My story in APPS2014 Malaysia

n a i i s y y r a o l t a S M y 4 M S201 P P A

Day 0

Arrival and Registration Welcome Party

Day 1 Opening Ceremony Symposia International Night

Day 2 Workshops Cultural Workshop Auction Night

Day 3

Pharmazing Race Public Health Campaign Preparation

Day 4

Symposia Public Health Campaign

Day 5 Regional Meeting PCE Final Gala Night

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Asia Pacific Regional Office APPSMalaysia2014 Magazine

My story in APPS Malaysia

Great exposure for young pharmacy students >>

BY AKIKO NISHIOKA, CP OF APS-JAPAN

I think this connection between pharmacy students around the world is one of the biggest benefits I can gain from this experience.

APS-Japan and it was my first time attending a Regional Meeting. All those who attended the meeting were executives or members who had worked hard in their association.

This is so that we could share many ideas for activities from each association all the time. It was a great experience for me because after I came back to Japan, I could suggest some From the 22nd to 28th of August of those ideas in the official meeting 2014, I attended the 13th Asia Pacific of APS-Japan with hope that it will Pharmaceutical Symposium (APPS) help APS-Japan to develop much which was held in Malaysia. More further in the future. than 200 pharmacy students from all over the Asia Pacific participated, One of the most interesting activincluding 24 students from Japan. ities for me was the Public Health Last year, I was a group leader of Campaign. We did a campaign on APPS 2013, which was held in Tokyo. tobacco. I personally think in many For APPS 2013, all the Japanese com- countries the issue of tobacco is a mittees including the group leaders rising problem. In Japan, about 20 did a great job. However, we did not have much time to talk with most of the participants from other countries. Therefore, I was looking forward to meeting and interacting with as many people as possible this time around.

I originally attended the Regional Meeting as an Official Delegate of March 2015

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percent of the people are smokers and the government is trying their hardest to reduce this number. However, unfortunately, there are only a few campaigns like this one in Japan.

For our campaign, we collected signatures from smokers, did a road event whereby we displayed a poster board and told drivers to honk their horns if they agree with our campaign, danced at a big shopping mall as well as asked people questions regarding between the two countries. Nonethetobacco. During this campaign, I was less, it gave us ideas for better public surprised that a lot of people showed health campaigns in the future. interest in the campaign and asked us about it. If we were to organize Coincidently, the research such a campaign in Japan, people I am doing at my union the streets may ignore us and not versity is about tobacco show interest in what we do. From this, I could see a very big difference cessation programs, so

it was great to see such campaigns in a different country as I could gather information from other parts of the world.

Now, after coming back to Japan, I tried to search for more information from websites and asking new friends I met through APPS and start to sort out these dates. I think this connection between pharmacy students around the world is one of the Students today, Pharmacists tomorrow

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My story in APPS Malaysia

English before I attended APPS otherwise I could not have shared nor exchanged so much information with people all around the world. For future participants from Japan who wish to attend this program, I would like to share a piece of advice that is they should try their best to improve their English speaking as this will help you to communicate with others from different parts of the world.

Being a pharmacist will be their lives work and it would be good for them to find new excitements through such program.

In Japan, we do not have as many chances as others to speak English, causing us to be poor at speaking it and this is quite a shame for our country as it restricts our ability to communicate in foreign countries.

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Furthermore, compared to last year, I had much more time to think about things and relax while enjoying my time on the program. Therefore, I want to thank all the people who were involved in this program, especially the Malaysia RCs. I am sure that everyone tried really hard in conducting this program and that is why it ended in a success. In addition, APRO did a great job for them. It must be really hard to organize such a grand symposium every year, but I am sure it is a great exposure for young pharmacy students. I am looking forward to the next APPS which will be held next year so that I can meet more new young students and help them think about their future career. Being a pharmacist will be their lives work and it would be good for them to find new excitements through such program.

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Asia Pacific Regional Office APPSMalaysia2014 Magazine

My story in APPS Malaysia

APPS is a gate to a new world I have never dreamed of >>

BY KANG HANNA, SOUTH KOREA

“A thousand hearings are not worth one seeing.’”

