PharmNotts Annual Newsletter 2022/2023 by UNM PharmNotts

STANDING AS ONE ONE

PHARMNOTTS NEWSLETTER 2022/2023

"Always laugh when you can. It is cheap medicine." - L O R D B Y R O N

Event experience Credits TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction Public Health Campaign 2022 Student experience 06 12 19 29 BPSA annual conference 3D Printing Talk Blue Balloon Fundraising Event Editor In Chief's Foreword 04StandingAsOne President's Note07 Health Talk on Diabetes HIIT Workshop 14 16 Discovering Career in Health and Sciences 21 24 Telemedicine and Digital Health 31 33 MPharm Industrial Pharmacy Internship Experience PHS Industrial Internship Experience 08 PharmNotts Executive Committees Pharmacy puns and jokes Infographics 43 40 36 05 18 26 11 27 MPharm Hospital Pharmacy Internship Experience Influenza37

PHARMNOTTS 22/23 NEWSLETTERIntroduction 05 Editor-In-Chief'sForeword p.6 I N T R O D U C T I O N President'snote p 7 MeetthefacesbehindPharmNotts p.8

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF'S

Hello readers! It is my great pleasure to present to you the most anticipated PharmNotts annual newsletter! The theme for this year ’ s newsletter is “Standing as One”. It is important for us, future contributors to the pharmaceutical industry and healthcare system, to learn about working together to provide care and promote health to the public. Especially with various diseases and Covid 19 variants arising in the community recently, the teamwork among every member of the healthcare system is vital in combating these issues With this in mind, the executives of PharmNotts have agreed to go with this theme for this issue In this issue, we have included various events and activities held throughout the past tenure Write ups about student experiences like internships are included as well One special event we had that you may look forward to is the Public Health Campaign, as we held our first physical event after 2 years. We hope that these write ups can leave a positive imprint as you indulge in these amazing experiences while reading them It is undeniable that the launch of this newsletter is a product of contribution and hard work from many parties. Hence, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the writers involved in this issue for providing us with captivating and insightful stories! I would also like to thank our talented graphic designer, Carine, for the aesthetic and pleasing elements that can be seen in this newsletter! Without the brilliant work from every party, this newsletter wouldn’t be complete

Warm regards, Luwena Lau Rwee Teng Editor-In-Chief PharmNotts Publication Officer 2022/2023

Last but not least, most importantly, we would like to say a big thank you to you, our readers, for taking the time to read this newsletter With your support, we can find joy while preparing for this newsletter Thus, we hope that you would enjoy reading the newsletter as much as we enjoyed the process of producing it.

Introduction 06 FOREWORD

"Happy reading and stay safe!"

DEAR READERS,

Welcome to the annual PharmNotts newsletter! As your President, let me start off by giving a warm welcome to all fresh and returning students and express my gratitude to those who made this publication possible As the Coronavirus pandemic has been normalised, we are grateful for the chance to experience normal university life for the past term Additionally, I would like to appreciate all the hard work that the members contributed to make the past events run without a hitch last year. 07 PharmNotts had been through an exciting year in the past year as more new social events had been introduced. This year, PharmNotts will be organizing more physical and online activities to maximize the experience of our members in university, as well as represent the pharmaceutical community to raise health awareness among the public We would try our best to bring back the exciting annual events such as Industrial Visit, Blood Donation Drive and other physical events if the situation allows.

PRESIDENT'S NOTE.

Introduction

This newsletter will showcase PharmNotts’s achievement over the past academic year and hopefully, this will encourage you to participate in our future events So stay tuned and best wishes for a great year ahead! Best regards, Thung Hooi En President of PharmNotts, Term 2022/2023

2022/2023 President Meet the faces behind PharmNotts! Executive Committees 2022/2023 Thung Hooi En Secretary Vice-President Chay Wen Syuen Vivian Lee Zhi Ying Introduction 08 2022/2023 2022/2023

Meet the faces behind PharmNotts! Executive Committees 2022/2023 Introduction 09 Treasurer Chuah Xin Er 2022/2023 Events manager Toh Wei Qin 2022/2023 Multimedia officer Jenny Minjin Lee 2022/2023

Meet the faces behind PharmNotts! Executive Committees 2022/2023 Introduction 10 Publications officer Luwena Lau Rwee Teng 2022/2023 Graphic & design officer 2022/2023 Public relations officer (MPharm) Willy Chooi Weng Hong 2022/2023 Carine Kong Kaishin Public relations officer (PHS) Ng Yu Yang 2022/2023

PUBLIC HEALTH CAMPAIGN 2022 B L U E B A L L O O N F U N D R A I S I N G E V E N T H E A L T H T A L K H I I T W O R K S H O P 11

BLUE BALLOON FUNDRAISING EVENT

words by Toh wei qin

It is said that the life of a diabetic patient is like constantly bouncing a balloon while carrying on with their normal daily activities. In conjunction with the Public Health Campaign 2022, PharmNotts organised the Blue Balloon Fundraising event to raise awareness on the issue of diabetes among the public and raise funds for the campaign’s beneficiary, Diabetes Malaysia (DM) to help more diabetic patients in the community This event was considered a special event for PharmNotts, as it was the very first physical event held after 2 years Hence, to kickstart the first event of the Public Health Campaign 2022, a booth was set up in SA Circle throughout this fundraising event for a total of five days. As the name suggests, the main highlight of this fundraising event is the blue balloon Blue is the colour of diabetes, and we wanted to spread awareness of diabetes through the usage of blue balloons. There were several activities carried out at the booth. To attract the crowd, blue balloons were given out for free to students passing by the booth While giving out the balloons, the students were also encouraged to post about this event on their social media to help promote awareness of diabetes.

