IPSF Newsletter, Issue #104

IPSF Newsletter | November 2014

Meet the SEC Team

Taste of history in Tunisia Days to remember in Taiwan My journey to the other side of the world

IPSF

newsletter 104

Student Exchange Programme

Since establishment in 1949, IPSF now represents over 350 000 pharmaceutical students and recent graduates in over 70 countries worldwide.

IPSF is the leading international advocacy organization for phamraceutical students promoting public health...

Student Exchange

Mr. Ahmed El-Molla

Editorial

content Meet the SEC Team

Page 2

SEP Experiences Page 8

SEP Development Fund Grants 2013-14 Page 19

Issue #104, November 2014

Design & Layout

Hello IPSF, am Ahmad El-Molla from Egypt. I started my journey with IPSF. in 2010, as a student exchange coordinator in Egypt’s EPSF. It has been four years now; they flew past, but enough for me to say I owe IPSF for all the personal and professional experience I got. I owe IPSF for introducing me to all my awesome friends worldwide. While I’m writing this editorial, I am sure it would be released in the best form possible; that’s the impact of having IPSF’s team. Everyone has a role and when you sum them up, you see the great full picture of a world of harmony that IPSF presents, where we all work with just one motive; “A better world”. “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil, is for good men to do nothing.” Edmund Burke. To me , IPSF is full of good people doing everything possible to let pharmacists share this extraordinary experience of love and understanding, regardless of religion, ethnicity or politics. Just the love of pharmacy and the urge to see the world a better place to live in I believe IPSF has all the potential it could need to be the best and to keep growing.

This year the Executive Committee, the Student Exchange Committee and I, being member of both, would do whatever it takes to make this year one of the most remarkable years in IPSF history.

Viva l’IPSF, Viva la pharmacie

Ms. Essra Noureldin IPSF Media and Publications chairperson Cover photo

SEP students in Poland Proofread by Ms. Essra Noureldin

publications@ipsf.org editor@ipsf.org

Chairperson of Media and Publications

Editor-in-Chief

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Meet the SEC team Ms. Colleen O’Connell I’m from United States of America I am very excited to be a part of the amazing Student Exchange Committee (SEC) this year! My name is Colleen O’Connell, and I am a final year student pharmacist at South Dakota State University in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States. I have been involved with IPSF throughout all of pharmacy school, organizing local events to promote international pharmacy education and to learn more about other cultures and pharmacy around the world. My true IPSF passion came from setting up my univeristy to be a host site for the Student Exchange Program (SEP) in summer

of 2013. After that summer, I served as the 20132014 US Student Exchange Officer Assistant with my great friend and role model, Ashley Potter, who was the Student Exchange Officer (SEO) last year and is this year’s current US SEO. I enjoy working with student pharmacists to help them achieve their goals of participating in SEP in the US and across the globe. To me, SEP is the cornerstone of IPSF and is an invaluable part of IPSF as it allows students to learn about pharmacy in other countries and become better future pharmacists. During my time on SEC, I hope to be a resource for the Student Exchange Officers and keep them motivated to make SEP the best ever this upcoming summer!

Ms. Nour Hassen Khodja I’m from Algeria “Dear IPSFers , I’m Nour from ASEPA Algeria ,I’m in the 5th year pharmacy and I recently started my internship in hospital in Algiers.I can affirm you that SEP is one of the amazing program that IPSF provides! It is a cultural, educational and scientific exchange experience.

Being the SEO of my local association during the

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past two years was one of the most incredible experiences I have ever had ,I learned so much and got to know wonderful people. I now want to continue my work at international level, and this is why I applied for SEC (Student Exchange Committee).My aim is to work in improving SEP in IPSF and this is possible only by giving one hundred per cent of myself, being efficient and guiding new SEOs to achieve their goals”.

Viva IPSF ,Viva la Pharmacie !

Student Exchange

Ms. Crisalda Ferrús I’m from Spain “Hola!! My name is Crisalda Ferrús, I’m a pharmacy student taking my 5th (and finally!) last year of college. I belong to FEEF-Spain (Spanish Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation) which represents over twenty thousand pharmacy students in the country. In December 2013 I was appointed as Vice-president of Mobility assuming the role of Student Exchange Officer (SEO) for IPSF. I have no words to describe what this year has been to me, of course there were moments where I just wanted to shut down my email account to stop receiving messages from everyone and everywhere, but the whole experience has been very rewarding, working for IPSF has allowed me

to meet amazing people from all over the world and feeling that you are helping other students to develop their professional career has no price!

