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IPSF Newsletter | September 2012

International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation

ISSUE

NO.

97

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SEP IPSF Newsletter Student Exchange Programme

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Editorial Dear IPSFers,

Joana Carrasqueira

Chairperson of Student Exchange 2012-2013

I am delighted to present to you the first edition of Student Exchange Programme (SEP) Newsletter.

In this edition, you can meet the SEC Members and read the experience of a SEP Grant recipient, as well as the experience of other SEP Students and a Host Pharmacist.

SEP provides an all-encompassing experience that help students better understand the world through direct contact. Performing an internship and living in a different culture helps the students see the world from a completely different perspective, and it is an amazing experience that have changed many lives.

Next year is all about going beyond your the limits; to improve your professional potential by leaving your comfort zone, learning a new language, dispelling stereotypes and making personal connections with people whom you may have never expected.

Student Exchange Programme is the experience that you have been waiting for.

Enjoy reading and don’t miss out the chance of taking part in SEP next year!

Viva la Pharmacie!

Best Wishes, Joana Carrasqueira

content Meet the SEC SEP Grant

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Postcards from...

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SEP in...

Portugal

United Kingdom Turkey Slovenia India Indonesia Australia

Design & Layout September 2012

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publication team ISSUE

Alexandra Marques

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David Newland

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Cover photo Proofread by Yuqian Liu Ranveer Bassey Jace Hong Wan-Ting Hsu Raja Barazi publications@ipsf.org editor@ipsf.org

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SEC

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meet the

Student Exchange Committee

Chairperson of Student Exchange 2012-2013

Miranda Law

Milanka Marunić PAGE 6

Name: Joana Carrasqueira Age: 23 Country: Portugal The first time I went abroad for an Exchange in Poland I felt in love with the people, the food, the traditions, basically with the difference and when I came back home I decided to run for the position of LEO in my Local Association in Portugal. 3 years went by and since then the journey has been amazing, specially last year as SEO of Portugal, hosting 92 students.

In collaboration with SEC members we will assure that the year will run smoothly and hopefully we’ll have even more students involved with SEP and IPSF. I can assure that all my motivation, passion and work will be dedicated to you!

Name: Miranda Law Age: 25 Country: United States of America Ever since I participated in SEP in Egypt, I have been very passionate about the program. I learned so much and gained such an amazing experience from my SEP that I really felt like I wanted to contribute by helping others have an equally amazing experience. I began by becoming the SEO of the US, but I applied to be a part of SEC because I think it will be a great way for me to learn about the details and hard work that go into this program. I think that learning these things will help me to appreciate the program, and I am happy to give my time and effort to improve SEP

Name: Milanka Marunić Country: Serbia SEP Backround: LEO of BPSA (Belgrade Pharmaceutical Students’ Association) 2009

SEO of NAPSer 2010

SEC Member 2011

Chairperson of Student Exchange 2011-2012

Why are you involved in SEC: Since my involvement with NAPSer, I have always been fascinated by IPSF and its most popular project – Student Exchange Programme. The IPSF spirit is totally infectious! So far I have attended 4 IPSF World Congresses starting the one in Taiwan in 2007 where I have the great opportunity to meet students from all around the globe. Since then, I became more involved within SEP and the pinnacle of my experience in IPSF was when I was elected as the Chairperson of Student Exchange for 2011-12. I loved every single minute of it! I enjoy seeing and hearing about the joys of students who went abroad on exchange! Their experience is next to none and I am happy to be part of the supporting team that makes it all happen, working alongside all the hard-working SEOs and LEOs around the world that ensure that SEP runs smoothly! I hope that this SEP year will be the best one ever.

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4.

Ahmed

Mahmoud

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Amalia

Cosma

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Andreas Schittny

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4.

Name: Ahmed Mahmoud Age: 21 Country: Egypt “How much do you get paid for all this wasted time and effort?”.

At some point this year, I found myself playing a card games with 10 pharmacy students from 10 different countries in the world. I was playing with 10 different mindsets, 10 different cultures, 10 different outcomes of 10 very different backgrounds. At the end of every game, those 10, seemingly, very different individuals kept saying, “One more!!”. Those 10 had a great time.

“One more!!” is the simplest explanation for my immense appreciation of the SEP. It is why I want to continue serving that program, and why I want to always be an IPSFer. “One more!!” is all I need, to know that the SEP brings people together and helps them understand. “One more!!” means that those 10, seemingly, very different people are, essentially the same.