Have you ever wondered how is it like to live a life with diabetes?

12PublicHealthCampaign2022

Blue balloon challenges were also set up at the booth, where students can try bouncing a balloon while pouring water from cups to cups or writing our event slogan, “don’t sugar coat it” on a piece of paper. Some students never failed to amaze us with their outstanding balancing ability as they succeeded in the challenges so perfectly. These challenges were set to mirror the life of diabetic patients, who have to constantly balance their normal daily life with their diabetic conditions, for instance, controlling their diet and constantly monitoring their blood glucose level. Those who succeeded in the challenges gained an entry into the lucky draw, where they stood a chance to win RM10 Grab vouchers. Aside from these fun and attractive challenges, we had a donation box and QR code set up at the booth to collect donations from the public. As a strategy to raise more funds, PharmNotts’s tote bag merchandise was also sold at the booth We also had a walking promotion daily to collect donations around the university compound and promote our booth, providing a chance for the UNM community to donate to a good cause. Overall, the event was a huge success, considering the funds we collected from the donations exceeded our target of RM1000. Throughout the event, a lot of students visited the booth and had fun playing with the challenges. Most importantly, more students became aware of the issue of diabetes, and that they should be cautious with their diet and be more sympathetic towards diabetic patients around them I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to all the donors and visitors at our booth who made our event a great success!

Diabetes has always been the talk of the town due to its high incidence rate in Malaysia, but have you ever wondered what exactly is it? As the aim of the Public Health Campaign this year is to raise awareness about diabetes among university students and the wider public, PharmNotts held a talk that focused on the signs and symptoms of diabetes, the importance of diabetes management, and the treatment and prevention of diabetes

onDiabetes Mellitus

P H C 2 0 2 2 14

"Make your life sweet, but never diabetic!"

According to Dr. Navin, patients’ adherence to lifestyle modification plays a vital role in the treatment of diabetes. This includes changes in diet and an increase in physical activity It was fascinating to know that simple activities such as doing house chores and gardening could be of help in treating and preventing diabetes.

At the start of the session, Dr. Navin showed the participants some statistics on the prevalence of diabetes globally. Who would have imagined that the West Pacific Region, where Malaysia is, has the highest incidence rate of diabetes in the world? Being a disease caused by the lack of insulin, Dr. Navin described diabetes as a “silent killer”, which I believe most of the participants could not agree more after the presentation. Can you imagine chronic diseases like stroke and kidney failure are all progressive from diabetes? These facts strongly reflected the significance of managing diabetes among the public. After the introduction by the moderator, the floor was passed to the speaker, Dr. Navin, who is a practicing clinical pharmacist at Hospital Putrajaya, and his daily work involves managing medicationrelated problems of type 2 diabetic patients.

HealthTalk

WordsbyLuwenaLauRweeTeng

Then, the audience was introduced to the treatment and prevention of diabetes.

At the end of his presentation, Dr Navin stated his hopes in reducing the incidence rate of diabetes both in our country and globally. As the floor was passed back to the moderator, the Q&A session began, in which questions from the floor were answered by Dr Navin. Through the Q&A session, the significance of early detection of diabetes through blood glucose level tests was emphasized. The event was then followed by a photo session and an appreciation to the sponsors, Good Morning Global and Apex Pharmacy. Other than the lifestyle modification, as most of the participants are pharmacy students, some common oral antidiabetic agents and the guidelines for insulin therapy based on the patients’ characteristics were uncovered as well. As an experienced pharmacist in managing diabetes, Dr Navin highlighted the importance of assuring, and giving emotional support and hope to the patients when receiving the treatment, especially to the patients who are needlephobic or social-phobic. As the moderator delivered her closing speech and provided the link for donations to Diabetes Malaysia (DM), the event ended on a good note. All in all, the event was truly an eyeopener for the participants, and I would like to take this golden opportunity to express my gratitude to the organizing team and Dr Navin for the informative session. With that, I sincerely hope that diabetes can be curbed with the joined forces and efforts from various parties

HIIT Workshop 16 PublicHealthCampaign2022

The HIIT workshop involves many exercises that could increase insulin sensitivity, prevent diabetes, and help diabetic patients to manage their conditions more effectively. After attending this workshop, the participants got to learn a variety of basic and fun exercises that they could do frequently in their own time The exercises that were introduced and delivered by Mr Aarvin included squats, squat jumps, push-ups with hand-raising, lunges, plank, and mountain climber. Each exercise lasted for 30 to 45 seconds (depending on the intensity of the exercise) with a 30 seconds short break in between This duration cycle was repeated for each exercise from the perspective of an organizing committee

The theme of the Public Health Campaign (PHC) 2022 is “Diabetes Awareness”, which has three events altogether, including the "HIIT Diabetes Away” workshop This workshop was held on the 14th of April from 5:30pm to 6:30pm via Microsoft teams. The speaker of this workshop was Mr. Aarvin, who is one of the exercise coaches from the fitness club in UNM. Overall, the participants were satisfied with the workshop in terms of the event flow, activities, duration and exercise routine. Based on the post-event survey, it is good to know that most participants enjoyed the workouts that were professionally demonstrated by Mr. Aarvin. In fact, this event was rated as good and excellent by 90% of the participants because of the informative and entertaining workshop. This event was considered successful as we managed to gain a total of 58 active participants even though it was a virtual event.

