Pharmacists – An integral part of the healthcare team
Pharmacists are the primary drug experts in the medical field and an integral part of the healthcare team. The role of the pharmacist is evolving into one that revolves around patient care and collaboration with other healthcare professions. The focus of the profession of pharmacy has shifted from technical, product-oriented, functions to patient-oriented, health outcomes counseling information and professional services. This shift generally referred to as “Pharmaceutical Care”, embraces the notion that pharmacists, working in collaboration with other healthcare providers, undertake responsibility for patient outcomes with respect to their drug therapy.
Pharmacists play a crucial role in collaborative patient care. The coursework taught during their undergraduate and postgraduate programmes gives pharmacy professionals the clinical knowledge and skillset to make appropriate decisions regarding drug therapy regimens and how to best assess patients. Experiential Teaching and Learning (TnL) provides pharmacy students with real-world experience and an understanding of pharmacists’ roles in the pharmaceutical arena. It is essential that pharmacists continue creating innovative ways to get involved in collaborative patient care to improve the health of all patients.
In the multidisciplinary healthcare team, pharmacists can help ensure that patients proceed well in the hospital and that they follow their medication regimen at home and avoid Emergency Department visits or readmissions. In a hospital setup, pharmacists can review medication lists and correct problems as well as ensure that patients receive the right doses and selections of medication for their ages, weights, and conditions. They can assist case managers and social workers with complicated pharmaceutical benefit programmes, preauthorisations, and other concerns that could cause prescriptions to be delayed. Pharmacists can utilise their medication skills to determine when a patient may not be able to purchase medicine and offer less expensive alternatives to the physician.
Master in Pharmacy Practice (MPP) Programme
A Master’s degree in Pharmacy Practice is the need of the hour to meet the growing demand of the healthcare sector. Pharmacists with advanced therapeutic knowledge, pharmaceutical skills, communication, critical thinking and problem-solving abilities, disease prevention, and therapeutic management skills are very essential to uplift the quality of healthcare delivery, prevention of illness, improvement of quality of life of patients, and to serve better in the healthcare team for the betterment of patient health outcomes.
The IMU’s Master in Pharmacy Practice is an advanced professional practice programme for experienced pharmacists that builds on prior knowledge to enhance competency for practice in their profession. The Master in Pharmacy Practice programme will develop your knowledge and skills in clinical pharmacy practice and research, pharmacy management, social and administrative pharmacy, and medicines management. The programme’s ethos and culture are designed to foster self-reliance and an adult approach to learning in support of continuing professional development.
IMU’s Master in Pharmacy Practice is a one-year programme that offers 4 streams such as clinical pharmacy, pharmacy management, social and administrative pharmacy, and clinical research. The duration of the full-time programme is one year whereas the part-time is 2-6 years. This programme is delivered in mixed mode where it consists of taught modules and research projects. All the teaching and learning contents are delivered through blended mode, and the face-to-face classes are delivered on weekends. This flexible opportunity allows the working pharmacist to take up this programme part-time to achieve their academic ambition without compromising his/her professional duties. Based on one’s field of interest or expertise and working area, he/she can choose any streams that offered in the Master in Pharmacy Practice Programme, to achieve their dream in academic.
The IMU’s Master in Pharmacy Practice Programme attracted many students locally, regionally, and internationally with students from Malaysia, the Philippines, Iran and Nigeria achieving their dream careers through our master’s programme. The MPP alumni are working in the Clinical area as clinical pharmacists, clinical trial experts, in the industry as Industry Managers, community pharmacy managers, academics, professional consultants, and many more. There are wide opportunities for our graduates and growing demand for them in the pharmaceutical and healthcare market.
| Reflections of Some of our Alumni and Students | ||
|---|---|---|
| Chu Jian Feng (MPP217 Cohort; Graduated in Nov 2019). | “This knowledge and skills acquired during my MPP programme successfully increased my confidence in taking my baby steps in executing the business plans”
More on this at An Alumni Sharing: IMU’s Master in Pharmacy Practice Develops My Knowledge and Skills |
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| Emmanuel Timilehin Atolagbe, an international student from Nigeria (MPP219 Cohort; Graduated in Dec 2021) | “IMU offers numerous opportunities and activities which were very important in aiding and nurturing my development as a young pharmacist. It ranged from the clinical and project-based learning sessions to the numerous community outreach drive which students and staff alike can volunteer for”.
More on this at A Life-Changing Journey with a Rollercoaster of Emotions at IMU |
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| Annaletchumi Arrumugam of MPP119 cohort, a current part-time MPP student who is a clinical pharmacist at government hospital | “I would have to concur that IMU has made my education journey an incredible as well as an efficient one despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic – this is proof that even COVID-19 will not stop the learning at IMU!”.
More on this at I Am Now a Covid-19 Frontliner!!!! – My Experience as a Postgraduate Student While Battling a Pandemic |
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IMU’s Master in Pharmacy Practice curriculum is designed in a way to meet the current challenges and opportunities in the healthcare sector. There is a growing need for expertise and drug experts in the healthcare team to assist physicians to make an appropriate decision in the delivery of healthcare especially optimising the drug therapy according to the need of the patient. The programme Teaching and Learning contents are taught by pharmacy practice experts, consultants, experts from healthcare and industry, practitioners, experienced clinical preceptors, and experts from other universities, which makes the students lifelong learners, critical thinkers, and problem solvers.
The well designed Master in Pharmacy Practice curriculum equips the pharmacists who are advanced practitioners with self-directed and reflective skills, ethical and engaging with the multidisciplinary professional community to advocate beneficial changes in healthcare, with tenacity and persistence to seek solutions to address important societal and national needs in healthcare using their training and entrepreneurial qualities.