Among these, ‘Pharmazing race’ remained in my memory more than others. I heard that this program was carried out for the first time in APPS. This is a proverb in Korea which During the race, my group, group 5, means that experience is more immoved together and communicated portant than just studying somea lot. We received ‘task papers’ and thing. I always believe this old saying were told to find a place or someand have tried to experience a lot one. We also went to famous places of things until now. That is why I in Malaysia. So, Pharmazing race is a applied to join APPS, to have new really new type of travelling for me. experiences with friends from many Besides, we were cotton up to each nations. After all the symposiums other a lot. In usual workshop days, and schedules were finished, I felt we could communicate only in lunch that this was one of the really good experiences in my life. I learned so many things and felt various feelings through APPS. This was actually the first time I met friends from various countries. Although we could not communicate freely in English, we shared our minds and laughed together by seeing each other’s eyes. It was a really happy and special experience. I never had the experience of communicating with other people in that way, so interesting!

I could feel things through many great symposiums and workshops such as poster competition and CSE. March 2015

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after health campaign, I went to PETRONAS twin towers, Penang Street, central market and a hotel to look around views with my friends.

All places were great and amazing to me. Especially, looking around Malaysia’s night scenery was really memorable. I was impressed with that view.

It was so happy to be with all the free feelings and friends.

APPS is a gate to a new world I have never dreamed of. After communicating with various friends and having a lot of events, I broadened my horizons. I hope that I can have more experiences like APPS many times in my life. & dinner time. It gave me the feeling that only talking during meal time was not enough.

But, we could communicate all day in pharmazing race! During walking, finding something, eating, we always talked with each other and laughed a lot.

Maybe that’s why I felt that Pharmazing race was the happiest event in APPS. Furthermore, free night was also a great memory to me. On free night Students today, Pharmacists tomorrow

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My story in APPS Malaysia

It was carried out perfectly with only 1 year of planning >>

BY AMRIL RADZMAN BIN AMRAHI, APPS2014 Promotion & Multimedia Reception Committee

Being a Reception Committee member or an “RC” has its own benefits and difficulties.

Working under the promotions team, I was fully involved in developing the website. I was on the front line of communication between the RCs and the participants, and I was involved in updating and changing the information, which is a crucial job. Even though the event was supposed to be prepared over 2 years like previous APPS’ it was carried out perfectly with only 1 year of planning. This would have been impossible, yes IMPOSSIBLE without the head, Atiqah who poured her body, soul and mind into making this event a success.

a gimmick video on fasting month.

This involved wearing traditional clothes that consisted of Baju Kurung, Baju Melayu and Baju Kebaya which caught a lot of attention. It was not near the festive season yet but was by all means necessary. We had to shoot the gimmick video over a whole day. My responsibilities were solely to edit the gimmick video for the welcoming party, and set up and maintain the website.

Another memorable event was the MH17 incident which made some of the participants cancel their registration. We had to push our promotions further to get more participants.

Preparation was not an easy task. Our department which was lead by Syazwani had to remake a few videos as they were not “spot-on” when it came to attracting participants’ attention.

Remaking of new promotional videos Every Night, we had a secret briefing for from scratch was done by Syafiq and the next day on a random floor in front of Farhan. I remember we had to shoot the lift.

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My story in APPS Malaysia

At the beginning of the event, we had to arrive earlier for event preparation in the hotel. RCs had their own individualized tasks given to them to help out other departments.I was involved mostly in AV and technical tasks. Though I was mostly just sitting behind a desk during the event, there are a few things I learnt from the participants from different backgrounds.

Every night before sleep, we secretly had our briefings in front of the lift on a random floor. This was to make sure RCs knew what they had to do the next day. All RCs were only able to get around 2-3 hours of sleep every day for the whole of APPS.

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the time during the event, we had to go out earlier to prepare for the event at night. I had to find time to learn about different cultures and their ways of learning in their countries. International Night was memorable as

the participant’s performances (especially those from Thailand, Indonesia, Korea and Japan) were astounding and jaw-dropping.

Who would have thought they would create such great performances while During the welcoming party gimmick busy with their studies. During the ceremony, I was an actor. I remember Patient Counselling Education Competition, participants were to conduct kneeling for 15 minutes and getting my legs numb during the act. I came mock counselling on a patient. I manin as a warrior, but came out running aged to sneak in and was surprised and screaming like a little girl. Most of with the quality of their communication skills. Indeed this opened my eyes on where I stand compared to them.

Auction Night was a little bit disappointing because it was a garden party and it was raining. However we continued the event anyway. RCs were stressed out but having to dance spontaneously during one of the perThe Multimedia Crew, behind the cur- formances was a great way to relieve some of the stress. The auction went tain of every successful event well and it was a shock how high the Students today, Pharmacists tomorrow

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My story in APPS Malaysia

Holding Giant Cigarette as Props for Public Health Campaigns bids got for some of the items compared to their normal value. That was probably due to currency exchange rates. Pharmazing Race was a success in that it was able to get the participants to travel around Kuala Lumpur in the form of a race. I was at check point Padang Merdeka. We took lots and lots of photos there as it was the last check point. The Public Health Campaign was done beautifully. We performed a street parade on “Shout Against Tobacco”. I remember we had to prepare and carry large cigarettes.

