PharmNotts Newsletter Issue 16/17 by UNM PharmNotts

PHARMNOTTS 2016/17 NEWSLETTER ISSUE

Credits Published by Edited by Emily Lau Tien Na Designed by Peck Shin Yin Articles provided by Tan Wei Jien

Emily Lau Tien Na

Tee Wan Ting

Ling Kwong Hong

Huynh Cong Hieu Ivan Leem Kye Wen Chong Choon Thien Annica Tan Xin Min Aaron Chai Jin Yan Gary Liew Zhen Yuan Julia Quah Hwei Ming

Oï¬ƒcial Photographer Chong Choon Thien Photo taken by Ivan Yeow Laila Syaza Tan Wei Jien

Khoo Jing Ying Carmen Wong Tee Wan Ting

Chan Yu Wan Ivan Leem Kye Wen Chong Choon Thien Gary Liew Zhen Yuan

Ma Zi Ling

Contents

EVENTS

AWARD PG 5 EDITOR’S NOTES PG 6

ORIENTATION DAY BLOOD DONATION drive 2015 PHARMNOTTS’ HEALTH WEEK Mc NEIL RESPONDING TO SYMPTOMS COMPETITION Viva la Vida NIGHT YEAR END PARTY NATIONAL PHARMACY SPORTS CARNIVAL 2016 HEALTH CAMPAIGN 2016 INTERPROFESSIONAL LEARNING CONFERENCE BLOOD DONATION DRIVE 2016 74TH BPSA CONFERENCE PHARMNOTTS BALL 2016

9 13 15 17 19 23 25 29 31 35 37 41

COMMITTEE LIST PG 7 PRESIDENT’S NOTES PG 8 2

Contents

UNIVERSITY LIFE GUIDANCE PG

HAVING ENOUGH SLEEP BREAK YOUR SHELL TO-DO LIST BEFORE GRADUATion

43 45 47

What Our Students Say: Survival tips in Nottingham University PG 55 CASE STUDIES PG 61

ALL ABOUT HEALTH PG

COFFEE vs TEA IS PARACETAMOL ENYIRELY SAFE? POLYPHARMACY IN THE ELDERLY

49 51 53

JOKES 2 LAUGH PG 63

CREDITS 4

editor’s notes

award

For academic year 2015/16, PharmNo s was one of the four nominees for Best Academic Society and was awarded the

Most Financially Stable Society.

This informative newsle er would not be released successfully if it weren’t om the help of all the commi ee members of PharmNo s 2016/17 and Peck Shin Yin who’s the designer of this beautiful newsle er. We hope that this newsle er can help the eshies and those who are already in the course to comprehend further what PharmNo s is all about, especially the events that are held annually. Everyone om the MPharm and PHS course is warmly welcomed to join any of the upcoming events as the more the merrier! Moreover, there are some interesting health-related and non-health related articles that awaits you! So, do not stop reading until the very end guys! If you have further enquiries about any of the events or other information in this newsle er, do not hesitate to approach me or the commi ee members of PharmNo s as we’ll be glad to answer all of your uncertainties. Please enjoy and thank you all! :) Emily Lau Tien Na

Past award: The Best Academic Society Award 2013/2014

president’s notes

committee list

PHARMNOTTS COMMITTEE 2016/17 PRESIDENT

VICE PRESIDENT

OLIVIA CHUNG JIA YING

HUYNH CONG HIEU

TREASURER

EVENT MANAGER

TAN XIN MIN

KHOO JING YING

PUBLICATION OFFICER EMILY LAU TIEN NA

MULTIMEDIA OFFICER CHOONG CHEE WAI

PRESIDENT’S NOTES Hello everyone, I’m Olivia Chung, the president of PharmNo s. First of all, I would like to say welcome to all the eshers who are joining us this 2016/17 academic year and hopefully you can fully enjoy your eshman year in this beautiful campus and release your potentials whenever you can. On behalf of the commi ee, I would also like to say thank you to all the individuals for making this edition of the annual newsle er happen.

SECRETARY CHAN YU-WAN

PUBLIC RELATION OFFICER

TEE WAN TING

PHS

Now, let me introduce to you our local society, PharmNo s, which is the Pharmacy Society of the University of No ingham Malaysia Campus. Our members are comprised of students om pharmacy and students om pharmaceutical and health science. Every year, we will organize various kind of events, such as Health Week to raise health awareness and to promote healthy lifestyle to the students. Of course, we would not be short of fun as there will be many exciting events awaiting for you! Come and join us as we welcome you with open arms. We hope you ﬁnd this newsle er helpful and I’m sure PharmNo s will be even be er this year with your participation.

REPRESENTATIVE

MUHAMMAD ASYRAF BIN SAMSUDIN

Regards. Olivia Chung Jia Ying PharmNo s president 2016/17

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On 22nd September 2015, PharmNo s organised an orientation day for us, the newest batch of Pharmacy (MPharm) and Pharmaceutical & Health Sciences (PhS) Year 1 students. It started off with a welcoming speech om the PharmNo s President, Zulafifi Abd Rahman, and following that was an introduction of the main board commi ee members and the upcoming events of academic year 2015/16. We were then broken up into groups for the ice breaking session with the seniors and that is how we cultivated our iendship om being strangers. Aﬅer the ice breaking session, there was a short speech given by the Malaysian Pharmaceutical Students’ Association (MyPSA) President who introduced the student chapter of the Pharmacy Board in Malaysia to us. Aﬅer that, we were dismissed for an hour long lunch break.