I remember my family got mad at me because I came home late, late for them was after 6 pm.

I remember calling them 1am to tell them I will be in Aswan (1000 kilometers away from Cairo), where I had lived for four days with less than 50 Euros on me!

Participating in SEP changed the way I see life, people and most important the way I see myself, SEP gave me the chance to think I could never do and meet people all over the world and find my passion for talking to them about their thoughts learning and teaching languages discovering all the common things that gather human beings I hope this year I would be able through my work in SEC to make this program better and help many people in this world discovertheir peers in humanity and discovering what they really can do The SEP may be a year-round effort as well as physical and mental exhaustion; however, it is definitely NOT a waste of time.

“How much do you get paid for all your efforts? this wasted time and effort?”.

I’m deeply grateful I can go through this experience even without payment !!

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Name: Amalia Maria Cosma Age: 22 Country: Romania Dear IPSF-ers, My name is Amalia, I’m 22 years old and I’m in the final year of study at the Faculty of Pharmacy in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Why have I decided to apply for SEC? Well, it seems that all the SEP stuff was so ‘boring’, that I couldn’t stay away from it, so here I am. Being a LEO, SEO and an Exchange Student gave me the opportunity to analyze many of aspects regarding the whole SEP process.

This programme is a very special one, so we should take full advantage of it. Of course, as any other thing on these days, it might have some minuses, but that’s why we’re here, we will try to collect pluses in order to correct the equation. With all this being said, I have to say I am delighted to be involved in the Student Exchange Committee and I hope it will be a fruitful and memorable SEP year.

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My name is Andreas, I’m 21 years old and I’m starting with my master in Pharmacy this fall. I first got involved in SEP when I became SEO of my small home country Switzerland. This gave me a chance to participate at the IPSF World Congress 2011 in Thailand. I was overwhelmed by the incredible atmosphere and the strong commitment of all nations to improve IPSF! That’s why I applied for SEC for the first time. It turned out to be a incredible experience, so I couldn’t resist to apply again this year. It’s great to see how SEP develops each year by realizing new ideas of all people involved. I’m sure that also this years SEC will work hard and with joy to keep up this continuous improvement of SEP!

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7.

Mais

Halaiqa

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Melanie Fouell

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Paree

Rahman

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It’s such a pleasure to write for all IPSFers about SEP. I am Mais Halaiqa writing you from sunny Jordan as a SEP Subcommittee member.

My first encounter with SEP was in 2010 when I held the SEO of Jordan position, and we hosted the first 2 students coming to Jordan through SEP. Sabreen is from Poland and Reyad, from Algeria. The moment I knew they are coming to Jordan my passion for SEP started. Being able to have wonderful friends from all over the world and share your culture with is a feeling beyond imagination. And that what keeps our fire to work for SEP. I am still the SEO of Jordan but I felt that I needed to do more for SEP and that’s why I applied to be a SEP subcommittee member.

What distinguishes SEP from other programs is that it allows you to explore other countries’ potentials in Pharmacy, discover their culture ,and meet energetic active IPSFers. This year with the help of the SEP chairperson Joana Carrasqueira we are taking SEP to a new level where we will aim for 1000 placements, and thus spread SEP IPSF spirit to reach unexpected places on earth.

Vive la pharmacie!

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Dear IPSFers, My name is Melanie, I am 25 years old and actually doing my preregistration year in a community pharmacy in Freiburg, a beautiful university town in Germany. I started being Local Exchange Officer in my first year. As I really liked this work and got enthusiastic for the Student Exchange Programme I applied for the position of Student Exchange Officer (SEO). The following two years I learned a lot of things and had many great experiences especially meeting SEP students in Freiburg or during the SEP weekends, which I organised for the first time in Germany. Seeing that through my efforts many SEP students gained new experiences in personal and professional way, I decided to stay involved in SEP to contribute to an improvement of the programme.

Therefore I am happy to be now part of the Student Exchange Committee and I am sure that we will have a lot of fun working for SEP and though achieve an improvement of the quality of SEP and encourage SEOs to raise the number of SEP places in their country.

Name: Paree Rahman Age: 23 Country: New Zealand I really enjoyed being the first SEO of New Zealand where I had the pleasure of meeting applicants and SEO’s for all over the world. After going to the congress in Egypt my interest in staying involved with IPSF increased tremendously. Although I will be graduating at the end of this year and will not be in charge of SEP in New Zealand anymore I wanted to carry on my work and being part of SEC sounded perfect!