Words by: Sia Cheng Yang Organizing Chairperson Public Health Campaign 2022

Furthermore, some participants were willing to switch on their cameras throughout the HIIT workshop. This aided in creating a positive environment that encouraged the participants to be actively involved in this workshop. However, there are some parts in the workshop that could have been done better. Firstly, we would further improve the overall flow of the HIIT workshop so the participants could enjoy the exercises throughout the workshop Secondly, it would have been great if this workshop could have been held physically on campus. This is because having physical workouts would be more engaging for both the participants and the instructor, hence maximizing the learning experience

PublicHealthCampaign2022 17

Event Experience 3D Printing Talk Discovering Career in Health Sciences Telemedicine and Digital Health 18

Dr. Ou Yi Hsuan, a research scientist currently involved in the research and development of 3D printing formulation in Craft Health Pte Ltd, and Dr. Georgina Marsh, a UK registered pharmacist experienced working in both academia and industry and is currently an Assistant Professor in Pharmaceutics at the University of Nottingham Malaysia. At the start of the session, Dr. Ou delivered an introduction to one of the first 3D printer specialized for pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals, CraftMakeTM. Dr. Ou had also demonstrated that the sizes, shapes, geometry, colour, and release profiles of the 3D printed tablets can be varied according to the drug formulations. She had also talked about the applications of 3D printing in clinical trials, orphan drug productions, personalized medicine and nutrition. A summary of the journey and steps in pharmaceutical and nutraceutical product development was also given by Dr. Ou. 2 guest speakers were invited, Additionally to that,

3D PRINTING TALK

Words by Brandon Cheah Wei Quan Since the dawn of the technological era, it is indisputable that the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries have experienced modernization in conjunction with the advancement of technology. The seemingly exponential development of modern technology has driven the evolution of healthcare, leading to an increase in quality of life. Acknowledging the necessity to keep pace with recent developments in the pharmaceutical industries, PharmNotts organized an industrial talk on 3D printed drug formulation.

Technology has come a long way. Who knows? Humanity might even finally overcome ageing in the far future. Subsequently, the floor was given to Dr. Georgina, who had given a general run down on the 3D printing process and the various 3D printing methods such as ink jet printing, fused deposition modeling, powder bed printing, and extrusion based 3D printing. Next, she gave a brief explanation on the background of her PhD research titled "Utilizing 3D Printing to Investigate Effect of Micron Scale Morphology on Particle Adhesion in DPIs". She had also elaborated on the challenges faced in 3D printed drug formulations, and other applications of 3D printing in healthcare. "Did you know that 3D printing can be applied in the bio-printing of biological tissues and organs in regenerative medicine?"

E20 vent 3Experience D Printing Talk

Our collaboration has led to a high number of participation from the Division of Biomedical Sciences and we have also received numerous support in planning and organizing the event. It was worth highlighting that this event was held successfully by a newly established Pharmaceutical Health Sciences Subcommittee Team. This formation was set up to create more activities catered to those who are interested in Pharmaceutical Health Sciences.

Working in a health and sciences field often gives off the impression of wearing a white robe and either serving people in a hospital or stirring a sophisticated potion with a conical flask in a laboratory. To break the entrenched stereotype, PharmNotts has organized a talk to introduce more career opportunities in this line. It was a great pleasure to collaborate with both the Biomedical Sciences Society and Careers Advisory Service (CAS). “Find the rightpath in the professional world.” Before the talk kicked off, we were greeted with a warm welcoming speech by Professor Ting Kang Nee, the head of the School of Pharmacy. After that, we invited our first speaker, Dr. Ong Wee Kiat, an alumnus who graduated with an MPharm (Hons) Ph.D. from the University of Nottingham.

Words by Toe Kit Yao

Event experience Discovering Career in Health & Sciences

He is currently a researcher and developer in Amber Compounding Pharmacy and Kind Cosmeceuticals. This is especially relevant to students who are interested in research and development. He has shown us the variety in areas of compounding such as Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy, Dermatology, Veterinary Treatment, and many more. As veterinary is one of Dr. Ong’s fondest areas, he also shared about how customized Antimicrobial Treatment based on Culture and Sensitivity Tests was used while treating ear infections in dogs due to their unique ear anatomy structure. 22 Next, we have invited our second guest speaker, Ms. Yap Siew Teng who is the current senior safety data management specialist (SDMS) in Pfizer Malaysia. She shared how pharmacovigilance plays a significant part in her role and her day to day responsibilities, from reviewing and preparing reports in safety databases to conducting reconciliation and quality checks with business partners.

