Pharmacy schools unite
June 23, 2010
FOUR of Australia’s oldest pharmacy
schools have united to create a
national representation and voice
for pharmaceutical education and
professional development.
The new alliance, made up of the
pharmacy departments from the
University of South Australia,
Sydney University, The University of
Queensland and Monash University
believe that their partnership will
forge a national voice for pharmacy
students and education in a time of
great industry upheaval, according
to a report in Campus Review.
“We four share sufficient common
ground that we believe we can
present a unified position on many
issues,” said Professor Nick Shaw,
head of Pharmacy at Qld Uni.
“This will be increasingly
important as we move from several
state-based registration systems to
a national system,” he added.
As part of the alliance’s function
it will represent all four universities
at industry discussions including
those with the Pharmacy Board of
Australia and the Australian
Pharmacy Council, presenting its
parties’ stance on all issues
pharmacy related, but in particular
those pertaining to accreditation,
models of practice and
competency test requirements.
Both Sydney University and the
University of Queensland are now
considering joining Monash and
UniSA’s existant shared pharmacy
internship programs as part of the
alliance’s goal of providing
standardised intern training across
its institutions.
As for the future of pharmacy,
the alliance says it foresees an
increasing emphasis on post
graduate programs as new models
of practice continue to develop
towards learning for life.
“We are anticipating increased
demand for postgraduate award
courses, for example,
demonstrating competency,
credentialing, or new models of
practice in the future,” said
Professor Iqbal Ramzan, Pharmacy
Dean at Sydney University.
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 23 Jun 10To see the full newsletter, see the embedded issue below or CLICK HERE to download Pharmacy Daily from 23 Jun 10