This year I would love to carry on the great SEP tradition and build on it, to make it better for the future.

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SEPgrant Nguyen Van

he one-month IPSF Student Exchange Program in Taichung (Taiwan) has given me a big opportunity, not only to learn about the roles and responsibilities of Taiwanese pharmacists, but also to experience the authentic Taiwanese life through various home-stays during the weekend trips and interactions with local students.

During this one month, I was attached to a family-owned pharmacy for three weeks, followed by visiting China Medical University’s hospitals in the last week.

Besides me, there were two other interns in the same pharmacy store:, one from Canada (also under SEP) and one from China Medical University. The pharmacist, his wife and these two friends that I met there have made my three weeks at the pharmacy such an enjoyable experience!

My day usually started with breakfast with the helpful Local Exchange Officer (LEO) and my roommates who shared the same dormitory room with me. China Medical University kindly let us stay at the dormitory for free. At work, I helped the pharmacist fill prescriptions from the morning crowd. Then we all cycled to the pharmacist’s house for hearty home-cooked lunch by his wife. Her food was so delicious that we always ended up overeating.

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“of taiwanese food, people and bubble tea “ In the afternoon, we usually did medication reviews at patients’ homes for the elderly who had a lot of medications and/or lived alone. Before we called it a day, the pharmacist always made Taiwanese tea for us. So we slowly sipped on the tea while chatting and savoring Taiwanese traditional pastries and fruits.

Whenever the store was not so busy, the pharmacist would take the three of us interns out to explore Taichung. We went to Taichung Pharmacists’ Association, National Taichung Science Museum, The Veterans’ Hospital and Taichung City Government. Even though I was not very fluent in Chinese and the pharmacist did not speak English, we both tried to learn each others languages along the way so as to communicate effectively with each other.

During hospital visits, I was most impressed by the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) hospital and pharmacy and was really excited when I got to dispense TCM. It was a totally unique experience as TCM is not covered in my course of study in Singapore.

At night, the students from China Medical University would take us out to different places. We went to all the night markets to shop and eat, to the beautiful Gong Yuan Yan Ke ice cream place, to watch baseball games or to play tennis. They even organised a surprise birthday party for me and my roommate from Czech Republic.

Not only did they plan activities for us during weekdays’ nights, they also prepared the whole itinerary for all our weekends. We went to the elegant Sun Moon Lake, immersed ourselves in the Hakka culture in Hsinchu, visited the spiritual town of Lugang, and traced back the early days of Tainan - the first city of Taiwan. We also went to the magnificent Taroko National Park, tried out the exciting white-water rafting on a rocky river, and went to the middle of the ocean to marvel at dolphins

in Hualien. Also in Hualien, we got to listen to famous Taiwanese bands and singers, for example the Green Soda and Chen Shi An, live!

Apart from sight-seeing and appreciating the culture, I had a lot of good food wherever I went. Our hosts during the weekend trips did a really good job giving us exposure to all the famous delicacies. I love the Hakkanese “lei cha” in Hsinchu.

We got to exercise our arm muscles vigorously to finely grind the ingredients such as green tea, sesame and peanut until their oil oozed out. We then added water, matcha powder, and popped rice to make the most delicious drink. My hosts in Tainan also treated me to a big stinky beancurd feast.

That was the first time I learned that there were so many way to enjoy stinky beancurd. We had fried stinky beancurd, three-treasure stir-fried stinky beancurd, and stinky beancurd soup. While savoring the local delicacies, I could not forget to indulge in one cup of bubble milk tea every day and also made really good friends with my amazing hosts.

When I signed up for the SEP, I thought one month would be more than enough. But when I was on the bus to the airport leaving Taichung, I thought to myself “If only I could spend a bit more time with these hospitable people, eat a bit more of Taiwanese food, drink a bit more of bubble milk tea.” And then I told myself, fret not, I will definitely come back.

I would like to sincerely thank the IPSF for making such SEP opportunity possible. And I could not thank all the friends that I met in Taiwan enough.

Amazing places will never be amazing enough without amazing company!