ORIENTATION DAY Where Strangers become Friends

At about 2pm, we were back for the station games. We were divided into groups to play the games- this time only amongst us, Year 1s. There were about 4 stations which included ‘Piece the Puzzle’, ‘Leaking Bo le’, ‘Spray Game’ and ‘Balloon King’ and all of them were really interesting. To be honest, I liked the ‘Leaking Bo le’ the most as it was funny to see each of us struggling to ﬁll the pails and ge ing drenched in the process.

by Tee Wan Ting

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Aﬅer we completed all of those 4 stations, we gathered in the same room we were in that morning. Just when we thought our huﬃng and puﬃng has ended, our last mission, ‘Protect the Egg’, was given to us. Then, we were told that this was indeed the deciding factor for the winners for the day. In this game, we were to wrap two eggs with pieces of newspaper and straw (those who won the station games earlier got more of these) and throw them down om a height. The team with the most un-cracked eggs would be announced as winners. Aﬅer all the excitement of wrapping the eggs, we went to check the eggs. I am glad that my group’s eggs were still intact. Some groups were so creative they made parachutes out of newspapers to protect the eggs and I found that pre y cool!

Before we bid goodbye, the ‘Buddy System’ was introduced to us. Each Year 1 student was assigned to a senior who will guide and help him/her with academic and non-academic ma ers. I personally feel that this system is eﬀective, as some of us might be too shy to approach seniors when there is any problem. The day then ended with a group photo session to capture the beautiful moments of that day. In a nutshell, it was really a fun day. This was my very ﬁrst PharmNo s event and I am indeed looking forward to more PharmNo s events in the near future!

Next was the prize-giving session. Prizes were given to the respective winners and to our surprise, our group won the ﬁrst prize! Aﬅer that, we were told that among us were ‘spies’ who were in fact Year 2 students who snuck in and pretended to be Year 1s. That really caught us oﬀ guard; no doubt some of our seniors can act pre y well!

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BLOOD DONATION DRIVE 2015 Did you know that supply doesn’t meet demand in hospital blood banks? by Tan Wei Jien, Julia Quah Hwei Ming

During the last blood donation we had, a number of students fainted aﬅer donating their blood (fortunately, they were quickly a ended to). Therefore, this time round, we took the steps to ensure that the donors really met the criteria so as to reduce the chances of this happening. Overall, the event was a successful one and the National Blood Centre was contented with the response we received. We truly owe this to the generosity and support given to us by the students and staﬀ of the University of No ingham Malaysia Campus (UNMC).

Everyone knows that blood is literally a lifesaver. There is simply no substitute for blood. Therefore, a blood transfusion would be greatly appreciated by those with iron deficiency anaemia, those whose illness has no cure, those who are being pushed into operation theatres or who have a low quality of life because of it, etc. Hence, it is safe to say that blood donors save lives every day through their blood donations. PharmNo s had their blood donation drive in collaboration with National Blood Centre th nd om the 20 to the 22 of October 2015 at one of the event rooms, H1B11. This certainly a racted a large number of people om the campus (lecturers, staff and students included!) so much so that there was a constant flow of donors coming into the room throughout the event. Promotional posters played a part in this but the great response was mostly due to the kindheartedness of people- when people learnt that there was a blood donation drive being run, they simply walked in with a willing heart to donate.

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PHARMNOTTS’ HEALTH WEEK Movember by Huynh Cong Hieu

Have you ever wondered why every year when November comes, boys, guys and gentlemen all around the world will start growing their beards or moustaches, making them longer, thicker or even more stylish? Have you ever wondered why for many recent years, November starts to adopt its new name 'Movember’? Established by the Movember Foundation in the United States by the year 2003, this charity campaign has a racted millions of people, both men and women, to join the men’s health movement with a goal to promote men’s health awareness. They are commi ed to men living happier, healthier and longer lives with numerous projects focusing on prostate cancer, testicular cancer, poor mental health and physical inactivity. The name ‘Movember’ was chosen as a combination of ‘Mo’ (moustache) and ‘November’ (the month dedicated to men’s health campaigns).

During the Movember Health Week, five main events were organised: Photo Competition, DIY Charity Mug, Health Checks, Games and, most importantly, the Health Exhibition. The events were mainly carried out at the Student Association (SA) Circle and the SA Event Room. For Photo Competition, participants can either grow their own moustache, specifically for men, or design an artistic moustache using their own materials and then posting their picture on social media with the moustache. The person with the best looking moustache would win the competition. DIY Charity Mug was well received by students as they could draw anything they like on the provided mug and yet have all the funds channel towards the Malaysian AntiCancer Association (MACA). For the entire week, the SA Event Room was filled with a lot fun as students and staff joined us for Games and Activities such as ‘Shave the Balloon’, ‘Blow Pong’, ‘Dart Board of Fortune’, ‘Guess the Moustache’, ‘Photo Zone’ and ‘Styrofoam Giant Moustache Board’. Simultaneously, health checks such as Blood Pressure, Blood Glucose and BMI tests were provided by Healthcare Professionals om MACA. Participants were also given advice on healthy lifestyle by some of our Pharmacy (MPharm) and Pharmaceutical & Health Sciences (PhS) students. Overall, the Health Week received a positive response om many students and it a racted not only men but also women. The pamphlets and Health Exhibition Board we provided made it easy for the campus community to access helpful information. The Health Week itself also reflected MPharm and PhS students’ role in promoting healthy lifestyle to the public as well as creating an enjoyable environment for anyone and everyone!

Without missing out in this meaningful and important campaign, PharmNo s took pride in organising the Movember Health Week for every student within the University of No ingham Malaysia Campus (UNMC). The entire campaign was carried out for the whole of November with its focus on a week om the 23rd to 27th of November 2015, which was when uitful events took place on campus.

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McNEIL RESPONDING TO SYMPTOMS COMPETITION th

74 BPSA Conference awarded to the winners by Chong Choon Thien

McNeil Responding to Symptoms Competition (previously known as Johnson & Johnson Competition) has always been one of the major annual events organised locally (in UNMC) by PharmNo s in collaboration with the British Pharmaceutical Students’ Association (BPSA) and Johnson & Johnson Company. This year, it was held in the Faculty of Science on Friday, 20th November 2015.