That is why that after attending the World Congress in Porto and being able to meet in person all these people with whom I exchanged so many emails, after truly feeling the IPSF spirit, I discovered that I would like to put something more from myself to keep improving IPSF and more specifically, the Student Exchange Programme to which I dedicated so many hours... and then I joined the Student Exchange Committee (SEC)! We are a bunch of former SEOs who will be here to help the new ones and do our best to offer the best SEP ever!

Feel free to contact any of us :)

Mr. Bang Nguyen Sy I’m from Hungary Hello my name is Bang.

I ‘m the SEO of Hungary and now a member of SEC starting this autumn. I was born in Vietnam, but I have been living in Hungary for 17 years now. My hobbies are playing snooker, guitar and doing magic tricks.In the summer of 2013 I did my summer practice in the USA thanks to SEP. It was an unforgettable experience and I wanted to be more involved in this amazing program, so in the autumn of 2013 I became the SEO of our association. During my work as SEO I have met a

lot of amazing people and helped many students to have the opportunity to do their practice abroad.

In the summer of 2014 I have attended the IPSF World Congress in Porto and there I decided to apply for SEC. My goal as a SEC member is to help improve this truly unique program by helping my fellow SEOs in their work and coming up with new ideas. It is a great pleasure for me to be part of this excellent team and to know that our work can change so many lives, because together we can make the world a SEPer place!

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Ms. Bianca Chichirău I’m from Romania ” Work for a cause, not for applause. Live life to express, not to impress.

Don’t strive to make your presence noticed, just make your absence felt.”

I am Bianca Chichirău, I represent my association FASFR (Romanian Pharmaceutical Students’Associations’ Federation). This year is my second mandate as SEO and the first as SEC member. During my work last year, I realized that this programme, SEP, offered me the possibility to improve my organizational, multitasking and

communication skills, and also to discover new qualities which I am sure will contribute to my personal development.

SEP has been a breakthrough in my career, because it helped me decide what I want to do further on, after graduation, and I believe that it has given me the strength needed in order to pursue my goals and ideas.

Mr. Jaafar Kebir I’m from Tunisia I’m from Morocco, studying in Tunisia.

Attracted!! Is the word that can describe my feeling towards SEP. I have been deeply involved since the beginning of SEP in my country.

I started as a member in the helping committee, the next year I was appointed as SEO. Communicating with other SEOs and bonding with new people drove me to do my best to improve the SEP experience and make the internships easier as it’s an opportunity where pharmacy students besides improving their skills, can experiment new cultures, places and perspectives. Being a SEC

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member is an honor and a duty toward the new SEOs by helping them, especially the ones who are trying to establish SEP in their countries. I’m already enjoying working with such enthusiastic people.

Let’s the SEP year begin.

Student Exchange

Ms. Melanie Grzonkowski I’m from Germany My name is Melanie Grzonkowski and I was the former SEO of BPhD Germany. In my opinion SEOs need someone they can talk to about their achievements and problems they face. As a former SEO I have faced lots of challenges, which most of the SEOs worldwide might experience as well. Due to last year´s SEC dream team work I was able to learn about IPSF and was able to find a solution to these challenges. As for my mandate as SEC member I want to help SEOs in improving SEP in their countries and I will try to give them my advice on any issue. I am looking forward to be a big sister (even though my height is small).

Furthermore I am looking forward to work with the new SEC dream team, which consists of many

SEOs I have worked during my year as SEO. I was able to meet most of the SEO, who are now part of SEC in person at the 60th IPSF congress in Porto.

This was one of my reasons to join SEC – in order to be able to work with such motivated people.

We as team plan to implement and improve some project the last dream team has initiated, e.g. Big Sister Project or promotion of SEP via Instagram photo challenges. Another big issue will be to find more fun and creative ways to get SEOs more involved with SEP promotion work, more active and more involved with each other.

There is a lot of work and structuring to be done, but I am very confident about it that the new SEC dream team 2014-15 can accomplish great things during the next SEP year.Feel free to contact any of us :)

Mr. Jaroslaw Kmieć I’m from Poland Hi! My name is Jarosław Kmieć I’ve been working in SEP for the last 3 years , Firstly I started with just helping our LEO, later I was appointed as LEO and after that I became the SEO and currently I am SEC member.

