Programmes Professionalization of pharmaceutical services
12-week course on essentials of pharmacy practiceEPN is pleased to announce the successful completion of a 12 week ‘essentials of pharmacy practice’ course for hospital pharmacy personnel held in Nairobi from 8th August – 28th October 2011. The Nairobi course was the first opportunity for church hospitals to send their staff for a comprehensive short course designed to improve pharmaceutical services delivery. Those who are interested in the course can communicate to the EPN Secretariat, as the course is being rolled out in various anglophone and francophone countries starting in 2012. The first roll-out will take place in Gulu, Uganda, from 6th February to 27th April 2012. A roll-out in DRC is planned to start on 14th May 2012. Background: In recent years, EPN has undertaken a number of studies in several African countries to identify the qualifications of pharmacy staff in Christian hospitals within the network. The studies revealed that a big number of institutions do not have any trained pharmaceutical staff, despite the fact that medicines are a major component of any health system and take up a significant portion of the budget of a health system and of health institutions. Following these findings, EPN has embarked on developing a three months training course for personnel in hospital pharmacies. The course, ‘essentials of pharmacy practice’ is intended to bridge this gap by empowering hospital pharmacy staff with relevant practical knowledge and skills to provide a reasonable level of quality pharmaceutical services. The course: The training course covers the following areas:
Eligible candidates are hospital pharmacy staff who have no formal pharmaceutical training. Candidates should have attended at least 12 years of formal schooling and attained a school leaving certificate. The course will run as a face-to-face course over a period of 12 weeks. Accommodation and meals will be provided, as well as training materials. The candidates are expected to have a laboratory coat as well as other basic learning materials such as calculator, notebooks, pens and folders. Hospitals are expected to release their staff for the period of three months and to cover transport costs and any incidentals if required. The course is currently not recognized by any professional body and is intended only to support staff already working in hospital pharmacy with practical skills and knowledge to enable them more effectively contribute to patient care and pharmaceutical service delivery.
Click here to download the information sheet for more details. Interested hospitals and students should send an e-mail to: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it |