The theme for the competition this year was ‘Digestive Health’. Therefore, the material given to the participants focused on a range of issues that could affect the digestive system, including indigestion (dyspepsia) and slow digestion, diarrhoea and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) along with their respective recommended treatments. This interesting information also serves as a good reference source for their future practices. The competition was carried out in two different sessions: morning and aﬅernoon. The first session was om 9am to 12pm while the la er was om 2pm to 5pm. Regardless of which session they were in, each of the 50 participants would only be given a duration of 5 minutes to prepare for the scenario before the actual counselling started. It was very competitive indeed and the judges were pleased to know that the Year 1 students had performed really well this year. With the results based on the sum of scores given to us, we were proud to announce our top three winners: Huynh Cong Hieu, Aaron Chai Jin Yan and Ivan Leem Kye Wen. Congratulations to all three of them th as they were rewarded a trip to the 74 Annual BPSA Conference 2016 in Cardiff University for their exceedingly well performances in the competition. We would also like to express our deepest gratitude to our simulated patients: Aa een, Bong Sze Ching, Bryan Stacy Simon and Cordelia Chew Yiing Shuang, the judges: Dr. Abigail Emtage, Dr. Jim Chai, Dr. Suresh Kumar and Miss Tan Yew Fung, the four helpers and our beloved Year 1 students who participated in this competition. Without their contribution and support, this competition would not have been as great and smooth as it was. Thank you all for making this a success!

Providing an excellent platform for one to sharpen his/her communication skills, this competition also gives the participants a valuable opportunity to be able to counsel patients under simulated conditions. In addition to that, this is where they would be able to apply their clinical knowledge along with their professional judgment to determine the best possible treatment for their patients. Furthermore, participants would be able to learn more about both over-the-counter (OTC) and Pharmacy (P) medicines while dispensing their choice of medication to the patients during their counselling session. It is quite true to say that the competition itself is a ‘must-join’ for Year 1 Pharmacy students who wish to gain additional experience in preparation for their OSCE examinations later in the academic year.

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Throughout the night we had a number of singing and dancing performances, all of which had their own individuality and creativity. These performers are certainly very giﬅed.

Viva la Vida NIGHT Black & White by Julia Quah Hwei Ming

What is Viva la Vida Night? Some say it’s a time for students to showcase their talents - a talent show- while others say it’s a night when magic happens. Being a witness myself, well, I’d say it’s a combination of both. Viva la Vida (VLVN) is held annually by PharmNo s for all students to forget what assignments and exams entailed and just have fun watching performances or being a performer. This academic year, VLVN was held on the 25th of November 2015 in the Great Hall at UNMC. PharmNo s thought of doing something different this year round and had this event carried out in conjunction with ‘Movember Health Week’, where the focus was on men’s health. With the symbol of ‘Movember’ being the men’s black moustache, the theme decided upon was ‘Black & White’. Over a hundred a endees walked through the doors that night and some even wore a moustache to compliment their dressing (girls included!). It was simply great to have received such support om them. The event started off with a welcoming speech om Aly El-Za ani, our emcee for the night. His speech was then followed by the Bollywood dance, which was the first of the many acts for the night. This lively and upbeat dance involved one of the event organisers, Marsya Hazanan! These dancers really made the audience all the more excited and ready for what waited for them.

It was touching to see many om the crowd liﬅing and waving their phones in the air with their ﬂashlights on in support of these two when ‘Flashlight’ was being performed. All these performers were surely greatly admired by the crowd.

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21 This hip hop dance glued the audience to their seats!

The second featured a popular boy bumping into his many iends in a pharmacy and subsequently ge ing their various illnesses om them. These MPharm Year 1 students, guided by their producer, Marsya Hazanan, really took their roles in their stride and the skits were indeed thoroughly enjoyed, evident by the laughter which ﬁlled the hall that night. The organising commi ee made it interactive by involving the audience in a couple of games in between the performances. Volunteers stood a chance to win fabulous prizes sponsored by the Rock Climbing Club and more!

There was also the all-time favourite Kpop dance om MPharm Year 1 & 2. They certainly took the audience by storm. In addition to the above, we also had an opportunity to witness something new to VLVN: SILENT SKITS. Yes, they were silent. And all the more brilliant, they were. “That One Couple at the Cinema” The ﬁrst skit was about a boy who was trying so hard to show his aﬀection for his girl iend, who was, unfortunately, seated at the opposite end of the row in the cinema. He did this by asking the people in between to pass his kiss, for example, to her.

As all good things must come to an end, so did this one. Before we went our separate ways, we took a group photo to commemorate the wonderful event. My iends and I really enjoyed the whole event and I believe that everyone else in the Great Hall that night did too. We were all certainly awed by the fantastic acts put together by the organisers and performers. All their time and eﬀort put into their practices really did pay oﬀ. Thank you all for a memorable night!

“The Downsides of Being Popular” The second featured a popular boy bumping into his many iends in a pharmacy and subsequently ge ing their various illnesses om them.

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Aﬅer the welcoming speech om our emcees, Aaron Chai and Jennifer, for the night, we played the good ol’ ice breaker ‘Ge ing to Know You Bingo’. It was certainly a fun start to the event evident by the many laughs and giggles we heard as the a endees went around and mingled. Soon aﬅer, there was a solo guitar performance by Eugene Eu and a Taylor Swiﬅ mash up performed by Emily Lau accompanied by Eugene on the guitar. The crowd was truly mesmerized by their skills and talents. Aﬅer the break for dinner, we played a game involving a li le bit of chemistry. The a endees in groups of 10, had to a empt to decipher the code given and to follow the instructions accordingly. Each group finally figured it out and ended up forming a human chemical structure of acetylcholine! I am really grateful and I certainly appreciate the effort of all the commi ee members. Despite being busy preparing for OSCE during that period, we all managed to plan out an event. We are glad that the event was well-off and that the participants enjoyed themselves and had fun. It was our pleasure, too, to have had Dr Lim Kuan Hon, Dr Aini Hamid and Dr Tung Wai Hau join us for this event! Overall, it was undeniably a uitful experience and it is truly something wonderful to be remembered.