Don’t worry, they were kind of light.

We did a flashmob dance to get people’s attention and to focus on our cause. I remember we got shouted at by the head security guard while a participant took their selfie but the participant couldn’t understand. They thought that it was a shout against tobacco. We had to put on a big smile and take them somewhere else. We have already compiled and uploaded March 2015

Video Showing the Winners of Photo Contest in Gala Night the “IPSF APPS 2014 Shout Against Tobacco Campaign” on YouTube .

During the day of Gala Night, one of the laptops crashed while rendering videos for the winner’s selection of competition. A few people cried, a few people were cool and a few people were running around just to get it fixed. The problem was solved just in time before the Gala Night.

Indeed APPS Malaysia 2014 closed with great success, great food, and a great performance by the Saloma Bistro or should I say the “Malaysian Marilyn Monroe”.

Some feedback we received during the event which I still remember now is that people asked “why does Malaysian Food have carbs in every meal?” “Why do you guys keep saying ‘–Lah’ at the end of sentences?”

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My story in APPS Malaysia

Together as pharmacists, we will rock the world! >>

BY NUR RAIHANAH A.RAHMAN, APPS2014 RECEPTION COMMITTEE

Hello and greetings from Malaysia!!

It has been almost 3 months since the 13th IPSF APPS 2014 ended officially and it seems only yesterday that we were having fun throughout this one week event. This year’s IPSF APPS with the theme of “Building Trust, Transcending Teamwork through Technology” was indeed a remarkable experience especially for me as part of the Reception Committee. Given a preparation period of less than a year, it was really a tough job. We might even have called it off had we not had a great team who always gave not just 100% of their effort but even more to ensure the success of this event! Sleepless nights were common, so one could call this event the sleepless-sweetAPPS of my life. However, IPSF APPS 2014 would never have taken place without the awesome and super supportive participants from all over the world.

Being a member of the RC gave me little opportunity to attend the symposiums and workshops from the March 2015

beginning. Nevertheless, I had the chance to be one of the teachers for Ketupat (case for rice cake) making during the Cultural Workshop. I will admit that it is very tough to even finish making one, but I was amazed that there were participants who managed to do it on their first try! A round of applause for them! I think that those who made some might still be hanging the Ketupat on their tables if not in frames ^_^.

I really hope that our attempts to introduce our culture to the participants and not just pharmaceutical knowledge was as meaningful to everyone as it was to us Malaysians.

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The most priceless takeaway I had from APPS, besides making new friends with the participants, was definitely having the whole APPS team as family even though we came from different universities.

As part of the committee, we are really grateful that this year’s IPSF APPS has successfully ended with smiles on everyone’s faces.

I hope that IPSF APPS 2014 gave the participants not just a great experience but also extremely superb and unforgettable memories in life! Let the bonds we created last forever and together as pharmacists, we will rock the world!

Students today, Pharmacists tomorrow

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My story in APPS Malaysia

I enjoyed every single part of APPS 2014 >>

BY ELAINE GOH YU LIAN, MALAYSIA

As a start, my name is Elaine. I am currently in my 3rd year of University of Nottingham, UK. During the summer break of my second year in Malaysia, I participated in IPSF Asia Pacific Pharmaceutical Symposium (APPS) 2014 which was held in Malaysia.

Honestly, before this, I had neither the idea of what this event was about nor what IPSF was at all. Thanks to my colleague, I took the courage to take part in APPS 2014. Throughout this event, I achieved many tremendous things, which I have never achieved before.

First in hand, in just one week, I met so many friends from all around the world, namely from; Taiwan (你好 吗), Japan (Arigato), Indonesia (Apa kabar?), Thailand (Sawasdee ka), Canada (How ya doing?) and of course, other fellow Malaysians! We had numerous social events namely the Welcoming Party and Auction Night which enabled us to mix around and have long conversations about almost anything and everything (and of course, about pharmacy practice in March 2015

their home country too!). Organisers seemed to have a difficult time to silence us as we did TALK a lot whenever there was a free time.

These two events really helped me a lot in preparing for my Professional Practice assessment and OSCE as well.