Event experience

“Time management is crucial as an SDMS as we need to adhere to the timeline to complete an adverse event report.” Our last talk was presented by Miss Gan Shang Yen, also an alumnus who graduated from Pharmaceutical Sciences in the Year 2019. She is the marketing executive in Viatris. Miss Gan has provided the audience an insight into the marketing department, the job scope ranges from conveying medication information to prescribing doctors to analyzing current marketing trends and competitor activity. At the end of her speech, she emphasized the importance of “ Bridging the gap between academic learning and the corporate world”. Last but not least, we opened to questions from the audience to clear their doubts. In the meantime, students were able to receive pieces of advice on ways to apply for jobs and internships during their summer break to explore more career opportunities. As Dr. Ong said: “ We should look beyond our title and open up for more opportunities.” After a fantastic sharing from our dearest speakers, the talk ended with a group photo to capture the memorable moment.

Question

In Malaysia, which companies would you recommend, e.g? Answer

Is it true that biomedical science has fewer job opportunities in Malaysia? Answer You can always try to look for a sales executive position, regulatory affair executive, safety associate in a pharmaceutical company from a recruitment agency and career website. We should look beyond the title of our degree and open up to more opportunities.

Question

May I know the job scope of an R & D career? Answer

Question&Answer Session

For example, a R&D manager will be handling some projects and plan experiments and set the deadline, allocate tasks for research assistance Question 23

To any of the speakers, did you apply for an internship during your university life? Could you share some tips on this? Answer

What are the career options for Pharmaceutical and Health Sciences students in cosmeceutical industries?

Question

Nowadays, most of the pharma company do offer prodigy program (transposition against an entry level)

If you have taken additional courses on formulation of personal care and skin care, you will be able to join the cosmeceutical industry as a formulation scientist. You can also meet clients as a sales service in the marketing segment.

TELEMEDICINE AND DIGITAL HEALTH TELEMEDICINE AND DIGITAL HEALTH

DUE TO THE PANDEMIC, companies around the world have accelerated their progress towards digitalization as people became trapped in their own homes, unable to leave due to the risk of spreading Covid-19 to their loved ones. All fields were affected and had their own innovations. Restaurants adapted by promoting deliveries and implemented digital menus, office workers shifted towards working from home and usage of online video conferencing, teachers and lecturers now relied on presentation software and digital resources for teaching but what about the health industry? Dr Raymond Choy is the Co founder and CEO of Doc2Us, he came to present about their plans to digitalize the health industry in ASEAN through telemedicine which is the distribution of health care services through electronic information or telecommunication technologies. Doc2Us is a pun talk to us (how clever!) as they aim to give people the ability to talk with a doctor at any time through the use of their app to get professional advice on health related issues. Telemedicine was quite a foreign concept for all of us attending the webinar as we were used to waiting in line at the clinic and physically meeting a doctor, but it was quite interesting, and I believe necessary for the future of healthcare.

EVENT EXPERIENCE

Words by Ng Yu Yang

EVENT EXPERIENCE Dr Raymond also talked about his experiences in co founding this new company and his joy when their company finally got their first corporate client for their teleconsulting in 2018 which was Hong Leong Bank. This was quite relatable and also showed us the steps and struggles that he faced such as some concerns raised by the audience about patients lying about their symptoms to get medication and also how would doctors be able to diagnose symptoms without being physically present. Dr Raymond reminded us that doctors do not truly know if or how much pain a patient feels, and they rely mostly on patient feedback for diagnosis. A lot of mild conditions such as upper respiratory infections, skin diseases and urinary tract infections can be diagnosed online, and medicine can be prescribed easily. This was quite an eye opening revelation for me and certainly for others as well, it seems the future of medicine is arriving faster then expected. 25 After getting a consult from a doctor through the app, you can get an ePrescription and get the medication delivered to you while you rest at home. Students at the School of Pharmacy definitely appreciated this as they are introduced to a new avenue of dispensing medication. Dr Raymond also showed us how ePrescriptions are secured through a digital signature and also their blockchain secured patient medical records which is important as medical records should be confidential. So far, they have written 500000 ePrescriptions and they have partnered with over 700 pharmacies such as Watsons and BIG PHARMACY.

DOC2US ALSO HAS ANOTHER INNOVATIVE SERVICE CALLED EPHARMACY.

E-Pharmacy

STUDENT EXPERIENCE BPSA ANNUAL CONFERENCE MPHARM HOSPITAL INTERNSHIP | MPHARM INDUSTRIAL INTERNSHIP PHS INDUSTRIAL INTERNSHIP 26

BPSA ANNUAL CONFERENCE

Inspiring and empowering; these are the 2 words I would use to describe my experience at the BPSA 80th Annual Conference. A few months ago, I was very fortunate to receive a fully sponsored trip to the British Pharmaceutical Students’ Association (BPSA) Annual Conference for achieving first place in The BPSA Reckitt Benckiser Responding to Symptoms Competition 2020/21. The BPSA Annual Conference was held from the 3rd to 10th April 2022 at Aston University, Birmingham and mainly involved Conference Business, keynote speakers, and social activities. As part of Conference Business, we had the chance to submit, debate and vote on countless motions, which would help form the BPSA’s policy Just as the theme of this year's Annual Conference is ‘Progression of Pharmacy: The Past, The Present, and The Future’, pharmacy students gathered from across the UK to fight for the future of pharmacy by combating health inequalities, improving the MPharm curriculum and so on.