YEAR END PARTY Farmily

by Tan Xin Min (Annica)

I was assigned to be in charge of PharmNo s Year End Party (YEP) with my coursemate, Aaron Chai. We started planning one month before the event. Initially, we did not have enough people to join the commi ee and had trouble proceeding with our plans. Fortunately, some of our classmates were enthusiastic enough to help. Thus, everything continued smoothly. Our theme was ‘Farm’ because we believe that we are one “Farmily” (Family) in this “Farmacy” (Pharmacy) course. As such, we had a dress code to ﬁt the theme. Many came in dressed like farmers and, to our surprise, some were so sporting they came as animals! We also had a wall decorated with a barn surrounded by animals and some props a endees can take their photos at.

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NATIONAL PHARMACY SPORTS CARNIVAL 2016 Together as one, we are ready to run! by Ling Kwong Hong

Don’t Get Last On the 22nd to 24th January 2016, the annual National Pharmacy Sports Carnival (NPSC) hosted by the Malaysian Pharmacy Students’ Association (MyPSA) was carried out. This year, NPSC was held in one of Malaysia’s earliest and most prestigious university, University Malaya, located in the heart of Kuala Lumpur. This year’s NPSC theme was ‘Together as one, we are ready to run!’.

22nd January - Opening Ceremony + Tracks and Fields Early in the sunny morning at 8am, our participants were already on their way to University Malaya. By 10.30am, every car and bus converged into the huge university. The registry staff welcomed us and showed us to our designated rooms. Soon aﬅer registration, we had a one-hour lunch break and moved on to Kompleks Sukan MSN Setiawangsa for the opening ceremony. The opening ceremony commenced with a march-by introduction of all the participating universities. Each university had their flags and banners raised, waving them in the air, showing off their excitement and spirit for the game. For us, we had our PharmNo s banner, flapping in the windy aﬅernoon above our heads, a threatening sign of the coming of heavy rain. And indeed, the rain came, halfway through the opening ceremony. The rain did not stop the opening ceremony; however, we had to stand in the rain while the articulate organizers delivered their opening speech. The ceremony ended with roaring applause, followed by a stampede as everyone ran to get shelter- an unforge able moment. As the rain died down, we had our tracks and field events, the most anticipated event of the day. Our best talents went out on the field and may the best be revealed. The race began as soon as the sound waves conveying the horn transversed across the field. At about 0.1 seconds aﬅer the horn, the theoretical limit of our reaction time, the runners pumped their legs, providing enough impetus to shoot their bodies forward. The crowds were deafening, cheering for their representatives. Some were even willing to run alongside the contestants to motivate them. We didn’t manage to win any categories for tracks and field, but it was surely good fun. With no medals that day, we told ourselves that we would do be er for the upcoming events. A high goal was set for all of us and that determination and hunger for victory was seen in everyone’s eyes as we suffered the loss we had that day – Don’t get last.

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23rd January - Modern Games Day

24th January - Traditional Games Day

The day started early with a warm up session at 7am. We had representatives for 5 main events; netball, futsal, ping pong, badminton, and tennis. Every contestant diverged into their own ﬁeld or stadium aﬅer the warm up session, ready to ﬁght their own ba le.

It has come to the last day of NPSC. The day was a day meant for us to have fun. Anyone could join the traditional games and most of us were just there to cheer for our iends. The games organized included Angry Bird, Coconut Bowling (with a basketball), Sack Race, and Tug of War!

The atmosphere was tense. Coaches were shouting across the ﬁeld giving directions and instructions to their respective teams. Every point is of grave importance as each one would inch us towards that decisive win. By the aﬅernoon, we had lost most of the sports competitions. Only our tennis contestant, Tan Ju-Ean, the silver medalist om last year’s NPSC, was leﬅ in the winning bracket. Climbing his way through the bracket, he managed to enter the grand ﬁnals for tennis. One more victory and the gold medal shall be ours.

The event started oﬀ with Angry Bird, where we had to slingshot water balloons across the ﬁeld with each person holding only one corner of a piece of cloth. A wet start for a scorching hot morning. It was then followed by Coconut Bowling and Sack Race. Games were mostly played just for fun and laughs as you can see everyone trying out wacky strategies to score.

The game was unlike any other he’d met before. No ma er what kind of shots he delivered, the opponent would catch them with astonishing speed. There was no room for mistakes in a matchup like this, every ball was hit across at seemingly impossible angles. Eventually, the game ended with Ju-Ean securing yet another silver medal for us.

Finally, it was time for the Tug of War. With opponents much stronger than us, towering us as we stood side by side, we had absolutely no hope of winning. Yet, we still managed to hold on for what feels like half a minute, with the support and cheer om our iends. I lost my footing om the start of the match, ending up on the ground, hoping that somehow with the lower center of gravity, I would be able to contribute – we lost. Despite not winning that day, it was tons of fun. The event came to an end with its grand closing ceremony at Dewan Tunku Chancellor, an ancient piece of architecture built in the year 1966. Everyone was in their NPSC t-shirt for the ceremony. The event was packed with performances; singing, dancing and they nailed every performance. To summarise this year’s NPSC, we have go en only 1 silver medal, which put us at the 2 rank… om the bo om! nd

In all seriousness, I hope that this event would be able to promote more athletes to join next year. It was deﬁnitely tons of fun and an unforge able experience. Those with talent and motivation, work hard for the NPSC that’s coming next year. Let this mo o carry on, ‘Surpass what we have achieved this year and stamp their record books with our University’s name on it!’