Nguyen Thi Hai Van NUSPS Singapore

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love for v SEP Thank you all so much for your contributions! It was amazing to get so many replies only within a few days! You sure gave me and the Editorial Board some work! Unfortunately, I couldn’t fit all of your great articles in the Newsletter... But if yours didn’t get selected, don’t give up! There will be plenty of chances to get your articles published throughout the year ;)

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POSTCARDS from...

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Short messages from students that experienced SEP, all around the world!

Tunisia I did internship training in a community pharmacy in Nasr city, Tunis for 3 weeks. At first I was a bit surprised by the different profession of pharmacists from my country because the system in Korea is basically from US and the one in Tunisia was from France so it was interesting. I’ll have to admit that if I spoke either French or Arabic, it could have been better. For 3 weeks I not only worked but also explored Tunisia, I had an unforgettable time exploring and made best friends.

Since it was my very first time visiting North Africa I barely knew what they speak, what they eat, what Ramadan really is or what culture they have. After 3 weeks Tunisia came into deep in my heart and became my second home country. I was overwhelmed

by Tunisian friends’ great hospitality and care and I’d like to emphasize how ATEP students passionate, welcoming and friendly! As a SEP student in Tunisia, you will never feel lonely nor miss your country!

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Soen Park KNAPS, South Korea

USA

Dušan Jasovský SPSA, Slovakia

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Czech Republic Olga Shvarts APhA-ASP, United States of America

My name is Olga Shvarts, and I am a P2 at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Amarillo, Texas. This past summer I completed a Student Exchange Program internship in Prague, Czech Republic (CPSA).

My experience was incredibly rewarding, allowing me to get first-hand exposure to pharmacy practice in a setting abroad. I completed my internship in a community pharmacy in Prague, with a very wide patient demographic. I got the chance to observe firsthand budget and marketing strategies, patient counseling and management, inventory management, and other pharmacy processes. I also got a great deal of experience in pharmacy compounding, as well as assist in drug inventory management. Through the CPSA SEP internship, a group of us got a chance to tour a drug distribution warehouse, the Phoenix group. We also took a tour to Karlovy Vary health springs, where we drank the geyser water and toured the various attractions and historical landmarks.

Overall, it was a very gratifying experience.

I met a lot of great people from different backgrounds and cultures, and learned a lot about different laws and regulations in pharmacy practice abroad. This trip is one that I will never forget, and I strongly encourage everyone student pharmacist to participate in this program.

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Cutting-edge information applied by clinical pharmacists to inpatients and outpatients on a daily basis. Well, there is a huge space for so-called ‘floor pharmacist’ including pharmacy students to influence pharmacotherapy itself and clinical interventions are mostly required by physicians at University Medical Centre, University of Arizona. I spent there more than one intensive month shadowing final year pharmacy students during their clinical rotation. Using their school iPads, they have constant access to all patients’ information including drug dosage and frequency. Pharmacy students, as part of comprehensive healthcare team, are therefore able to evaluate drug pharmacokinetics, non-compliance possiblities and drug interactions. It saves lives and money. To make our SEP memorable, our proactive SEP coordinators made my stay in Tucson, Arizona very social, so we received authentic american experience!

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Portugal Nilofar Jafari APhA-ASP, United States

When I first heard about the IPSF Student Exchange Program (SEP), I knew it is something that I have to do. I love traveling and learning about different cultures. What better way to do it while shadowing a pharmacy abroad?

I got the amazing opportunity to spend three weeks in Lisbon, Portugal. The first two weeks felt like I was reliving final exams. My host, who was a pharmacy student, was worrying about her finals, studying constantly, and wondering whether she passed her exams or not. Yes, pharmacy students in other countries are just as miserable as we are during final exams. While she had exams, I spent part of my day in a small community pharmacy called Farmacia Prates and Mota. The pharmacists spoke very limited English, but they always tried to answer my questions.

Pharmacy in Portugal was surprisingly similar to pharmacy in the United States. In my opinion, there are factors about community pharmacy that are universal: the pharmacy is very accessible to the people, and for better or worse, there are still patients that come in and talk forever to the pharmacists (even sometimes to me although I do not speak any Portuguese!).

My favorite aspect of pharmacy in Portugal was not dealing with insurance issues. When patients would come in with a prescription, the pharmacists would simply just hand them the medication and give appropriate counseling. There were no prescription labels to be printed, no insurance information to be entered, and no phone calls to insurance companies to be made. I feel like this allowed for the pharmacists to have more time to interact with the patients PAGE 18

SEP IN...

and build relationships. Something that struck me as very different was the work attire. The pharmacists wore jeans and flip flops at times. It took me awhile to adjust to wearing this while working in a pharmacy. I could hear my lab teacher in the back of my mind threatening to take away my professionalism points.

