Producing skilled pharmacists
AS part of a healthcare team, a pharmacist provides care for patients that focuses on the perspective of drug therapy. The pharmacist is responsible for identifying, preventing and resolving patients’ drug therapy problems.
Pharmacists are “experts on medicines” and play an active role in the quality use of medicine in our society. They have skills in the chemistry of drugs, formulating medicines and the therapeutic use of drugs to treat diseases.
Every day, millions of people walk into drugstores and depend on pharmacists for assistance and advice for various healthcare needs. Many pharmacists dispense medications on a daily basis to patients in accordance with doctor’s orders.
Part of their job responsibility includes consulting with patients on the correct medication usage and the risks involved in consuming specific medications. They also provide patients with information on home healthcare supplies and various other healthcare products.
Some pharmacists may also be involved in the management and monitoring of the store or facility environment.
Pharmacy graduates have a wide range of career opportunities. The majority enter community pharmacy practice. Hospital pharmacy also provides an interesting challenge for pharmacists, particularly in view of their expanding role within the clinical setting.
The pharmaceutical industry provides opportunities for pharmacists in the fields of sales and marketing, production, research and quality control.
The increased role of federal and provincial governments in public health has provided opportunities for pharmacists in analytical laboratories and administrative positions as consultants, government inspectors and health officers.
Opportunities may also be available in universities as teachers and researchers.
Regarded as one of the most trusted professions in the world, this area of work is exciting, versatile and highly rewarding. In recent years, it has also become one of the most pursued fields in the healthcare industry. At present, the job prospects for pharmacists in Malaysia are bright since there is a shortage of pharmacists in both the public and private sectors.
Accordingly, there is a rising call for pharmacists to apply their knowledge and skills in the following areas: patient care (community pharmacies and hospitals), pharmaceutical industry, research centres, regulatory affairs, marketing and academia, among others.
To complement the needs of pharmacists, the Management & Science University (MSU) offers both a bachelor’s degree and a diploma in pharmacy through its School of Pharmacy.
MSU is ranked among the top 2% of the best universities in the QS Asia Ranking 2019 and is accorded as an “Excellent Status University” on the national university-rating system Setara by the Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education.
The pharmacy programme is an MSU effort to achieve 1:2,000 pharmacist patient ratios by 2020. According to the Health Human Resources statistics by the Malaysian Health Ministry for 2017, the ratio of pharmacist per population in Malaysia was at 1:3,013.
With quality education a priority at MSU, creative teaching methods and international exposure are incorporated into compelling learning experiences, supported by extensive industrial training and competency enrichment to blend into programmes of study that leverage graduate employability.
MSU also extensively engages visiting professors to enhance faculty strength. Their invaluable teaching adds to the various skills enhancement initiatives aimed at improving competitiveness in all MSUrians.
Other programmes offered under the MSU’s School of Pharmacy are Pharmaceutical Technology and Traditional Chinese Medicine.