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HEALTH CAMPAIGN 2016 Vitamin C by Liew Zhen Yuan Gary

We had the privilege of ge ing the most eye-catching booth, directly facing the entrance of the student activities gallery tent. We spent quite some time to setup the handmade backdrops we prepared beforehand. The brown paper made the whole setup look splendid, aided by the booth lighting. Some helpers assisted in arranging vitamin C gummies on the table, while a few others helped in ge ing the juicer, watermelon and ice in place. The first milestone was achieved at 10.40am – where the first cup of genuine watermelon juice passed our internal testing. Things started to get real om that point on. At the ontend, we had a mini sales team of 3 selling juices outside the tent and inviting people over to our booth. At the backend, on the other hand, helpers worked hard to ensure there was a continuous supply of juice. At the booth, we had another team to entertain our visitors who came: distributing the questionnaires, providing explanations and of course, giving out ee vitamin C gummies. Occasionally, we entertained high profile customers like our Provost, Prof. Christine Ennew, and at other times, children who wanted our gummies but were too shy to take it themselves. That’s when you see our helpers’ hearts melt. We received plenty of positive feedback om numerous parties. By 1.30pm, more than 250 visited our booth and our watermelon juice was sold out way ahead of our expected time. Many who came for our watermelon juice told us others said the juice was great. That might be the reason we were perpetually swarmed by student helpers throughout the day. We started wrapping up at 3.00pm and leﬅ campus looking forward to the surprises the next day. nd

It has always been our desire to have a large audience participating in our health campaign. We were very honoured to be oﬀered a booth to showcase PharmNo s during our University Open Day om the 19th to 20th March 2016. We took this opportunity to hold our 2nd health campaign of the academic year, with the theme ‘Vítamin C’. This installation of the health campaign saw the greatest amount of participation compared to previous installations, many thanks to the prospective students and their family members who participated in it. The idea itself was simple: we setup a booth to inform the visitors of vitamin C, gave out simple health questionnaires as an activity, distributed ee vitamin C gummies and sold our 100% genuine watermelon juice.

Things were much smoother on the 2 day as we need not setup everything om scratch. However, we had a rather slow day as the turn-up was not as good as the ﬁrst day. Despite having fewer visitors, we had our watermelon juice sold out at 1.00pm, half an hour earlier than the day before.We would say our objectives have been achieved – each of our visitors now at least know that vitamin C aids in absorption of iron and those with a be er memory would remember that males above age of 18 require 90mg of vitamin C a day. By the end of the day, we had so many leﬅover gummies we decided to have a gummy munching competition. Just kidding. We distributed the vitamin C goodness to student helpers around the campus and also to the staﬀ. To celebrate the completion of this wellreceived vitamin C health campaign, we had tea at McDonalds and of course ice-cream! One cannot live a life too healthy. It has to be balanced right?

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31 The Interprofessional Learning Conference has always been one of the major events organised locally by PharmNo s in collaboration with experienced health care professionals. This year, the nd annual event was held at the Teaching Block Building (F1A15& F1A23) on the 2 April 2016 (Saturday), om 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in our own campus. The conference ‘Facing Challenges in Pharmacy and Healthcare’ provided an excellent platform to learn more about the health care practice and Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical & Health Sciences students were able to beneﬁt om the conference.

INTERPROFESSIONAL LEARNING CONFERENCE

PharmNo s was honoured to have five amazing speakers to deliver their views as well as to share their opinions on the topic during the conference. Mr. Jeff Kong, our first speaker for the event, gave us a very intriguing talk entitled ‘Networking For Success’. He emphasized on the importance of networking, be it social or human and its potential in benefiting us both individually and professionally. He showed us that any good relationship built or maintained within people inside or outside the pharmacy field can have a long term effect on our careers as future pharmacists. Therefore, we should cherish this opportunity in order to build stronger characters. This whole period had been a rather interactive one as Mr. Jeff himself took some examples of students om the audience and gave us a few tips on developing our characters based on our strengths and weaknesses.

Facing Challenges in Pharmacy and Healthcare by Chong Choon Thien

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Our second speaker, Ms. Stephanie Yee, introduced us to some of the background knowledge of antibiotics and the alarming situation which we are currently facing: the issue of ‘Antimicrobial Resistance’. Her slides showed distressing facts and ﬁgures which caught the audiences’ a ention and led us to think of ways we should deal with patients using the current lines of antibiotics to avoid antibiotic issues.

We concluded our conference with the last speaker of the day, Ms. Lim En Ni with her talk ‘A New Paradigm’. Ms. Lim showed us various sorts of clinical aspects that pharmacy students should focus on when becoming a community pharmacist. She advised that a pharmacist should remain ethical at all times and that we should not focus on money making but on taking good care of the public.

Following her session was a speaker who is also an alumni, Ms. Siow Sue Swen. Her session was entitled ‘My Journey Aﬅer Graduation’. We were able to learn a lot om her as she shared her experiences in the UK shortly aﬅer her graduation and the paths that led her to being a community pharmacist. Ms Siow also talked about her experience working as a community pharmacist and even gave us certain pointers we might ﬁnd helpful if we were to follow her pathway in the future. She also took this opportunity to advise all the Year Two pharmacy students who will be ﬂying to the UK in this September.

The participants were satisﬁed and responded well to the newfound knowledge and skills shared by the professionals who presented with much enthusiasm. Many thanks to them and all the a endees! PharmNo s hopes that this beneﬁcial program will be further supported in the future by the Faculty and the society’s members.

Aﬅer lunch was the workshop. Dr Syamhanin Adnan’s session, ‘My Journey as an AMS Pharmacist’, was focused mainly on her own experiences, the possible challenges that a pharmacist might face in the future and how we could make improvements on it. She was quite a motivational speaker as she urged all the pharmacy students to make a change relating to the issue.