For me the best thing about SEP is meeting new people from around the world . I would be more than happy to share the SEP experience with everyone. And I would love to help the other SEOs with their doubts and problems.

Let’s create better and better SEP experience every year! ;)

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Ms. Emileen Chieng I’m from Malaysia “Hi IPSFers!!!!

I’m Emileen Chieng from Malaysia. I’m currently in my third year of study and like most of you, I am struggling with my studies . Haha. Good luck to all!

So how did I end up here in SEC? Ever since I’ve discovered SEP from meeting the SEOs in the 59th IPSF World Congress in Utrecht, Netherlands, my life has been very fulfilling!

After this amazing encounter, I had decided to become SEO for MyPSA and be involved in this great SEP mission. Meeting future pharmacists from all around the world was a breath-taking

experience. Sharing cultures and knowledge help to expand our horizon. You don’t get this from studying lecture notes everyday. So, we have to stop being a bookworm and get out there and experience all this awesomeness!

To keep myself involve in SEP, I’ve decided to continue my SEP passion by being a SEC member to guide all the new SEOs out there! So, don’t hesitate to find me when you need help. ;) I hope to meet all of you lovelies out there one day! Wish you all best of luck and may you be an incredible pharmacist soon!

Viva la Pharmacie!”

Ms. Miranda Law I’m from United States of America One year later, and I’m still on the team :) taking a step back this year, my goals for my time on SEC is to really be able to give guidance and appropriate advice for the team. Taking the experiences from this past year, I hope that I can help Ahmad and the rest of the SEC team to avoid mistakes made from last year, improve upon programs being developed and give a friendly word of advice when needed. SEP has changed my life in so many ways, and I’m happy to continue giving back to this program. Cheers to another year of SEP work! Viva la Pharmacie, Viva la IPSF! <3

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Student Exchange

Mr. Ahmed El-Molla I’m from Egypt Hello , It’s me again . Student exchange is a project of great importance, it allows pharmacy students from all over the world to see how their fellow pharmacists across the globe do their role in helping patients. It allows them to see a new country, learn a new language. and experience a new culture in the month they spend in SEP. This year SEC would like to improve this project and let the participants use their experience in improving their national associations and start their way through IPSF. One

person’s experience, should be their country’s entire federation’s experience.

IPSF is full of great people who work hard to keep it the greatest source of inspiration to pharmacy students worldwide. We hope this year we would contribute to this great federation to which we owe a lot of who we became and who we will become Much Love, Viva l’IPSF , Viva la Pharmacie!!

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Jennifer Liang

Taste of history in Tunisia SEP Experience in Tunisia

I have been always used to seeing history behind glass in museums, but here I felt that I could interact with it Arriving in Tunisia in early August after a brief trip to Barcelona from the U.S., I recall being excited and overwhelmed to find myself in yet another unfamiliar country. Just days before, I was speaking Spanish and snacking on tapas; before that, I was working in community pharmacy in Michigan.

Here, I wondered what the next few weeks of the SEP program would bring. Unlike with Spain, I had no language base and only a limited idea of what to expect culturally.

Now when I think of Tunisia, I think of the warmth of its sunny landscapes and welcoming people.

Even though I was hot and sweaty from my journey, my student host Sarah greeted me at the taxi station with a friendly smile and two kisses

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on my cheeks. She had invited me to a concert that night, and I was surprised to find that it was a performance of Beethovenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 9th symphony at El Jem, in an amphitheater built by the Romans centuries ago. It boggled my mind that I was sitting inside an ancient structure, listening to music where chariot races were held and where gladiators once fought. I have been alway s used to seeing history behind glass in museums, but here I felt that I could interact with it. That first night was truly magical, especially when we returned home and I fell asleep to echoes from the nearby mosques.

The first day of my placement at the Fattouma Bourguiba University Hospital in Monastir was an equally new and eye-opening experience.

After meeting my mentor in the hematology department, I was introduced to a few residents who showed me around and helped translate, as English is the third language for most Tunisians.

I could usually get by in basic conversations using gestures and expressions, but had a more challenging time understanding scientific terms.

Soon, I began to bring a French phrase book and dictionary to work, and started keeping an Arabic vocabulary list in my phone to improve my communication.

