Pharmacists club launched

JEDDAH: The Saudi Pharmaceutical Society on Wednesday organized an event to announce the launch of a division in Jeddah naming it Jeddah Pharmacists Club. The club will be serving Saudi and non-saudi pharmacists in the city by putting them in touch with each other and providing them with training. The club will also be serving students and will help them find jobs, sources told Arab News.

The event at Park Hyatt, attended by Jeddah Gov. Prince Mishal bin Majed, grabbed the attention of pharmacists in the city who had been calling for the creation of the club for years. "The club will be an educative and learning division of the Saudi Pharmaceutical Society to serve the city. It is the first move, but other cities will follow," said President of Saudi Pharmaceutical Society Ibrahim Al-sarra.

According to him, pharmacists in the city had been calling for having a club for years, but the change of board members of the Saudi Pharmaceutical Society had delayed the move. "The members tend to change every three months. New members do not always share the same vision of expanding the works of the society or even creating regional clubs." Asked why Jeddah was the first city to have a pharmacists club, he said: “Jeddah has some 3,000 pharmacists. This is a big number if we compare that to other cities."

Commenting on her appointment as chairman of the board of directors of the Jeddah Pharmacists Club, Amal Bilashraf said: "The step means more trust in women, and we are proud of it." She added that they called for the club because of the need for more training for pharmacists to improve their work and to get certificates in return of their training as well as to help students get jobs. "All age groups can join the club as well as expatriates, as we cannot ignore the vast number of them in this sector," explained Bilashraf.