Throughout the week, I learnt that we should not be afraid to speak up about our opinions, as we could potentially open up meaningful discussions which could lead to impactful Aoutcomes.notherhighlight

BY WONG

FERN

Looking back, attending the conference was a decision I would never regret. I highly encourage others to join the next Annual Conference, to discover broad fields of pharmacy, meet renowned pharmacy leaders and of course, form friendships strong enough to last a lifetime. Lastly, I would like to extend my gratitude to the UNM School of Pharmacy who provided me with this opportunity in the first place to represent UNM at this year’s Annual Conference. It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I would cherish.

STUDENT EXPERIENCE28

The last day of the Annual Conference was election day, where the next BPSA executive committee was elected. Although I did not run for a position this year, I was still proud of my friends who mustered up their courage to do so and I gave them my full support. The speeches were extremely inspiring, and it was obvious where their hearts truly lay: in the BPSA and all of its members.

of my experience was the social activities. I got to step out of my comfort zone and mingle with pharmacy students nationwide. From sports day to cultural night, to the black tie event, it was the perfect opportunity to meet new people and create fun filled memories. I was proud to represent Malaysia at the cultural night by wearing a Cheongsam and sharing unique facts about our culture.

WORDS CHEE

My internship this summer has given me insights into the workings of a hospital pharmacist. I cherished this internship opportunity, as it was tough to secure a hospital internship position as a Year 1 pharmacy student. Therefore, I would like to share my main learnings as an intern student with my peers and juniors that may be interested in working as a hospital pharmacist in the future. internship, understanding the flow and system of a hospital pharmacy, equipping myself with the skills and knowledge of freshly prepared medications, and learning to counsel patients on medicines and devices.

There are three main takeaways from this

I had the opportunity to observe the roles of hospital pharmacists in different departments, mainly In-Patient and Out Patient departments. Each department had its unique role but coincided with others with the same objective to provide exemplary patient care and service. Some pharmacists were in charge of screening patients' prescriptions by creating labels and bolding any Look-Alike Sound-Alike (LASA) medications or High Alert Medications (HAM). In the meantime, some pharmacists were in charge of preparing medications based on screened prescriptions. At first, I was amazed by how the pharmacists were able to know the location of the medicines instantly. My doubts were cleared after a senior pharmacist explained that they arranged the medications according to their pharmacological groups. She also explained how LASA medications should not be arranged side by-side, as they are medications with visually similar packaging or physical appearance and names with similar spellings or phonetics. Pharmacists then performed a 'triangle check' between medicines, labels and prescriptions to ensure the correct medications were ready to be dispensed to the right patient. Working in both these departments reinforced my belief that good teamwork in a hospital setting is crucial to success.

MPHARM HOSPITAL PHARMACY INTERNSHIP

WordsbyChayWenSyuen

After observing and practising the process of conducting internal and external preparations under the supervision of a pharmacist, I acquired the skills and knowledge to produce freshly prepared medicinal products. Through this remarkable experience, I acknowledged that passion and dedication to laboratory work are crucial to adapt and accommodate well in a hospital setting as a pharmacist.

Throughout the 2-month internship, I was fortunate to follow the pharmacist for bedside counselling on several occasions. Patients taking multiple medications with complicated dosing instructions may be confused and uncertain. Thus, pharmacists played a critical role in explaining the indication, dosing interval and duration of the medicines to the patient. The idea of device counselling did not come to my mind until the pharmacist brought me along for it. Patients usually ask for guidance and assistance when using devices on the first occasion. Hence, pharmacists should educate patients on how to use the device correctly. This counselling experience exhibited the importance of effective communication with patients. It is also vital to use layman's terms while explaining the medications and devices to patients.

Overall, I am pleased and satisfied with this fruitful internship experience. I felt grateful and fortunate to meet a group of amiable and benevolent colleagues who contributed the most to my growth and development throughout the internship. Most importantly, I am thankful to myself for my determination and perseverance to secure hospital internship positions in exchange for this rewarding experience. There are more things ahead for me to learn and explore as a pharmacy student, and my journey has just begun. My piece of advice here for you is to stay motivated, passionate and persistent about what you are doing right now and remember why you are doing this in the first place. Remember, patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet!

Late during my internship, I took the initiative to voice up about learning the process of performing extemporaneous preparation. Surprisingly, the pharmacists were more than happy to lead and guide me throughout the process. Extemporaneous preparations like mixing creams and making ointments helped to brush up on the laboratory skills I obtained during my studies. I was taken aback by the fact that extemporaneously prepared medicinal products, such as syrup, required the pharmacist to calculate the number of tablets needed and the volume of each dose taken by patients based on the doctor's prescription.