I personally enjoyed Pharmazing race the most! It is basically The Amazing Race, one of the most popular US television races, with a little pharmacy touch on it? Do you get it, Pharmacy + Amazing Race? Good job to the creative organisers behind this! We travelled around KL city for a day with public transports and

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explored various locations including Dataran Merdeka, Batu Caves and Masjid Negara. As I am the only fellow Malaysian aside from my group leader, I was somehow chosen as the tour guide in my group and led them throughout the race. It was a funfilled race (or should I say, trip?) as we These two events really helped me got to solve puzzles and complete a lot in preparing for my Professionmissions by taking groupsies‌ Yeah, al Practice assessment and OSCE as I mean lots of it! well. For those who intend to join next APPS in the future, these activiApart from fun games, APPS 2014 ties are surely not to be missed! also offered other pharmacy-related activities which I personally benefitPublic Health Campaign? At first, I ted from. Patient Counselling Events thought this was just another simple (PCE) and Clinical Skills Events (CSE) campaign to promote the imporwere two activities offered by the tance of health among the public.

IPSF committees to improve the How wrong I was‌ It may sound knowledge and communication skills like a very normal campaign, until I of pharmacists. became involved in the flash mob group. We used flash mob to increase This is where we, as the the awareness of how much tobacpharmacy students should co is bad for health whereas other groups were being dispersed around pick up skills and sharpen KL city, chanting slogans and gaining signatures for petition. our knowledge in order

to provide a more patient-centered approach in the future, not just for the sake of delivering advice on how-to-take-your-medicine routine.

Overall, I am very glad to be part of APPS 2014!!! From meeting new friends to gaining pharmaceutical knowledge, I enjoyed every single part of APPS 2014! For those who are reading this and have never joined APPS before, I fully recommend you to grab the opportunity to take part in it!

Students today, Pharmacists tomorrow

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My story in APPS Malaysia

Words couldn’t describe how meaningful & precious the experience I had >>

BY LAM MIAO HUI, APPS2014 RECEPTION COMMITTEE

Hi everyone, I’m Miao Hui from Malaysia. I felt honored and proud to be part of the organizing committees of this annual grand event for pharmacy students around the Asia Pacific region. While writing this article, I reflected on moments which I spent over the internet for endless meetings, emergency issues as well as the journey I went through with fellow organizing committees. Words couldn’t describe how meaningful and precious this experience was.

Throughout the preparation, the committees went through hardships, and these challenges evolved all committees to be strong and agile to changes that could happen anytime and anywhere.

Throughout the preparation, we developed team spirit, gained friendship and nevertheless valuable experience.

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For all the participants, thanks for giving us a chance to show you the beautiful land of Malaysia, hope you enjoyed the stay. For those who have never been to IPSF APPS, this is an event you must not miss in your student life!

Last but not least, Live Life APPS, Live Life Asia Pacific Region Pharmacists!

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My story in APPS Malaysia

I would do it all again in a heartbeat >>

BY JAMES NETHERCOTT, NEW ZEALAND

Armed with 200 pens, a stack of junk food, a switched on mind and a cleanly pressed dispensing coat our journey began on a rather wet and miserable Dunedin day. We arrived in Christchurch eager to get on the plane to Kuala Lumpur after the five hour drive up the South Island. A smooth flight landed us safely in KL where we were cheerily greeted by two smiling organisers (you know who you are!) and were whisked away to the five-star Seri Pacific Hotel. Despite the dramatic change in climate (for which we weren’t dressed) we were all really looking forward to the exciting week of workshops and symposia – and it certainly was a week to remember!

how to integrate with other healthcare professionals when responding to emergency situations. This was an extraordinary chance to experience technology at the forefront of education and how we as future Pharmacists can harness technology to better respond to emergencies.

The simulation was of a victim of motorcycle accident who had been transferred to the hospital and subOne of the most memorable worksequently undergone cardiac arrest, shops for me was the High Fidelity Patient Simulation. This technology it was an incredibly realistic simulation and it certainly got everyone is being utilised by Malaysian Pharmacy Schools to teach their students truly invested in looking after our patient.

Another workshop, which was a fantastic learning experience, was that on novel drug delivery. The workshop was centred on rectal drug delivery systems. This was a March 2015

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treatment of our patients. Using our genome to predict CYP interaction, response/efficacy of treatment, is certainly a concept that is very exciting.

There is some great research being conducted by Malaysian groups, and it was brilliant to hear their passion for the field.