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35 Blood is vital for life as it runs through the entire human body for the transport of oxygen and plays a signiﬁcant role in the immune system. In order to save lives, there is a very high demand for blood om various hospitals. Blood donation drives are organized once in a while to retain the supply of blood at these health centres. Many generous and kind people do not hesitate to volunteer to donate their blood. By just donating a few milliliters, they can make a change to someone’s life like a superhero. As the last blood donation drive was a huge success, PharmNo s decided to arrange a second one in collaboration with the National Blood Centre in order to create awareness on blood donation in the campus and encourage the public to give back to the society. The event started om the 4th to the 6th of April 2016 and was located at H1B11 om 10am to 4pm. There were 216 participants in total throughout the whole event. However, 18 of them did not get the chance as they were ineligible due to certain health issues such as underweight, high and low blood pressure. And also, passport issue was one of the reasons that some of them got rejected.

BLOOD DONATION DRIVE 2016 Donate blood, be a lifesaver. by Emily Lau Tien Na

Throughout the event, the volunteers ensured that every donor received a certificate and re eshments such as chocolate milk, bread and biscuits aﬅer donation. Thankfully, everything went smoothly as no one fainted and most of the donors were pleased with the service provided by the staffs. Even so, there were still some unintended complications. A 30-minutes power breakdown occurred at the last day of the event. This affected the blood storage and caused sealing problems. Luckily, the event was able to continue as it lasted for a short period only. Furthermore, the number of staffs was insufficient for some slots because part of the students had lectures and cannot be on-duty. Nonetheless, at least one volunteer was placed at the registration counter to manage the flow of the event. At the end of the day, if it was not for the hard work of the volunteers who promoted the event well throughout the campus, all of this would not be a success. The event received a lot of great feedbacks and benefited both PharmNo s and the National Blood Centre. If all goes well, no doubt there will be more blood donation drive organized by PharmNo s in the future.

events

‘When I was announced as one of the winners of the McNeil competition, I was shocked and amazed by the result. I could not believe that I am going to the UK , fully sponsored by our Faculty. Hieu, Aaron and I were very excited about this trip and we started discussing about it at a very early stage. TH

BPSA CONFERENCE An experience to be cherished

Winners of the McNeil competition were awarded a trip to a British Pharmaceutical Students’ Association’s Conference in the UK. This year, it was held in Cardiﬀ. The following are the experiences expressed om the winners om our campus, Huynh Cong Hieu, Leem Kye Wen (Ivan) and Chai Jin Yan (Aaron).

Preparing for a UK trip was not easy at all as it was our first time to that country. The weather there is very different om our hot and humid Malaysia. We had to pack a few jackets, warm clothing, long pants and many more. Luckily, everything was sufficient and we did not need to buy anything extra in the UK. The 74th BPSA Annual Conference 2016 was held in the capital city of Wales, Cardiff. We arrived at Heathrow Airport, London and took the National Express to Cardiff. The conference consisted of day and evening events. Day events include conference business, medical exhibition (MedEx), talks, interacting with pharmacists and ge ing slight involvement with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS). Evening events were more fun and interactive as we get to dress up according to different themes every night and get to know each of the conference delegates more. We were quite blur and confused on the first day of the conference business as all of us were simply conference newbies. The motions that were being put up did not make any sense to us at all initially. It was quite boring on that day. Aﬅer some time, we started to understand the meaning of this conference business. The issues or motions that are being put forward would be debated among all the delegates. Anyone can either agree, go against or abstain to the motion raised. Once a motion is passed, the association will do their best to speak to the government or the related authority about it. It was actually really meaningful to have this debating going on during the conference. Evening events were more relaxing and we made new iends. There were nights that required us to dress as animals and sci-fi characters. As we were walking to the venues om our hostel, people around the streets were giving us weird looks and funny body gestures. In my mind, we are a bunch of fun and energetic future pharmacists! The organisers brought us to different restaurants every night and each dinner was sponsored by a different company or association. Overall, I gained a lot of knowledge and experience om a ending this conference. Most importantly, I did enjoy my time there in the UK and I cannot wait to go the No ingham UK campus in the following September for my third year. I will also try my best to a end the conference again by then.’ - Leem Kye Wen (Ivan) –

events

‘A ending the 74th Annual Conference by the British Pharmaceutical Students’ Association (BPSA) in Cardiff was a lifechanging experience for me. Never before have I seen so many perspectives in pharmacy and met so many passionate, enthusiastic and energetic students and pharmacists. The most valuable thing I learnt om the Annual Conference is that pharmacy can do so much more for the public in the health care services. Pharmacists around the globe are effortlessly contributing to make this profession become be er and widely acknowledged. It was a huge honor for me and my two other iends to represent the School of Pharmacy, UNMC at the BPSA Annual Conference by winning the McNeil Responding to Symptoms competition. Although the entire week was packed with day and night events and everyone had to walk almost two hours everyday to and o between the accommodation and events’ venues, I did learn a lot and most importantly, gain more and more interest and love for pharmacy. The other thing that triggered me most was that we as pharmacy students can raise our concerns for our future profession right at university level. The Annual Conference did not only confirm that I have chosen the right course, but also encourage myself to do so much more in years to come as a pharmacy student. Overall, the trip was filled with countless memorable and meaningful moments and iendship. I simply cannot wait to join BPSA activities again in my third year at No ingham UK.” - Huynh Cong Hieu –

