HIV/AIDS victims. The event ended in evening. It was a great success as students have learnt a lot from it like hosting campaign, leadership qualities, opening their social spheres and enjoyed a lot too. Participants were awarded certificates for their priceless work. We hope this activity will happen again next year on a much wider platform, so that more people can be saved and/or helped.
whole day of HIV/AIDS campaign. The students had participated in several events such as poster presentation, oral
Jasmit Singh IPSF Public Health Sub committee member IPA INDIA.
International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation News Bulletin | 2010 WORLD TUBERCULOSIS DAY World TB Day is commemorated on the 24th of March every year. This year the International Relations Committee (IRC) collaborated with the Singapore Anti Tuberculosis Association (SATA) and organized a 2 day campaign in lieu with the health bazaar from 22nd – 23rd of March to promote tuberculosis awareness among staff and students in NUS. The committee started preparations for the bazaar in late February. Members of the IRC brainstormed for ideas for attractive games that are both fun and educational about tuberculosis, collected posters from SATA and also obtained loads of prizes for the games. Two meetings were held to delegate work on the various games, and ultimately, we settled with four games which are both innovative and educational. The first game was an on the go crossword puzzle on facts about tuberculosis which upon completion would allow the participant to obtain a souvenir from the booth. The next game was an “aim and shoot” game, whereby a participant had to throw three ping pong balls into numbered cups and answer the questions indicated by the number on the cup. The third game was a memory game, where participants had to memorize a timeline on the major breakthroughs in treatment, discoveries and diagnosis of tuberculosis and arrange these events back in the right order. The last game was Mix and Match; participants had to match six sets of statements about prevention, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis together to win a prize. On the first day of the campaign, we arrived at 9am to set up the stations and prepare the prizes. At first, I was quite worried that there would be no one and it would be difficult to
give out the pamphlets to the public, however, it wasn’t that hard and there were actually individuals who were interested in finding out more and those who attempted the games. I believe that the most popular game was the crossword puzzle as we distributed many copies of them and had many students coming back to the booths to claim their prizes. I was also quite surprised that our campaign managed to pique the interest of Medical professors and cancer researchers from NUH, who came down and attempted the questions and looked at the posters set up. One of these individuals was a doctor from NUH, who used to work with tuberculosis control. Some students took this opportunity to ask them more about his field of study and also about tuberculosis and his experiences with patients who contracted the disease. I never expected the campaign to be a platform for medical professionals to teach and share with students about medical advances and experiences in the medical field. I found the experience organizing and helping out at the campaign quite enriching, because I know almost nothing about TB, I took this as an opportunity to learn more about the disease, including its nature, prevention, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis. The campaign also provided me a chance to interact with the “layman” and explain to them facts about tuberculosis in simple terms. I found that the campaign was also a good opportunity to meet and work together with my fellow course mates. It was fun interacting with friends and members of the public alike. I’m sure that many staff and students alike have benefitted from this campaign and are now more informed about the disease. Hopefully through organizing such campaigns, we will learn to be more competent
International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation News Bulletin | 2010 pharmacists. May next year’s campaign be a success as well! Fabian Aw Year 1 Pharmacy Student NUS Pharmaceutical Society Member
workshops, Patient Counselling Event, scientific poster exhibition, public health campaign and community service with orphan children, whom we have accompanied to the amazing Children museum of Amman.
EVENTS 1ST EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN PHARMACEUTICAL SYMPOSIUM A NOTE TO REMEMBER This year Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office (EMRO) had a lot of steps to go through starting from empowering its roots by building a strong foundation, placing policies of communication and ending by the most obvious accomplishment of our work for this year: The 1st Eastern Mediterranean Pharmaceutical Symposium (EMPS 2010).