My schedule was roughly 9 am to 1pm from

Student Exchange

Monday to Saturday. Each member had his or her own role, whether it be to perform ABO testing or ELISA assays, or to look for abnormalities in patient blood samples. Additionally, staff evaluated potential donors for the blood bank housed in our department. While I was usually in the lab area, I also had a chance to see other parts of the hospital, as I sometimes went with the residents down to the patient wards to observe bone marrow sample collection. In general, my placement was structured more as a shadowing experience, especially since I probably would have needed more training to carry out certain tasks; indeed, I was surprised to find that the hematology residency program required four years beyond a six-year pharmacy degree. It was interesting to see how the role of pharmacists at my placement differs from that of hospital pharmacists in the U.S. Outside of work, I enjoyed exploring local sights such as the first presidentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mausoleum and of course, the beach. I also loved trying all the delicious Tunisian food that my host mother made: tuna sandwiches with cucumber salad and

spicy harissa inside, a cumin-spiced eggplant dish called shakshouka, and classic couscous. Despite my best efforts to recreate these tastes at home, there always seems to be something missing in

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my recipe.

Although I was the only pharmacy exchange student at the time, other Tunisian pharmacy students and at least twenty international medical students were also in Monastir. During my third week, I attended IPSFâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Eastern Mediterranean Pharmaceutical Symposium (EMPS), and had the opportunity to meet an even more diverse group of people from all over the region. One of my favorite memories of EMPS was Cultural Night, at which representatives from each country showcased their culture through traditional food and performances. At the health workshops and in casual conversation, I got to know the stories of some of these student pharmacists, gaining insight about common challenges and goals in our profession.

After the symposium, I traveled around to the capital and the Sahara before returning to my placement. It amazed me that such a range of settings, from bustling city to vast desert to sandy

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beach, could exist in a country the size of Florida!

For introducing me to beautiful sights, wonderful people, and new perspectives during my stay in Tunisia, I am thankful for the SEO, my hosts, and everyone who made my SEP experience possible.

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Miljana Nenkov

Days to remeber

My SEP Experience in Taiwan

I never thought that I would feel so good in a country that is so far away and so different than mine Taiwan was the first Asian country that I visited and I couldn’t have chosen better! A beautiful island that has really “touched my heart”! I was interested by the fact that the Portuguese had once called Taiwan “Formosa” and now I understand why! The thing that impressed me the most was the hospitality of the Taiwanese.

Taiwanese people, more than any other, are the kindest that I’ve ever had the pleasure to meet.

More than friendly, they have a genuine pleasure to help others.

My preferred field of work was research, and I was placed at Taipei Medical University, Lab of Clinical Pharmacy. The research was about Pharmacogenomics. I was so enthusiastic about this relatively new field of pharmacy. My supervisor was professor Wei-Chiao Chang, the best professor that I’ve ever seen. He was very 12 IPSF Newsletter

friendly and always willing to help. During my training in the lab I was reading the research papers that the professor gave to me, and also research students were teaching me common techniques that are used in pharmacogenomics.

First, I have learned techniques such as DNA amplification, DNA sequencing, and gene expression analysis. Then the professor gave us an assignment. The research project with the following topic: Association between ADH2 genetic polymorphism and alcohol metabolism.

I was working on this with two students. Great topic, I really enjoyed doing this project! We managed to finish this and we presented our results to the professor.

In Serbia, I didn’t have a chance to work in that kind of lab. Unfortunately, pharmacogenomics appears to be a distant dream in my country. I am very grateful to PSA-Taiwan for providing me a placement in prof. Chang’s lab! I am really thankful to the professor for giving me a great opportunity to work in his laboratory! All PhD students from the lab were always eager to teach me every day.

All SEP students in Taipei were able to attend to IPSF APRO GPP conference for free which included an entire day at Taipei Veteran Hospital. I learned about healthcare system and hospitals in Taiwan by attending this training and I also got to know some students from other Asian countries.

Student Exchange

In addition to the wealth of education I gained during my exchange, I also met students from all over the world and made amazing memories.