‘It started with winning a 5-minute long competition, but it led to a week-long, life-changing experience in my pursuit of career as a pharmacist. Prior to reaching the UK, we did not know what to expect. How would the conference be like? Would it be all fun and games? Would it be on a serious note the entire week? What kind of people would we meet? Do they seriously expect us to dress up in funny outfits every night? (Yes, there were themed events almost every night). These questions ran in our heads countless number of times. However, we only truly began to understand what the BPSA Annual Conference was all about on the first day of the conference - it was awfully lecture-like. Weren't prepared for that were you? Yeah, neither were we. Well, for the most part of the conference, it was mostly debating for motions to decide which to be incorporated into the BPSA's policies. As boring as this sounds, it was actually really interesting to watch the students actively fighting for their rights, future and opportunities for the improvement of pharmacy as a profession and by just watching them was truly an inspiring experience. This has opened my eyes to see how pharmacy in Malaysia can be improved in so many ways. For example, fighting to restrict the dispensing rights to pharmacists to prescribe minor ailment, reducing the workload on doctors and GPs. These can all lead to the advancement of pharmacy as a profession if only more pharmacy students had one thing: aspiration. The conference was jam-packed with tons of other beneficial activities om casual, social events to formal, pharmacy career fairs and elections. However, the two things I value the most out of this conference were the iends and fellow future colleagues we made who will forge the future of the pharmacy profession and a new purpose to get more involved with pharmacy. Overall, for me, it was a unique and unforge able experience, one that I will continue to reminisce over for a very long time. With that, I strongly urge my fellow cohort to actively participate in the BPSA Annual Conference and other events held by BPSA while you still can.’ - Chai Jin Yan (Aaron) –

events Before entering the ballroom, door giﬅs such as hair clips, brochures and ﬂower brooches were given out. The venue was decorated beautifully and grand as the main colours were black and gold. Delicious foods were served and everyone said that the food tasted amazing.

PHARMNOTTS BALL 2016 A nice farewell for future pharmacists to be.

by Emily Lau Tien Na

The PharmNo s Ball was held once again this year to bid farewell to the students in Year 2 as they are heading to the UK for their future years and also build a stronger fellowship between students in the MPharm and PHS course.

There were various interesting activities prepared for the event. Singing performances were given by the students of our own and a dance performance was presented by an invited special guest who is a famous dance choreographer called Francis. Besides that, there were two lucky draws. The lecturers were invited on stage to give out the prizes to the lucky ones. Traveling vouchers worth RM50 and RM100 were given as prizes. Furthermore, various awards were given out according to different categories which include Best Dress, Best Couple, Prom King and Prom Queen. The chosen finalists were invited on stage to play some games. Ushers went around tables and collect the nomination papers. When the finalists’ names were shown on screen, everyone cheered and screamed for their iends. As usual, the one with the most votes was crowned the winner. We were proud to announce Arron Cunliffe and Ng Jing Hui as Best Dressed, Juliana Yong and Henry Gan as Best Couple. Everyone was satisfied with the outcome of the results and had a great time nominating and voting the potential and deserved ones. Moreover, a short video was played during the night. It was about the advices and wishes om the lecturers to the fellow seniors. It was warm and encouraging. The message successfully touched the hearts of most of the students. The last activity was the ballroom dance that was led by the prom king and prom queen who were Gareth Daniel Vaughan Williams and Chai Peg Kee respectively. At the end, all the participants went home with huge smiles on their faces.

“Eternal Elegance” was the main theme and it was held on the 19 of April at the fancy ballroom of Hotel Maya. There were 106 individuals participating, which include the students om MPharm Year 1 and Year 2, the PHS and our three beloved lecturers, Professor Doughty, Dr. Abigail Emtage and Dr. Khoo Teng Jin. Everyone arrived with stunning dresses and suits. Some came with a bunch of iends while some came as a cute couple.

The whole event was a success as everything went smoothly and reached most of the expectations. The food, performances and even the decorations were amazing and many students loved it and took many photos to keep them as memories. It was indeed a memorable night for everyone who organized and a ended it. Bon voyage and till we meet again our beloved seniors!

university life guidance

4. Spur creativity

Get a long good night’s sleep before ge ing out the pen and paper. Researchers found that people seem to improve their emotional components of a memory during sleep, which may help spur the creative process too.

HAVING ENOUGH SLEEP

5. Curb inﬂammation

Inﬂammation is associated to heart disease, stroke, arthritis, diabetes and premature aging. Some researches state that individuals who get lesser sleep—six or fewer hours a night—have higher blood levels of inﬂammatory protein, which includes C-reactive protein that increases heart a ack risks.

6. Healthy weight

If you are planning about going on a diet, you might want to plan an earlier bedtime too. Researchers found out that dieters who rested well lost more fat—56% of their weight loss—than those who were sleep deprived, who lost more muscle mass. Dieters also felt hungrier when they got less sleep in the study. the hectic life of university begins again, most students tend to rush for assignments and have late night hour discussions oﬅen. They neglect and ignore the signiﬁcance of ge ing adequate sleep.

Surprising health advantages of sleep

Sleep is not just boosting your mood or banishing your una ractive under-eye circles, but it goes way beyond than that. It beneﬁts your heart, mind, weight and more than you’d imagine!

How Much Sleep Do We Need?

1. Memory booster

average adult sleeps less than seven hours per night according to the National Institutes of Health. Six or seven hours of sleep may sound pre y good to us university students but in reality it is a recipe for chronic sleep deprivation.

2. Live longer?

Students in college and university are considered as young adults (ages 18-35).

Your mind is actually busy while you snooze. During sleep, you can “practice” skills learned or strengthen your memories while awake. This process is called consolidation. Too li le or too much sleep is related with a shorter lifespan. “If you sleep be er, you can certainly live be er. It is pre y clear.” says Raymonde Jean, director of sleep medicine.

The average sleep that most healthy adults need is between 7.5 – 9 hours to function at their best.

3. Improve your grades

In order to reach the adequate amount of sleep each night, aim for at least 7.5 hours of sleep every night. If you lose an hour of sleep, try to make up that extra hour somewhere down the line to bring your “account” back into balance.