Besides being at the pharmacy, I spent the rest of my time exploring the city of Lisbon. I got to see so many museums and famous monuments including the Belem tower. The highlight of my trip was going to the city of Porto and tasting all the amazing foods and wines! At the end of my student exchange, I was surprised how hard it was to say good bye. I got to know my host and the pharmacists I shadowed so well, even with a language barrier. I recommend pharmacy students to participate in the student exchange program.

Even if you are nervous about language barriers or being in new places, it is an experience you will enjoy. I have learned so much about pharmacy, people, and myself during my time abroad. There is no experience quite like it!

United Kingdom

Jane Kim APhA-ASP, United States of America Traveling abroad, practicing pharmacy, and meeting new people during summer break? Sign me up, please! When I heard about the International Pharmacy Students Federation (IPSF) and the Student Exchange Program (SEP), I got excited right away.

I had just started my first year of pharmacy school, moving all the way from California to Maryland. As I started absorbing how different the east coast was from the west, I realized that the SEP would allow me to do it on a global scale! London, England was my site of choice, mainly because I wanted to learn about our country’s roots, and if the UK was all that different from the U.S. The 2012 Olympics was definitely an added bonus!

In my 6-week trip, I traveled throughout London, visited a fellow pharmacy student doing research at Cambridge, and to Madrid and Amsterdam before/ after my exchange. I went to London thinking, English is English, right? I should have no problem. Besides just their accent, English in the UK uses many different words and phrases than what we use in the U.S. My favorites were stag-do/hen night (bachelor/ bachelorette party) and aubergine (eggplant). London is a huge metropolitan city and I loved seeing so much diversity in such a small area. I rented out a room in a flat with six other people who were: British, Spanish, Uruguayan, Italian, and Singaporean. At my pharmacy, there were British, Indian, Nigerian, Portuguese, and Iraqi employees. Meeting people from so many different backgrounds definitely gave me a sense of connectedness in the world. People from across the world share the same kinds of fears and doubts, as well as reasons for joy. Two English stereotypes were also confirmed: there are pubs everywhere and people drinking tea, all the time. The main pharmacist made me tea on several occasions!

I worked at a Day Lewis Pharmacy, UK’s largest independent pharmacy chain. It was an interesting

learning experience for several reasons. Working at Day Lewis got the benefits of both an independent pharmacy and a chain pharmacy; both a great idea and something I have not seen in the U.S. We filled over 500 prescriptions per day which the employees did professionally with ease. The pharmacist, pre-reg student, technician, dispensers, and medicine counter clerks were all very friendly and inviting; everyone worked hard while laughing and having fun throughout the day. They also had a great relationship with the patients and surgery (read: doctor’s offices) nearby which is important since the UK works under the National Health Service (NHS). As the U.S. is currently implementing its own version of universal healthcare, there was much to learn about a universal health care system that had been in place for decades.

It was astonishing to see patients getting their scripts filled with no insurance problems and the pharmacy with little payment problems. Although the NHS may have its issues, I thoroughly enjoyed being able to serve patients first by need, rather than by payment. The main pharmacist, Darshan Negandhi, MRPharmS, was passionate for change and emphasized the importance of pharmacists voicing their opinions and getting involved in support for our profession. I accomplished my main goal which was to learn about the NHS and exchange ideas for the future, under his guidance and support.

I am grateful to IPSF for having a program that offers students this kind of amazing opportunity and highly encourage everyone to apply. It was undoubtedly one of the best educational experiences in my life!

Viva La Pharmacie!

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SEP in

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TURKEY Finally, After 1 year of being interested in SEP since I was in my 2nd year of studying in Zagazig University. I went at July 2012 to Turkey. Really it was the best month in my life because of the beautiful places I went to and amazing friends I had from different countries that I will never forget.

I want to be a hospital pharmacist as a future career so I chose to have my training in a hospital pharmacy and it was very useful. I went to Gazi Hastanese “ Hospital “ which belongs to Gazi University in Ankara. My LEO was with me everywhere through the university till the Eczane “ Pharmacy “ of the hospital. When I arrived there I couldn’t believe myself from this unimaginable atmosphere around me.