S T U D E N T E X P E R I E N C E 31 `

MPharm Industrial IPharmacy nternship

Not only for professional practices under our modules, but I was also seeking real life applications which are deeply connected to my academics and able to apply my communication skills. Year 1 may seem too young to dive into the industry but personally, age and academic year do not really matter as long as you can! The places I wanted to apply to were either community pharmacies, hospital pharmacies or industrial pharmacies. However, there was definitely limited space to apply as an international student and I was very privileged to get my acceptance letter from a pharmaceutical company in the middle of the last semester. The company deals with the overall manufacturing, research, development and marketing of generic drugs. It seemed like a perfect place for me to do an internship during my 4 months of summer break. In the early stages, it was full of chaos and confusion. To be honest, it took a while for me to adjust and adapt to the environment. Partially because it was my first internship and the settings contrasted with Korea. Moreover, there was a language barrier even though it’s an English speaking country. After my supervisor explained my task and duty in the department, my mind went blank instantly. The task was unlike our pre recorded lectures, it was a real life situation. Rather than pretending to understand the work, I approached my supervisor and co workers in order to get clarification and avoid needless misunderstandings. With my effort in communication and close interaction with co workers, I could finally soak in the workplace at the end of the first month. In addition to being familiar with the workplace, it was crucial to get a sense of the work ethic and interest from the colleagues. By having a glimpse of co workers, I was sufficiently influenced and inspired by them. I met some colleagues from other departments too. They had given various useful advice as pharmaceutical manufacturers, technicians and analysts. Listening to their talks about working in the field was one of my biggest takeaways for stimulating my motivation for both work and study.

Words byJennyMinjinLee

"My ongoing Internship experience as an international student and useful tips!"

An internship period of over 3 months sounds more like wearing off the novelty of intern life. As time goes by, I have been preoccupied with new tasks given every day and the hype has been exponentially drowning. Sometimes, responsibilities were somehow unexpectedly imprinted in my mind and I couldn’t run away from them. To spice up a little more, I had to reassure myself of why I’m doing this internship, and who the product is for. I never missed weekends to take a break from work. Hanging out with friends and doing Pilates definitely helps with relieving the stress for the time being. On top of that, getting some advice from senior supervisors was also a local option. Seniors, who constantly made sure of my work direction and stayed accountable, were holding me back tight to survive in the office. Overall, I will definitely advise any students related to Pharmacy to give a try for internship in pharmaceutical industries. Since it’s much more unfamiliar than community and hospital pharmacies, it may seem intimidating or overwhelming at first. Nevertheless, it's a priceless asset. Even if you’re assigned to a department you didn’t expect to be, it is going to be worth it and beneficial in your career in the end. I haven’t come up with an idea to hunt for jobs yet, but if I plan to put my feet forward, the pharmaceutical industry could definitely be the top choice. We don’t know, maybe your experience in the pharmaceutical industry will navigate you into lab technicians or manufacturers within ten years?

During my internship period, I had a marvellous experience to have a good insight into the pharmaceutical industries and working place culture. The company assigned me to the “Stability” department, where we ensure the products’ best condition by maintaining intended physical, chemical and microbiological qualities. My very first task was getting an idea about stability-related SOPs. Documents varied from Ongoing stability (OGSS) to Long term stability (LTSS) and more. After a while, the supervisor assigned a task related to “Trending”. Based on stability testing that had been done in the lab, we check if any factors or items fall into the Out of Specification (OOS) category or the Out of Trending (OOT) category Subsequently, I was assigned to do report checking and reviewing by comparing with analysis results and doing calculations. At the moment, I am currently learning about viscosity and any methods available in the lab. In between the days, there were lecture meetings held for the workers. I had joined some meetings and part of the lectures dealt with the content I had learnt from university. It helped me rewind my knowledge learned during the academic year. Following the compliance teammates, a laboratory tour for primary packaging was available. So far, it was the best physical experience. Before the products were handed over for secondary packaging, where they pack the products with the exterior packaging, I could have a glimpse of preparing the ingredients until coating the tablets.

Hello readers!

33Studentexperience PHARMACEUTICAL HEALTH SCIENCES INDUSTRIAL INTERNSHIP

words by Gan Wei Suan

I’m Wei Suan, better known as Denise in the community.

I’m currently a first year Pharmaceutical and Health Science undergraduate and a fresh intern in one of the largest pharmaceutical companies, Roche. Before I proceed to share with you my industrial placement experience, I’d just like to put a little disclaimer ahead that everything that I’ve mentioned will be my words and my opinion and is not meant to represent any party including Roche, take it as a light hearted read and I hope you would enjoy it! Before I go ahead and dive into my job scope, let me take a step back and explain a little bit about my choice and run you through the interview process as well. It might come off as a surprising choice that I chose this internship and not any other job that you would expect like working in a community pharmacy, given that I’m studying in such a field but I’ve always been a people oriented person and I’m trying to not limit my future choices to roles that are directly related to my degree. I know that I have certain soft skills that I can regard as my strength and I’d like to put them to full use and leverage them. This role to me was the perfect balance for me, as it allows me to perform and add value to the company while gaining more insights and experience in industrial works, especially in a pharmaceutical company. This is also the perfect opportunity for me to figure out if this job scope and work environment is something that I can flourish in the future.