Living in a student dormitory at Taipei Medical University I met other exchange program students from numerous countries. Living with two local students and one SEP student was great because I never felt lost or alone. The local students took us around after training every day. The excursions they planned were great and fun! If there was somewhere we wanted to go, they arranged it for us. They were really warm-hearted! We were able to see a lot of Taipei and even outside of Taipei. I had the opportunity to visit Hualien and I loved that small city surrounded by the Pacific Ocean on one side and the mountains of Taroko National Park on the other side. For me, it is a natural treasure on Earth - what a blessed tropical landscapes.

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natural treasure on Earth - what a blessed tropical landscapes.

My main goals for the trip were to broaden my pharmacy knowledge, to obtain more practice and to meet international students. My SEP in Taiwan exceeded my expectations by far! Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve achieved my goals. Through IPSF student exchange Programme, I gained more knowledge, new skills and new insights and made many new friends from all around the world. I learned more than I ever thought I could. I never thought that I would feel so good in a country that is so far away and so different than mine. I would highly recommend IPSF SEP, especially to Taiwan, to everyone!

Miljana Nenkov University of Belgrade, Faculty of Pharmacy

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Mouna Ben Salem

My journey to the other side of the world My SEP Experience in Argentina

Now I can proudly say that I have a second home country and a second family and I’m sure that I’ll be come back there one day!! ‘’AEFRA, Argentina, has reserved your application.’’

I couldn’t believe my eyes! Words can’t describe the happiness that overwhelmed me! It was a dream came true, the beginning of an adventure that I could never forget! I can’t deny the fact that I was a bit stressed as it was the first time that I travelled far from my home country (in a continent else then Europe) In addition to that, I read some articles on the internet on others travel experiences and complaints regarding the safety of the country.

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But all of this didn’t stop me from going and taking this adventure and now, I can say that it was the best thing that has ever happened to me.

After almost 16 hours of flight, I finally arrived to Buenos Aires.

I spent ten days there and then three days in Iguazu to see the waterfalls, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. I was fascinated by the modernity and the diversity of Buenos Aires, the city of tango, fashion, nightclubs and passion.

I also fell in love with Iguazu and its incredible landscapes, a real paradise on earth! And I won’t forget Bariloche and Mendoza that I visited during the weekends after starting my internship. I also had the chance to see the snow for the first time in my life (In Tunisia we don’t really have snow) I almost cried. On the second of September, I was finally going to San Luis to start my internship.

After eleven hours of journey (again) in a night bus (or ‘’cole’’ like it’s called there) I arrived. San Luis is a small town (‘’small’’ here is relative but for Argentinian people it is!!) I started my internship in ‘’Hospital escuela de salud mental de San Luis’’ and I spent an unforgettable time there. The pharmacists that were working there were more than kind and nice to me, especially Enrique, the pharmacy’s chief who was like a father. He took good care of me, showed me how they worked

Student Exchange

and introduced me to other people who were also working in the medical field. Most of all, the way patients were treated in this hospital really touched my soul. There were different groups like ‘’alcoholic’s group’’ ‘’Esperanza’’ which means hope, another group for children and teenagers.

It was a way to help patients to overcome their illness, their fears, their despair and to give them hope and a meaning in life. Being a pharmacist or a doctor isn’t only about giving a prescription, a diagnosis but also to give an ear to the patients, to give them warmth, love and care. For me, it’s rare to find pharmacists and doctors thinking and acting this way, especially nowadays in our world where money is making the law and humanity is starting to fade away. Now I can say that I have a different approach and vision of our profession as pharmacists. I’ve realized also the importance of

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humanity and kindness that are things we tend to forget easily.

I also met incredible funny, kind and big-hearted people, people that I will never forget and that will always have a place in my heart. We shared many unforgettable moments like the ‘’welcoming party’’ where they introduced me to the ‘’asado’’.

Argentina has the best meat in the world!! I will never forget our parties that ended by that time the sun was rising, I will also never forget our laughs and our tears. Saying goodbye to all of them was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. I left a part of me there...

Now I can proudly say that I have a second home country and a second family and I’m sure that I’ll be come back there one day!! I want to take the time to thank my adorable host ‘’Brenda’’. Even though we spent such a short amount of time together, we were each other’s secret keeper.

Now I can say that I have a big sister in the other side of the world. I’d also like to thank ‘’Diego’’ who

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was like my guardian angel. And finally I would like to give a shout out to everyone else that was there for me, Jorge, Sebastian, Valeria, Malek, Silvana, Claudia, Carole, the girl from France who was doing her internship with me, Manu, Shirley, Rodrigo. To sum up, this was a life changing experience. I’ve learnt to love to cherish to laugh and most importantly to live. I wish everyone could be as blessed as me and get this kind of chance.