Simply the training was from 9 am till 4 am for 3

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weeks. We were preparing prescriptions that written by the doctors and sent to the pharmacy to finish it correctly. After that I spend my spare time in the streets discovering the city and the area around me with my mobile GPS, my LEO or my SEP friends.

One of the best things that happened to me there that the dorms I stayed in was just 5 minutes away from the hospital so it was very comfortable thanks to TPA-YC hosting association. Turkey was the best choice for me because culture similarities since we were “ Egypt and Turkey “ under the control of Ottoman Empire and you see mosques around which makes you feel like you are home.

Our SEO was very cooperative with all SEP students. My Turkish friends were very nice to us and

helpful too. The Turkish people are also very kind to everyone. We had a lot of unforgettable memories everyday through social programs they have made for us. We went to The Black Sea and it was different experience for me and my friends. Also we visited Cappadocia the ancient city which is a stone city and also its underground city was more than 7 floors down. My special moment there was when I saw the balloons during sun rise. About my favorite time in Turkey was when I went to Istanbul and met all SEP friends of July and August. We visited everything there and we had the chance to buy a lot of presents and make memories.

Honestly, I saw a lot of things that I am sure it will improve my personal side well besides my pharmaceutical one and that’s the point to participate in this program. Now I am ready to apply what I have seen different in Turkey to Egypt and invest in myself.

At the end, an advice from me, you can call SEP “the golden chance” and I hope to come back to Turkey many times again so I recommend it for everyone who think about unforgettable SEP experience.

Special thanks to my French, Portuguese, Serbian, Slovenian, American, Asian and for sure Egyptian and Turkish friends who made my SEP best thing ever in my life.

Mohamed Ali AbuZeed EPSF Egypt

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SEP in n SLOVENIA Amazing is not enough to describe the wonderful experience I had with my new friends from all over the world in Slovenia during the month I spent in Ljubljana!

Fabulous is also probably not sufficient to describe the beauty of Ljubljana, Maribour, lake Bled, Bohinj, Postojna caves, Medvoda, and many other cities we visited during our stay in Slovenia!

My journey began with so much excitement about the whole experience, since it was the first time I travel to Europe, and on my own! Then when I arrived in Slovenia, I felt so comfortable very fast . The first thing I noticed even from the air, is that everything is quiete and well organized.

My first impression was proved after that, Ljubljana was really a calm city, full of landscapes and monuments worth seeing. Every place was near and easy to go to by city bikes or on feet. I admit that for me, many things were different, not just the culture, the language, architecture and weather, but also food, costumes and habitudes..Yet, I really enjoyed discovering all of that!

I also enjoyed every morning. I spent working and learning in the faculty of pharmacy of Ljubljana. In the department of pharmaceutical technology, I have done a very interesting practice with the help of well qualified mentors and colleagues which made me love our pharmaceutical field even more.

During our free time, we had so much fun by organizing visits to different place and cities in Slovenia (castles, lakes, mountains, parks, river-side, caves...) and we also had a great road trip to nearby European capitals (Budapest, Bratislava, Wien). During the roadtrip, we didn’t just discover new places, but also made new friendships which will be everlasting since we had the chance and time to know more about each other.

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One of the best things I appreciated about my SEP experience was the fact that we were all from different countries but we lived in the same dorm and hanged out all the time together, so we didn’t just learn about Slovenian culture but also Czech, Serbian, Portuguese, German, Hungarian, and of course Tunisian! Saying goodbye to all those nice friends wasn’t easy at all in the end of our SEP period, it felt like we knew each other since long time ago..that’s why we decided to always keep in touch and why not to meet again in Slovenia!

In the end I want to say “Hvala” (thanks in Slovenian) to all the friends I met there and to the host community of ŠSSFD Slovenia, to IPSF and of course to my dear association ATEP which let me have this great opportunity.

Zaouali Mohamed Amine ATEP Tunisia

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INDIA Dear Future SEP Students, My name is Melvin Gracias and I’m a Portuguese student of Pharmaceutical Sciences. During the month of August I went to Goa, India, for the SEP program, along with three other persons: two from Portugal and one from Czech Republic.

For three weeks, we learned the major differences between the dispensing process in India and Portugal at Hindu Pharmacy in Panaji, Goa, and we did a presentation at the Goa Pharmacy College about the Pharmacist work in our country and about our college. We spoke in front of a big audience and it was a really good experience. The pharmacy was always crowded, between clients and pharmacists.

