Pharmacists must seek higher training
Mon, 06/13/2016 - 12:00am
There is a hope that over the next five to seven years at least 20 to 30 persons in this country will earn Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degrees.
President of the Barbados Pharmaceutical Society, Paul Gibson, says this is one of his visions for the sector, and he told The Barbados Advocate he is willing to work with whomever necessary to see those who already have Bachelor degrees in Pharmacy matriculating in Pharm.D. programmes.
Such advancement, he said, can only redound to the benefit of patient care in this country.
He made the comments as he spoke of the progress being made with respect to the Bachelor of Science programme in Pharmacy, as he noted that higher
education in that field of study must be the order of the day.
He explained that the four-year Bachelor programme at the Barbados Community College is going well, and those who have Associate degrees can apply to enter the amended programme, where they can attain the qualification in two years.
“Many of us have Bachelors from other universities and even Pharm.Ds and so this is the way forward. We just want to ensure that we are staying ahead of the curve, that we are staying on par with international standards and so we are finding ourselves looking at international spaces to see what the best practice is. So we are ensuring that we are studying, doing CMEs [continuing medical education], have international speakers from overseas including London and different parts of the world sharing their experiences and helping us to see how Barbados can advance in this area as well,” he said.
Gibson also indicated that among local pharmacists, focus is being placed on the clinical factors of pharmacy and the role pharmacists play in the hospital setting and among physicians and patients, to ensure a better clinical outcome. This, he said, is being done through reconditioning and retraining of pharmacists and exposing them to different techniques that can be used in the execution of their duties. (JRT)