Mouna Ben Salem Tunisia

Student Exchange

Maria Ajeng Listyorini

My SEP Experience in Slovenia

SEP Development Fund Grant 2013-2014

I love to share and learn about cultures from people around the world. This experience was exciting!!

Tuesday, June 24th, 2014 the plane I was taking landed in Joze Pucnik Airport, Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Here I am, in the land of my dreams : Europe.

Have been dreaming about visiting Europe since primary school. I was so excited. Two students from Students’ Section of the Slovenian Pharmaceutical Society (SSSFD Slovenia), Danaja and her friend, greeted me soon after I came out from the airport.

They then took me to their friend’s home in Polje, a place where I stayed for a while before I moved to the student dorm.

I stayed in a very kind family’s home for 2 days.

Jerca and her family were so nice. They took care of me . They also told me many things about Slovenia, such as their culture, food, attractions, and showed me many artworks from a popular

Slovenian architect named Joze Plecnik. We even went to some popular attractions in Slovenia like Postojna Cave and Predjama Castle. So, I can say it was my short vacation before the internship began. Unfortunately, I didn’t stay for long with this kind family because I had to move to the student dorm.

Rozna Dolina is the name of the dorm where I stayed for about 1 month. I was placed in a dorm where others exchange students (not only from IPSF, but also from other associations) stayed for their internships in Slovenia. It was great that I can live with people around the world in 1 dorm. We shared many things about our countries. I love to share and learn about cultures from people around the world. This experience was exciting.

I started my internship at July 1st. In the weekend before I started the internship, I went to some beautiful places in Slovenia with student exchange participants in June. We visited Vintgar Gorge, Lake Blade, and Lake Bohinj. Those are the must-visit-places if you come to Slovenia. I also tasted the Kremsnita, the legendary cream cake from Bled. You can’t really experience Bled without tasting this legendary cream cake. Well, I can say that it was my second short trip before the internship began.

Here came the day of the internship. I worked in research field, in Department of Pharmaceutical IPSF Newsletter

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doing their thesis when I worked there. Their names were Iva and Spela. They were mentored by dr. Nina. The internship wasn’t only about me work in a place and make sure that everything has been done perfectly,the people whom I spent my lunch time with, how I interacted and had time together with, and what was I talking about during my free time were the great part of this internship. I never had enough of this of course, I will always want more.

There were also other nine students who had internships in July. There was Monika, Gosia, Kordian, Kamila, Didem, Nada, Martin, and Pierre from Poland, Turkey, Serbia, Czech, and France.

Biology,Here came the day of the internship.

I worked in research field, in Department of Pharmaceutical Biology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Ljubljana. That’s why I chose Slovenia : they provide research in specific departments. I helped a professor in his research about Lichenes islandicus. I extracted, measured viscosity and phenolic compounds of the lichens. I also did some modification on the project as prof. Samo Kreft told me to do. For me, the laboratory where I worked was a comfort place to work. It has complete facilities. The laboratory was also clean with all the tools arranged very well. I could find easily anything I needed for doing my work. I really enjoyed working there.

Of course I wasn’t alone in the laboratory. I met many kind people who worked there too. There were dr. Damjan, asist. Eva, Mateja,dr. Nina, and asist. Meta. They are nice people who helped me along my work. Anytime I needed something, they were always there to help me, even find the solution when I faced small problems with the project. There were also two students who were

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During free time we usually had time to hang out.

We watched the jazz festival, had dinner, did a small climbing to Smarna Gora, held food party, watched movie in one of our rooms, and even just had small party with small conversation in one of our rooms.

Student Exchange

I completed my SEP experience in Slovenia. It was difficult to say goodbye in the end. However, I have made good memories, something good to remember.

Finally, I want to say thank you IPSF, my faculty and university that supported me to experience this wonderful SEP. I hope someday I can go to Europe again. Hvala!

Maria Ajeng Listyorini Sanata Dharma University, Indonesia

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Pham Mai An

My SEP Experience in Ghana

SEP Development Fund Grant 2013-2014

I didn’t only learn about pharmacy practice in another country, but I also learned about the culture and built long lasting friendships..