If you like adventure India is the place to go. It’s a completely different reality from Europe, sometimes shocking, but really inspiring.

We got to travel a lot, meet a lot of different people, and see many things. If you choose to go to India, you must see the Taj Mahal, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, it is really amazing.

You have to be very careful though, since taxi drivers and shops always try to deceive you about prices. You have to be patient and bargain a lot (but it was always fun to argue with them).

As for Goa, it’s a different place from the rest of India, perhaps because of Portuguese influence. The beaches are like paradise, they’re a must see.

Eating spicy food every day, even for breakfast, seeing cows in the middle of the roads, travelling among them, trains and buses packed, cultural diversity - since India has 4 major religions (Hinduism, Islamism, Catholicism and Buddhism) - India is a country for every kind of people, but you have to be open-minded and have “guts”.

It was a great month, one that I’ll remember for the rest of my life.

Go to India, to Goa, have fun, enjoy the SEP experience.

Melvin Gracias APEF Portugal PAGE 23

SEP in

INDONESIA

Kuala Lumpur – Yogyakarta – Kuala Lumpur

more to be viewed than to be heard Salam and hello to readers especially to students of pharmacy in Malaysia =) This will be my first report about my first experience as an exchange student from Malaysia, and the country I chose was our country neighbor, Indonesia and the program was handled by Badan Eksekutas Mahasiswa Keluarga Mahasiswa Farmasi Universitas Gadjah Mada (BEM-KGMF UGM). I went there for three weeks starting from 2nd of July to 22nd July 2012. My main program in Yogyakarta is lab research and not forgetting having a tour around places in Yogyakarta.

During my time there, there were another two students who were under the same program like me.

They were Lok Li Yi from United Kingdom and Tomas Krizz from Czech Republic. Two of them were doing clinical program or housemanship at local pharmacy.

I stayed together with Tomas in the same host family.

Talking about my host family, they were very friendly to us and they had experience becoming host family for foreign students. They even took students from Japan and South Korea during my stay so it was like living in an international house. Even though we were from different places all over the world, we can communicate well, laugh together and lived like a family.

Thanks to our host family who treated us very well during our stay.

One of the things that I learnt while being an exchange student was about the history and culture of Yogyakarta itself. In Indonesia, Yogyakarta is known as D.I Yogyakarta where D.I is the short-form for Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta. It was known that way because it had an independent government before

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it combines with the main government of Indonesia and achieved independence. If we go there you can see their Sultan palace which is known as Kraton. It is now a tourist attraction place and there are cultural activities and performance there.

If we talk about their culture, I can say that they do not have much difference from us. Their main language is almost the same with our Malay language but the difference in pronunciation and words confused me when I was there. I can roughly understand but it is hard to reply. Plus the local people mostly speak Javanese language which is alien to me. Luckily the students are good in English especially the student exchange officers and the pharmacy seniors.

However I learn a bit on how to speak like they do so I can communicate with my host family and local people.

I went to lots of places during my stay and most of the places I have been to is around Yogyakarta.

Too bad that I could not go to more places around Indonesia like Bali or Bandung because I was busy with my research and the duration was short however it is worthwhile. I still remember my first visit was to Prambanan temple. There are two main temples in Yogyakarta which are Prambanan and Borobudur.

Prambanan temple is smaller but there are many temples all over and each has its own ancient history which is narrated as a theatre performance known as Prambanan ballet. The show was awesome and it is the main attraction for foreigners when they come to Prambanan. Another one is Borobudur, a majestic temple and one of the seven wonders of the world.

Other than that, I went to Kota Gede, the city of sil-

ver and I also visited Solo. They held a herbal tour in Solo where they took us to main places of herbal research and development, as well as the company of conducting extraction of plant products for international market. I can say that they really try their best to fully utilized their local resources for health development and disease treatment. They really are very proud of their ‘jamu’ and they are now trying to replace modern medicine with herbs in their clinics and hospital.

People tend to ask me why I chose Indonesia as my host country. I do not have any particular answer actually but I have interest in alternative medication.

I always think that there must be a way that we can increase the health quality of the people to the higher level by utilizing what we have in our surroundings. And one country I can think of where I can learn about this with plenty of resources is Indonesia. I did my research there under Prof Sismindari which is highly knowledgeable about using plant proteins as anti-cancer. She is highly known with her thesis and articles about anti-cancer and I really learn a lot from her. My research was quite tiring as I had to stay there for the whole days as I was rushing due to lack of time but to see the results I got, I felt really please with it. My research was about the analysis of plant for the presence of Ribosome Inactivating Proteins.

