As a part of students exchange program between Qatar University College of Pharmacy (QU-CPH) and University of British Columbia (UBC) in Canada, Mr. Andrew Overend and Mr. John Anthony, UBC Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) students, visited QU-CPH to complete recently a one month internship focused on academic pharmacy.
PharmD students were involved in a variety of activities during the four-week rotation. In the first two weeks of the rotation, they had meetings with the Deans of the College, Chairs of Departments, and faculty members with administrative portfolios to learn about their roles and activities. In addition, they visited the Pharmacy and Drug Control at the Ministry of Public Health to learn about the licensing of new drugs in Qatar. For teaching related experience, they contributed to professional skills lab, integrated case based learning (ICBL), structured multi-skill assessment (SMSA), and objective structured clinical examination (OSCE). Furthermore, they contributed to other activities such as validation of the oral comprehensive examination for the PharmD program and participation in an outreach event on Covid-19. Finally, to learn about patient care in Qatar, they visited four Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) hospitals/centers (Al-Khor, Al-Wakra, and Hamad General Hospital, Women's Wellness and Research Center), Sidra Hospital, and Well care Community Pharmacy to observe the activities of healthcare professionals. In addition to having the opportunities to interact with QU-CPH pharmacy students.
Commenting on the students’ internship, QU-CPH Acting Dean Dr Feras Alali said: “CPH is keen to provide international students the opportunity to experience Qatar’s and its clinical and educational system. We, as an accredited program and through our reciprocal agreement with leading class universities, are able to provide a rich insightful and life-changing experience to our hosted students. Our own students have also benefited through the daily interaction they have with the UBC students and through sharing mutual experiences.”
QU-CPH Head of Clinical Education Dr Hazem Elewa and one of the students preceptors during their international rotation said: “It was a pleasure hosting the pharmacy students from University of British Columbia as it provided a platform to learn about pharmacy practice advancements between Qatar and Canada”.
Mr. Andrew Overend said commented: “It was a great learning about the similarities between pharmacy in Qatar and Pharmacy in Canada, especially in regards to how community and hospital pharmacies are operated. Everybody that I met in Qatar was incredibly friendly and willing to help with anything and everything. It was very interesting learning about the different career paths that a doctor of pharmacy degree can take you down as well as being a part of the academic side of the program for my rotation. I am incredibly grateful to have been able to have had my practicum at Qatar University. It was a once in a lifetime experience and I couldn't have asked for a better way to end my program.”
Mr. John Anthony added: “Qatar University and CPH taught me about so many different facets of pharmacy that I might not have ever learned.”
Source: QATAR UNIVERSITY