First of all, people can be wondering why did i choose Ghana? Despite the fact to be interested in this program in order to improve my personal and professional profile, my goal was also to understand health care beyond the borders and how I could eventually make my own practice more efficient when I return back to France. I was also aware of Ghanaian’s warm welcome and friendliness.

Moreover, for the ones who are a bit adventurous and like to feel a bit disorientated, I would be

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tempted to say that: « Ghana 3y3 de ! » (Ghana is sweet) So I applied this past summer for a three-week internship both in hospital and community pharmacy. Before my departure, I was overwhelmed with mixed feelings. Africa isn’t a continent where occidental people used to go, so my first feelings were obviously the fear of many things: fear of taking the plane so far alone, fear to be in an unknown land, fear of all those diseases over exposed by the media like Ebola fever, and above all, fear to be disappointed …

But it wasn’t definitively the case.

I was offered to work the morning at any service in the hospital which interests me so I chose the Drug Medical Information Center (DMIC) which was the most related service to my future work field ambition. My usual morning was like : wake up at 6 AM (even I was usually woken up before : Ghanaian’s’ habits were to be out of bed at 5 AM to take full advantage of the day, the sun go down near 7 PM in the country); taking the trotro which is about one hour from the accommodation to Adum where was the hospital (trotro is their uncommon transportation where you just have to raise hands and ask where you desire to go); arriving at the hospital service between 8.30 and 9 AM; lunch at 1 PM. So I had generous time left to visit all services

related to DMIC, help a bit in their daily routine and make some case reports … The colleagues I worked with were very available and always tried to make things clear when I had any questions.

At the end of afternoon, I was invited to join the community pharmacy team until the closing time to execute prescriptions. They used computer software to collect data about patients‘ health insurance and dispense drugs, like in Europe.

To me, health care professionals in Africa seems to be very good clinicians as they have to face the lack of electronic devices and diagnosis equipment.

I also had the opportunity to join the Annual Drug Safety and Awareness Campaign 2014 which were one week camping program, specific to the SEP in Ghana, where free accommodation, transportation and food were provided for SEP students: this year it took place in Koforidua in the Eastern Region of Ghana and the main subjects discussed were: diabetes, hypertension and antibiotics resistance. During the 10 days,

Student Exchange

we went every morning to schools, churches or villages to meet the locals especially to make them understand our pharmaceutical point of view on drug misuse.

It was a really great experience to go out to the public, practice my scholar English and share my pharmaceutical knowledge from France!

But every region had its own unofficial language although English is the main language taught in school. And most of children and adults in some areas still speak better Twi than English: there were many illiterates and people who even didn’t spoke English, especially in the villages and rural areas.

The main difficulties I had to face were when locals switch languages from English to Twi (the local language of Ashanti region) which made it hard to guess the deep meaning of the spoken sentences. It took me some times to manage the African English accent.

I didn’t only learn about pharmacy practice in another country, but I also learned about the culture and built long lasting friendship with the Ghanaian students and other people I met during the exchange, especially during the Drug Awareness Campaign. It was a really great opportunity to share the culture, especially meals and their way of partying! I can’t imagine how my SEP would be like if I didn’t meet them …

This SEP also brought me a lot of autonomy and adaptability in my way of living in a total different environment. I really miss the pharmacy students and that I had the opportunity to share a wonderful discovering of Ghana (we visited many cultural sites such as Kintampo waterfalls, Bosomtwe lake, Cape Coast castles, the National Capital Region Accra …)

What I would advise now for the next SEP students who are still hesitating to make their exchange

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to Ghana is to ask themselves 3 questions: Are you adventurous? Do you want to experience something humanly and professionally different?

And are you ready to set aside occidental way of living to put yourself in question in order to gain autonomy and maturity?

If yes, Ghana is the place for you.

