I am Raxshanaa Mohgan from BP118 cohort and I would like to share my experience pursuing the Bachelor of Pharmacy (Hons) programme at IMU.
Undertaking the Bachelor of Pharmacy (Hons) programme at IMU transforms students to be a pharmacist upon 4 years of studies. A unique feature of the IMU programme is that students have the option to undertake a credit transfer programme to overseas universities such as University of Otago, New Zealand or University of Tasmania, Australia after an initial 2 years of study at IMU. This would give them a valuable opportunity to expand their exposure on pharmacy practices overseas.
Moreover, since the curriculum covers various aspects of becoming a pharmacist ranging from learning the basics, to having internships in the areas of pharmaceutical industry, community, and hospital settings, upon graduation, students have a wide array of career pathways to choose according to their best interests.
With the availability of these myriad of opportunities, I am very grateful to IMU that has prepared me well enough to excel in every pathway to being a successful pharmacist.
Our learning process was not only limited to lectures, but also included the problem-solving skills via group discussions with the presence of activities such as problem-based learning, objective structured clinical examination (OSCE), and multiple workshops allowing us to gain in-depth knowledge regarding a particular subject.
Our dedicated lecturers have also instilled an investigative nature in us throughout the four years molding us becoming a curious learner.
In the Year 2, we had a valuable opportunity of having a one-day pharmaceutical industrial visit to Pharmaniaga LifeScience, where we had the opportunity to directly witness steps involving the release of a finished product such as injectables. We were also given the opportunity to undertake a two-week industrial attachment with IKOP Pharma at Kuantan during Semester 6 in Year 3. Although our on-site learning experience was a challenge due to the recent COVID-19 pandemic, our lecturers had helped us to gain a virtual learning experience with the industry partner whereby we had a virtual tour and gained an insight on the responsibilities and dynamics of every sector in a pharmaceutical company.
Moreover, I was satisfied and excited throughout my two weeks community pharmacy placement at Alpro Pharmacy in Johor during my Semester 8, Year 4, as I was able to apply the knowledge learnt to practice in which, I had the opportunity to serve customers based on their complaints. This attachment was a bonus for me as I had a prior working experience during my three months elective placement at Alpro Pharmacy.
Apart from this, IMU has also offered us experience in the field of research whereby during Semester 6, students are required to create a team and choose a research project which either could be a lab-based or survey-based project and the research execution is conducted in Semester 7. Owing to this opportunity, we are also currently in the midst of publishing our findings as a contribution to the world of science.
On the other hand, during Semester 8, we were all elated to be part of the hospital attachment provided, as we were able to directly experience the role of clinical pharmacists whereby, I was attached to Hospital Sultanah Aminah, Johor Bahru for a month. I learned and obtained some basic crucial skills about the various role of a clinical pharmacist which included playing an important role in sectors such as in the ward, outpatient, total parenteral nutrition, cytotoxic drug reconstitution, and medication therapy adherence clinic.
Personally, I would say the journey of obtaining an honors pharmacy degree in IMU is both a fruitful and enjoyable experience. Stepping into IMU as a doubtful matriculation college graduate and leaving as a confident pharmacy graduate is how I have evolved throughout these four years.
Sometimes, when we are faced with demanding tasks it is important to know that it is okay to pause, to take some deep breaths and relax, recuperating to be the stronger version of yourself the next day or the next week. This had helped me to regain my determination in achieving the best I could. Hence, my advice to the newcomers would be to always keep your passion in pharmacy burning and to give out your full efforts in the journey of becoming a pharmacist who is both skillful and knowledgeable while serving the community. Do not hesitate to take up new challenges, exploring out of your comfort zones and remember that in IMU, help is always offered willingly to seekers.