I was thrilled to be able to learn about this idea, as it is not something that is as widely taught in New Zealand and I’m greatly looking forward to see what the future brings in personalised medicine.

great opportunity to learn about how suppositories are crafted in Malaysia, as some of the methods and equipment used differed to that used in New Zealand. It was great to see an alternative production method and we were even able to take home the Education aside APPS was also a fansuppositories as souvenirs of the tastic chance to network and meet felworkshop. low Pharmacy students from across the Asia-Pacific. Our hosts not only gave A symposium, which I found particularly intriguing, was on the subject us a chance to meet but also to form long lasting friendships, this was exof personalised medicine. We discussed how genomic mapping could emplified on the day we spent on the be used to optimise pharmaceutical

Students today, Pharmacists tomorrow

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My story in APPS Malaysia

‘Pharmazing Race.’ The competition was an incredibly exciting journey across the breadth of KL from Batu Caves to the National Mosque of Malaysia. Equipped with our railcards, plenty of water, maps and smiles we headed out to complete challenges and collect clues of our next location.

We were able to sample delicious local sweets and market fruit, have our hands decorated by traditional Henna, be drenched by torrential downpours and even get hopelessly lost. However, my mighty team and I (team eight) managed to navigate the maze of streets and clues given to us, as well as taking many a selfie along the way in which my height and newly purchased selfie-stick shone. (Thank-you KD for the latter!)

APPS participants also took part in a successful anti-smoking campaign on the streets of KL. We separated into groups armed with placards, ginormous cigarettes and our best chanting voices. We roamed densely populated parts of town chanting ‘No To Tobacco! - Hidup Bebas Rokok!’

Together we collected hundreds of March 2015

signatures supporting smoking cessation, handed out pamphlets, performed in a flash mob and educated people on the dangers of tobacco.

This was a great way to get out into the public eye and make a stand for public health, to show people that we as future Pharmacists strive for a smoke-free world.

Sadly all good things have to come to an end and after a rather exhausting week, APPS participants were treated to a wonderful cultural experience at Saloma Bistro in downtown KL. Here we celebrated the week we had spent together and said our last good byes to the people we had met along the way.

For those who are contemplating attending APPS 2015, I have one piece of advice: go for it! It was quite frankly one of the best weeks of my Pharmacy Education and I would do it all again in a heartbeat.

You have the opportunity to learn so much about our profession, participate in some really meaningful campaigns, but most importantly better understand your colleagues from around the world and form lasting friendships.

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impossible becomes possible!!!

ItThe turns the impossible possible ! >>

BY JESSICA LOOI, MALAYSIA

APPS 2014 was held at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, my very own mother land.

This event is my very first ever Pharmaceutical international event that I’ve participated in. The excitement and anticipation of awaiting the days to come for the event never ceased from the day of phase 1 registration.

Throughout the event, loads of memories were crafted, friendships built, knowledge widened and experiences shared. Every single thing I’ve gained throughout the event is truly amaz-

ing, unforgettable and priceless.

It’s not every day we get to make friends from all around the world, but with APPS, the impossible becomes possible. This very first experience in APPS has made my excitement to join the next APPS in Thailand even more. It’s not just to make new friends, but to reconnect with those I’ve meet in APPS 2014.

Viva la pharmacie!

There were lots of mind blowing experiences >>

BY ISSAC DANKER, APPS2014 RECEPTION COMMITTEE

Asia Pacific Pharmaceutical Symposium is Fantastic, mesmerizing, and Enjoyable. The 13th Asia Pacific Pharmaceutical Symposium 2014 held in Malaysia was my best ever symposia/ workshops as I was a member of the reception committee. The best ever moment I had was attending the workshops where there were lots of

mind blowing experiences learned throughout the workshops. Besides that, I also enjoyed the `Shout against Tobacco Campaign’ held in the heart of Kuala Lumpur because I was able to work together with students around Asia Pacific promoting the campaign.

Students today, Pharmacists tomorrow

ASIA PACIFIC REGIONAL OFFICE (APRO)

International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation (IPSF) IPSF Secretariat : P.O BOX 84200 2508 AE Den Haag The Netherlands www.ipsf.org | apro.ipsf.org APPS2014 Special Edition Magazine, March 2015 Created by: Brian Wong, IPSFAPRO RMPO Intan Permata Sari, APRO Design Subcommittee Proofread by: Hanisah Latiff, APRO Translation Subcommittee Peter Anton Lin, APRO Translation Subcommittee Leong Wei Qi, APRO Translation Subcommittee Yunita Ichi, APRO Translation Subcommittee Zahra Adiyati, APRO Translation Subcommittee Kelsi Fastier, NZAPS-O member Photos contributed by: Nash Rahman Lisania Ines Mae Yeoh Mei Yin Find us on facebook and twitter : www.facebook.com/ipsf.apro www.twitter.com/IPSFapro