I was really grateful that I can finish the research in time, thanks to the help of my personal mentor and

lecturers in UGM who willingly to help.

I do not want to list them down as there are so many. I can just say all their food is ‘enak’ that I cannot pick one to be recommended. I don’t know if food at other parts of Indonesia is tasty as well but if anyone comes to Yogyakarta, always try their local delicacies. And the restaurant there is nice and the price is cheap as well.

Last but not least, this program is my best pharmacy program I have been to so far and it rouses my interest to go travel to other countries as well. I would love to join student exchange program again before graduating and I highly encourage everyone to join as well. There are more things that can learn by actually stepping your own feet at that place compared to just listening about it from others.

Of course you cannot stop from being nervous to go to someplace unknown to you, I was also nervous especially when I went there alone and no one to contact but if you dare to do that, you will get an experience you will never forget.

Special thanks to MyPSA, BEM-KGMF UGM, Mbak Yuni family, USM and UGM for this opportunity =) Ahmad Syauqi MyPSA Malasia

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SEP in

AUSTRALIA Living, working, and learning in Australia through the IPSF Student Exchange Program provided an irreplaceable value from a personally and and professionally.

From a professional perspective, it enabled me to be creative by not just trying to “think outside of the box,” but through getting out of it altogether! It made it easier to ask the ever-present question “why” when faced with differences and similarities of systems to academics, pharmacy owners, patients, and myself.

The side by side comparison allowed for analysis of the underlying values and inherent tradeoffs of pharmacy and healthcare practices. I discovered that just because Americans do things one way, doesn’t mean there aren’t other effective methods and views can accomplish the same purpose, sometimes even more efficiently. This applied to everything from drug scheduling, implications of location when medication therapy management services are provided, and pharmacy accreditation.

Living in a new culture for an extended period of time also provided insight into what it’s like to be a minority. I felt lost and out of place even in a country that “technically” spoke the same language. Amazingly even though the structure of sentences are sim-

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ilar, the vocabulary is drastically different. This along with the accent, different cultural and social values, ideas, and lifestyles was a constant reminder that I was on the other side of the world. I believe firmly this experience will directly translate into benefits for my future patients, maybe some of whom may be from minority cultures. I won’t be able to understand their exact situation, but I at least got a short glimpse into what it feels like to operate outside of the predominant culture.

IPSF also showed me that a career in international pharmacy is possible with a little planning and desire. Options can include everything from working with crisis response teams such as Doctors Without Borders, research, clinical work (I met an American PharmD working at a hospital in Cairns), or industry jobs. Transitioning between countries isn’t always seamless, but the opportunities are there if you know where and what to look for.

Finally on a personal level, the opportunity to travel and explore Australia was amazing. I took full advantage of my weekends and had some amazing life experiences that included the following highlights:

-Attended a Sydney Opera House Symphony performance -Climbed the Sydney Harbor Bridge -Water-taxied through Sydney Harbor -Drove the Great Ocean Rd (“on the wrong side”) -Fed kangaroos, wallabies, and emus -Watched the sunrise and sunset over the 12 Apostles -Observed the parade of wild penguins at St. Kilda in Melbourne -Attended a Rugby match -Successfully threw a boomerang -Took a gondola ride through a rainforest -Visited the oldest rainforest on Earth (Daintree) -Took a nap on the beach at Cape Tribulation -Kayaked down a mountain creek -Got an Australian Driver’s License -Went scuba diving in Great Barrier Reef -Learned to a play a didgeridoo -Saw wild saltwater crocodiles, koalas, and cassowaries -Hugged and fed a wild Sea Turtle underwater I had the time of my life through the IPSF-SEP and even gained some very applicable insights into healthcare, the world, and myself. It’s an experience I’d highly recommend!

Anthony Olson APhA-ASP, United States of America

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Thank you 1 - 11 August 2012

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The 57th IPSF World Congress Hurghada, Egypt PAGE 29

International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation PO BOX 84200 2508 AE Den Haag The Netherlands Tel: +31 70 302 1992 Fax: +31 70 302 1999 Email: ipsf@ipsf.org Website: www.ipsf.org

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