Now, down to the most important part of this article, in which I will be describing to you what my day to day job looks like. I work in the Strategy and Transformation team which you could imagine as a people oriented, project based department. The problem with such a department is that we have to work with a lot of uncertainties, our project depends on the needs of the company and is highly affected by the people factor, mainly our stakeholders. I won’t be able to go into in depth detail about the projects that I’m working with as they are confidential but in a general sense, we’re working on several projects consecutively to enhance our workplace and accommodate the post lockdown environment. My team is also called the Global People Enablement Squad. From the name itself, I think it’s pretty clear that I work in a very global team, which consists of people from different countries and time zones, such as Costa Rica and Budapest. There are various pros and cons to this, the pros being the global connection I got to build is definitely a very unique and priceless experience. It also is a great way for me to exercise working with people of different backgrounds, ethnicity and time zone. I have to be extra mindful when it comes to scheduling any meeting, ensuring that the meeting timing is appropriate for all while making sure to minimize meeting hours and work efficiently in a way to avoid overworking everyone. Following this point that I’ve mentioned, the downside of working in this team is also revealed, which is the time zone differences. My meeting hours are usually ungodly hours like 8pm to 10pm, in some cases, I would have consecutive meetings up to midnight. I don’t sleep early to start with so it’s easier for me to work with this timing but the problem that comes with this is also that it would be difficult for me to schedule family dinners or casual dinners with friends because of my ‘flexible’ working hour. Despite all of that, I would say my workload is still relatively low and that’s a common phenomenon for interns. To get the most out of my internship, I joined several other independent initiatives in the company that is open to all employees. In most cases, larger corporate companies tend to provide a lot of opportunities to train and develop more leaders for the company.

Studentexperience

34 I stumbled upon this internship opportunity on LinkedIn. At that point, I’d already signed up for the summer placement opportunity in school but I found this internship and could not get my mind off of it. I sent in my application the night I saw it and soon enough, I received a call from the talent acquisition team from Roche that I’ve been shortlisted for an interview. A week later, I attended the interview, it was nerve wracking as you would expect but if I were to give any advice to anyone going into an interview, I would say the questions are generally not as difficult as you would expect. For the most part, they’re just asking about my experience, things that I’ve achieved, skills that I possessed and leveraged on, and a glimpse of my personality. 2 days after my interview, I received a call from the talent acquisition team that I’ve performed excellently and the decision was made almost immediately after my interview ended. I was so thrilled to receive that call and instantly started to complete all the legal documents needed to secure this offer. And that pretty much sums up my interview experience, nothing notably challenging, instead, it was surprisingly simple.

The company culture in Roche is fairly unique, it is an unconventional structure in which hierarchy is blurred and everyone is urged to be their leader. A flat organization is a term that we usually use to describe our system. Empowerment is one of the best practices in the company, in which everyone is given an adequate amount of trust and all ideas presented to the table are valid. This concept is so new to me that sometimes the positionings and structures in the company can be confusing but overall, it’s still a very fresh insight to learn from. The people in the company are generally very approachable and welcoming. The ambience that you can expect to feel in the company is definitely a friendly and accepting environment, in which you can approach anyone in the company when in doubt and they will always answer you or guide you to the right person. The office also has a shared collaborative space kind of setting which means that I don’t actually get a designated seat in the office. Roche also provides several benefits to all employees, including a game room, a rest room with massage chairs, sleeping pods, several coffee points and free meals for employees. In this sense, I never felt overwhelmed working in the office, instead, I felt comfortable working in the office. Whenever I get overwhelmed working in a seat, I can always just move to the balcony for a change of scenery or take a break in one of the rest room or sleeping pods. Overall, I will say Roche definitely has a very welcoming workspace for their employees.

35Studentexperience

In a nutshell, I would say this internship experience has given me so much, in terms of connections, experience, social skills and operation insights. Although this role is not directly related to the degree that I’m pursuing but it definitely allowed me to see things in another light. I would highly recommend anyone and everyone to try to pursue an internship that is somewhat different from your degree. This is a great way of broadening your vision and also an opportunity to expand your future career choices. My best advice for any first years will always be, to not limit yourself to the bubble of ‘I’m just in my first year, I won’t make it in’, that’s far from the truth, the reality will always be that if you’re good enough, you will get what you want regardless of your age or degree. I would say, just try to apply for internships regardless of your age, even if you didn’t make it in, the application process and interview process is still an experience to value. If you’re joining as an intern, make sure to really maximize your experience there, access all the available resources, be as involved as you could, connect with people, be vocal and speak up whenever you have an idea or a doubt. All these would be your stepping stone to professionalism and a push for you to be ahead of the others when you graduate.

These ‘volunteer’ opportunities gave me a great platform to learn more about different sides of the company operations and to engage new connections with colleagues in distinct departments. In addition to all of the above, I’ll dive a little bit into the company culture and environment I experienced.

A saying goes, ” Prevention is better than cure ” .

Influenza DID YOU KNOW?

The first line of prevention for Influenza is none other than getting flu shots or vaccination Flu vaccinations can protect against the virus among healthy adults as they allow the body to prepare by producing antibodies before the virus invades the body. According to WHO, It is recommended to obtain flu vaccinations almost annually as the immunity decreases over time. Although for the elderly, influenza vaccinations may be less effective in preventing the illness due to the weaker immune system, they can help to reduce the severity and incidence of the disease Other than getting vaccines, antiviral drugs may be used for treatment and prophylaxis of Influenza A and B, and they work by reducing the replication of the virus. The most common drug would be oseltamivir, better known as Tamiflu among the community and it can be given within 48 hours of exposure to the virus. Another antiviral drug that can be given is zanamivir and it can be given within 36 hours of exposure to the virus. However, antiviral drugs are not a substitute for vaccinations as vaccination is the best protection against the flu. Antiviral drugs should only be prescribed under circumstances where the vaccination is not effective. There are several supplements in the market that help combat Influenza and they work by boosting the immune system Vitamin C is the most common supplement in the community. Vitamin C is a potent antioxidant which protects the body cells against oxidative stress and free radicals. This protects the body against severe allergic reactions, prevents cell damage and supports the immune system against infections and colds like Influenza. However, it is shown that Vitamin C does not prevent or cure a cold totally, instead, it only reduces the length and severity if taken daily as a preventative measure.