The event started as a dream which came true with the help of the Jordanian Pharmaceutical Students' Federation (JPSA) that hosted the event and helped shape the history of IPSF in the region. With complete professionalism and enthusiasm the JPSA team organized the 1st EMPS. The event was hosted in Al Hussein Cultural Centre in Amman and had delegates from Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait and England. For seven days, students were received with the Jordanian warm hospitality enjoying the academic program that included sessions,
And with all the work we did not forget the entertainment of participants who enjoyed charming Eastern Mediterranean nature in Jordan and tasted the Jordanian food which was delicious "kteer zaaki." After several beautiful places participants finished by visiting the Dead Sea for the elegant gala night where EMPS had its closing ceremony. This last night was very special with cheers for the lovely moments that we all spent in Amman and goodbye tears of those who came to Jordan as strangers to each other and left it as a family. That was the spirit of the 1st EMPS. Are you thinking of joining the family next year? Marwa Beltagy Chairperson of IPSF EMRO 2008 11
International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation News Bulletin | 2010 56TH IPSF WORLD CONGRESS
This was followed by the opening ceremony at Ljubljana Castle, which stood majestically at the top of the city, providing us with a bird’s eye view of Ljubljana. All of the official delegates proudly received their country’s flag during the opening ceremony. After this, it was truly the beginning of the congress.
AUGUST 2010, LJUBLJANA, SLOVENIA This was the third IPSF World Congress that I have attended, but my first as an IPSF Executive. I was not sure what to expect, only knowing that it will be an extremely busy two weeks. It was quite interesting for me because I was meeting most of the other executive members for the first time; however, this was not a problem at all. Since we spend so much time together, we were like a family instantly.
After introducing IPSF to all the participants at “Discover IPSF”, everyone mingled while workshops and General Assembly (GA) were happening. Official Delegates attended GA and assisted with various important decisions for the federation, while other participants attended parallel workshops. There were a variety of workshops, which were well received by the audience. The Executive had to ensure all the different parts of the congress were operating smoothly! There were also the Scientific and Educational Symposium, which provided the participants with some insight on gene therapy and leadership respectively.
With the short time during Executive meeting 3 for congress preparations, the first day of congress crept up on us silently. Soon, all 300 participants from around the globe were arriving in the lobby of the DIC Hostel. Some faces were familiar, but most of them were new. It was an exciting time for all of us. The friendly Slovenian Reception Committee (RC) was greeting everyone, allowing a smooth registration for all the participants.
In between all of the workshops and GAs, there was a day trip to Bled, sports activities, a basketball show, salsa dancing, and themed parties. The RC was wonderful at coordinating all the social components to ensure everyone got a taste of Slovenia. The RC also had a public health campaign on human papillomavirus. Congress participants reached out to the streets of Ljubljana and the towns on the Slovenian coast to increase the public’s awareness about the dangers of HPV. They provided the public with short
International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation News Bulletin | 2010 information brochures as well as quizzes. This was the first time that a public health campaign was held during a world congress and it was quite successful.
experience that participants would never forget. I would like to thank my fellow Executive members. And on behalf of the IPSF Executive 2009 10, a huge thanks to the Urban and his entire RC team. All of the Slovenians were extremely hospitable and you ensured we all felt the love in Slovenia.
Of course, there were the traditional events of IPSF, the Development Fund (DF) Auction and International Night. The Auction night successfully raised money for the DF by selling various items from the different countries. This was followed by the International Night, where the Executive tried dancing to Shakira’s “Waka Waka.” All the countries also brought treats to share with everyone else; this was truly an international event.
And because words are not enough to describe this amazing event, do visit the IPSF Facebook page for picture and videos. Finally, on behalf of the entire IPSF Executive 2009 – 2010, we would like to congratulate the incoming executive team. We wish you the best of luck for the upcoming year.
Before we knew it, it was the gala night and time for everyone to say farewell. It was tiring journey, but an amazing one and I have loved every second of it. “Taste it! Live it! Never forget it!” This was the theme for this congress and I have been hearing this since the Romania congress. I have to say, the RC successfully achieved what they have strived for as this was an
Vive la pharmacie! Shirley Yeung Chairperson of Professional Development 2009 10
International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation News Bulletin | 2010