Pham Mai An, from France

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Student Exchange

Jelena Mijuskovic

My SEP Experience in Indonesia

SEP Development Fund Grant 2013-2014

It was truly rewarding and a great professional experience Where to start... Indonesia made such a huge impression on me! Marvelous landscapes, admirable culture, the kindest people I have ever met, internship far more interesting than I expected it to be... But let me start from the beginning. When two of my colleagues from Serbia and I first came to Jakarta airport everything seemed so chaotic, but we managed to find our way to Bandung and it was a true adventure at the very beginning, promising to include a lot of fun in this trip. And it sure was! We explored small paradise islands still undiscovered and unspoiled by tourists, dived among the corals and swam with sharks, climbed volcanoes, watched beautiful sunrise over mountains and old Buddhist temples, attended and even participated in traditional performances... My memories keep coming back, as I am still under impression of this, I could even say, once-in-a-lifetime journey, but let’s just get back to the story! In Bandung

we were warmly welcomed by our SEO, who took us to the accommodation, which was far above our expectations. It was also close to ITB, Institut Teknologi Bandung, where we performed our scientific researches – my research was in the field of biotechnology. I was truly amazed by the seriousness and volume of research that is performed there, and even more – by the devotion and agility of students working on them so independently. I was even a bit ashamed because of the prejudice that I listened before I came here, from the people unaware of actual situation, as we all are sometimes, especially when it comes to countries so distant and distinct. We learned so much from them, as they all, our mentor, other members of department and especially the students, were so knowledgeable, kind and willing to instruct us. We were even invited to attend the annual celebration at the University and gala dinner with professors afterwards, where we, exchange students along with our SEO, were the only students attending. That represents the kind of treatment we had in Bandung, as we were truly feeling like an honored and welcomed guests. And the dinner was great also! Very spicy meals and sweet, sweet desserts – true Indonesian cuisine! But despite that, we had to work hard – everyday from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. and in the end of research we had to write a report and discuss IPSF Newsletter

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results with our mentor. Although it wasn’t the easiest internship, it was truly rewarding and a great professional experience. We even managed to finish it earlier so we had some spare time to visit some other places in Indonesia. But

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before I continue with my adventurous story, I want to thank and compliment our SEO and all the members of the HMF-ITB organization for being such a great hosts. They would wait for us everyday after our internship and take us wherever we wanted to go. Hosts showed us the city, took us to museums, angklung (their national musical instrument) performance, restaurants with traditional Indonesian cuisine, shopping malls, organized international evening where all the students – Indonesian, Serbian, Finish, Danish, American – prepared their national meals and made a short presentation of their countries.

And every weekend they organized some trips out of town – once it was crater lake with sulfur and unbelievably turquoise water, and beautiful tea plantation afterwards, another time it was jungle with monkeys, caves and waterfalls, or a mountain whose top we tried to conquer… They made our staying unforgettable, and I am sure we will remain friend for life.

After Bandung, we first went south to Yogyakarta where Borobudur was located, the biggest

Student Exchange

Buddhist temple from the 9th century and Prambanan, where we watched spectacular Ramayana and Mahabharata performance in the evening. After that, we went north to islands of Karimun Java where some of the students from Bandung were already waiting for us and we spent several exciting days on its paradise beaches, drinking coconut milk straight from the shell and eating fish three times a day! Later, we headed east, to islands Bali and Lombok, and on our way we spent couple of days on magnificent mountain and volcano Bromo. There are small Gili islands on the north of Lombok where we chose to relax for a few days, following the recommendations from our new Indonesian friends, after which we ended our visit to Indonesia in beautiful city of Ubud, cultural center of Bali. There we visited numerous magnificent Hindu temples, beautiful sceneries such as rice fields and terrace drank famous Luwak coffee, enjoyed colorful dance performances as well as traditional Balinese massages. The only wish I had after this visit â&#x20AC;&#x201C; was to come back once again! I would recommend this trip to everyone who feels ready to try out something truly different, inspiring and rewarding. what they eat (chilli, chilli and more chilli), how they feel, about educational system or what young people love to do on their free time.

I admit I was rather surprised at how polite and welcoming all the pharmacy students and professors had been at the University. I made many life-long friendships while studying, sharing knowledge and comparing pharmacy practice in different countries all over the world. They made me feel right at home and they helped with any problems I had during my stay. These same students exposed me to more of the local culture, customs and secrets that I would never

have been able to find on my own. I met so many kind-hearted, amazing and genuine friends that I hope to see again very soon, perhaps at new destination.

During my stay at the internship, I have grown as a pharmacy student and more importantly as an individual. I would like to thank our supervisors at the research project and all the students as they experienced this unforgettable journey with me.

To all of you, who are still thinking about going to SEP, just apply and I promise you wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t regret it! It is such a unique opportunity to experience something so memorable and useful in life.

Jelena Mijuskovic Serbia

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International Pharmaceutical Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; 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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