Influenza has been the talk of the town recently as it has been an arising disease in the community following the outbreak of Covid-19 and the Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD) among children. The community are concerned about their safety as well as their loved ones due to the outbreak of several diseases around the same time Hence, is there anything we, as part of the healthcare system, can do to help the community? In this issue, we will be sharing about the treatments for Influenza, as well as some immune boosting supplements that may help combat Influenza.

Black elderberry extract is also another ingredient that is well known for its immune boosting properties. It is traditionally used to treat respiratory symptoms and to recuperate colds, which are symptoms of Influenza. This is due to the high flavonoid contents plant metabolites which exhibit antioxidant properties, preventing cell damage and inactivating the invading virus. Certain studies have also shown that elderberry is as effective as Tamiflu in the early treatment of Influenza.

All in all, there are several ways to prevent and treat Influenza. However, the best way is still to have appropriate personal protective measures and it is our duty as part of the healthcare system to spread awareness and educate the public about public health management concerning Influenza Regular hand washing and maintaining good personal hygiene can reduce the risk of contracting the virus. Good respiratory hygiene like covering the mouth and nose when sneezing can prevent the spread of the virus to others.

In addition, Andrographis extract is also another immunomodulatory agent which helps to activate the immune system. Recent studies have shown that Andrographis has increased T cell levels, increased lymphocyte counts and modulated cytokine production, which activates the immune system in healthy people. The increased cytokine production then activates B cells and T cells in the immune system, thus allowing the body to be prepared when the Influenza virus invades the body.

Zinc is also another supplement that is helpful for the disease and it is available as capsules or lozenges. Zinc is found in cells and throughout the body and it can boost the immune system by fighting off invading viruses and bacteria. However, zinc may have interactions with other medications so we should advise the public to leave 2 hours between taking their medication and the zinc supplement Overtaking zinc could also lead to side effects like nausea and vomiting and diarrhoea.

Another herbal supplement that can be taken is Echinacea. It is known as the purple cornflower and it contains caffeic acid derivatives, alkamides and polysaccharides. These substances exhibit anti inflammatory and antioxidative properties which boost the immune system. Basically, these substances activate the macrophages in the immune system to engulf the pathogens and viruses that enter the body, allowing the body to defend against the Influenza virus. It also increases the production of cytokines, enhancing the production and growth of immune cells like B cells and T cells, thus speeding up the rate of phagocytosis of the invading virus.

DID YOU KNOW?

References

Parker, J. (n.d.). Echinacea and the immune system. [online] Available at: https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/biosciences/documents/burn/2006/echinacea and the immune system juliet parker.pdf. Rajanna, M., Bharathi, B., Shivakumar, B.R., Deepak, M., Prashanth, D., Prabakaran, D., Vijayabhaskar, T. and Arun, B. (2021). Immunomodulatory effects of Andrographis paniculata extract in healthy adults An open label study. Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine, 12(3), pp.529 534. doi:10.1016/j.jaim.2021.06.004.

World Health Organisation (2018). Influenza (Seasonal). [online] Who.int. Available at: https://www.who.int/news room/fact sheets/detail/influenza (seasonal). www.cdc.gov. (2020). Key Facts About Influenza (Flu) | CDC. [online] Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/keyfacts.htm#:~:text=What%20is%20Influenz a%20(Flu)%3F. 39

CDC (2019). What You Should Know About Flu Antiviral Drugs. [online] CDC. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/flu/treatment/whatyoushould.htm. NCCIH. (n.d.). 5 Tips: Natural Products for the Flu and Colds: What Does the Science Say? [online] Available at: https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/tips/tips-natural-products-for-the-flu-andcolds-what-does-the-science-say.

Pharmacy Puns and Jokes File Edit View Label 0:39 PM Pharmacy Emoji Game Puns Jokes Trash 40

Emoji �� GAME Eg: - Penicillin (pen-cycling) 41

ANSWERS Doxycycline (dog sea cycling) Paracetamol (parrot see a mall) Naproxen (nap row sen) Carbapenem (car bee pen uhm) Amlodipine (A M low di pine) Fenofibrate (fern no Lvibrate) ignocaine (lick no cane) Loratidine (lorry tea dine) Candesartan (candles art an) Atenolol (A ten O lol) 42

Credits Designed by Carine Kong Kaishin Articles arranged and edited by Luwena Lau Rwee Teng Contents by Thung Hooi En Toh Wei Qin Sia Cheng Yang Chay Wen Syuen Wong Chee Fern Jenny Minjin Lee Denise Gan Wei Suan Brandon Cheah Wei Quan Toe Kit Yao Ng Yu Yang Luwena Lau Rwee Teng 43 Luwena Lau Rwee Teng

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