Dr Rapoport, who is an associate professor at NYU Langone Medical Center says: “If you’re trying to meet a deadline, you’re willing to sacriﬁce sleep, but it’s reoccurring and severe sleep deprivation that impairs learning.” In another study, university students who had inadequate sleep normally had worse grades than those who did because sleep sharpens a ention. Source:

http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20459221,00.html http://www.helpguide.org/articles/sleep/how-much-sleep-do-you-need.htm

All in all, let’s make sleep a priority, shall we?

university life guidance

Eﬀective Tips!

BREAK YOUR SHELL

Have you regre ed not trying to initiate a conversation with that someone back in high school or a stranger that you wish to get to know at a special event because you’re just too shy to say “Hi!”? Well, the crucial tips to survive in university that you’ll oﬅen hear are to make new iends and build networks. Those who grasp these two tips tend to enjoy their university lives more as they have more company to go through the hard times away om home together with the new iends they’ve made. There are many people who lose great opportunities in their life as they did not break their shell to approach that unknowingly significant someone at a particular moment. In order to adapt to a new environment, stepping into University to be exact, you have to break your hard shell and be confident, so that you can widen your group of iends and meet many interesting new people that can benefit you in tons of ways.

Think CONFIDENTLY

Think of the obstacles that always stand in the way of your conﬁdence. Face them in order to ee yourself. You have absolutely no reason not to be conﬁdent.

“Sometimes the only way out is through!” You have to encounter experiences that force you to learn to get good at life.

APPROACHABLE BODY LANGUAGE

Be approachable by keeping your body open. People will deﬁnitely take the hint. For example, do not pretend to play games on your phone and never cross your arms and legs as it seems that you don’t want to be involved in any type of convo.

It shows that you are an individual worthy of cha ing with and it tells them you respect them. In addition to appearing more conﬁdent, you will improve the quality of interactions.

SMILE !

TAKE RISKS

MAKE EYE CONTACT

Even the slightest of smiles has the ability to make everyone feel more comfortable. If you worry whether you’re smile might seem fake, keep it small. Just ﬂash those white teeth to practice those new conﬁdence skills. So, what are you waiting for? Break that hard stubborn shell of yours and step out of your comfort zone! Go approach that person that you wish to be iend at this very moment before it’s too late.

Source: http://www.wikihow.com/Be-Conﬁdent

university life guidance

Study abroad

TO-DO LIST BEFORE GRADUATION

University is the perfect time to see the world. This is the time in your life where you actually have time to spend a semester out of the country. The most eﬃcient way to get to know another culture is to immerse yourself in it rather than reading about it in books. Grab the opportunity to receive international education.

2 3

Get an internship

It is of great importance that you gain professional workplace experience before really stepping in. Almost all available internships will give you valuable training and experience for working down the road. Having internships under your belt will help to boost your resume.

Network at events

4 For most individuals, university goes by in a blink of an eye without you feeling it. You need to ensure that you get the most out of those three or four years through all the hectic studying and heavy assignments. Before walking across that stage and transforming into working adults, below are the things that you should do!

Source:

https://www.ﬁndspark.com/things-to-do-before-you-graduate-college/ http://www.uwosh.edu/current-students/nine-things-to-do-before-you-graduate/

Networking is a compulsory thing to do during casual and professional events. It helps you stay connected with recruiters and employers in order to keep yourself up-to-date on the job market in that particular industry. Also, it can help you ﬁnd future iends and mentors.

Take a fun elective just for you

While university is about learning, it’s also about the experience. Grab your chance to have an elective that is not a part of your major courses. Having activities in your schedule that is for sheer enjoyment is able to alleviate your stress of your course load. Do not be a aid to try new things.

Head to your career centre

This should be one of your ﬁrst stops during senior year. The resources you get is there to help you secure future internships or jobs, or just dust oﬀ that resume om junior year. The career counsellors need to be your best iends.

all about health

If you need to choose between hot tea and black coffee, you probably wouldn’t be experiencing anything too varying in terms of health benefits. There is a growing body of research to suggest that both drinks are good for you in different ways. Below are the coffee and tea facts:

PROS :

PROS : 1. Coffee helps prevent type two diabetes. 2. Drinking coffee lowers the risk of developing Gout in men over 40. 3. Caffeine in coffee raises the effectiveness of pain killers. 4. Coffee protects the liver

1. Tea helps to prevent the development of type one diabetes and slow the progression when it starts to develop. 2. Drinking 3 to 4 cups of tea a day can reduce the chance of a heart a ack. 3. Tea protects teeth as it contains ﬂuoride.

against cirrhosis and liver cancer.

5. Coﬀee improves short term recall, especially in the elderly.

COFFEE vs

TEA

CONS :

Tea hydrates whereas caﬀeine dehydrates.

Te a p r o t e c t s against some cancers and heart diseases.

CONS : Te a m a y c o n t a i n pesticides, even if it’s labelled as organic. 1.

1. C o ﬀ e e

causes discoloration of tooth.

2. According to a study in Denmark, drinking 8 or more cups of coﬀee a day signiﬁcantly increases the risk of stillbirths.

3. Research has shown that coﬀee reduces blood ﬂow to heart.

3. Tea contains a lot of Tanin. Tanin lowers the absorption of iron in the body which leads to Anaemia.

Tea contains caﬀeine that can cause a rise in blood pressure and anxiety.

Surprisingly, both coffee and tea are a health-giving elixir. They contain a special variety of components, some of which are good for the body, and some of which are able to pose serious risks. To be completely honest, you’re be er off leaving the heavy cream and sugar out of your drinks and stop worrying about whether tea trumps coffee or vice versa because both are pre y decent for you. So, enjoy your caffeine! Source: http://www.medicaldaily.com/health-benefits-coffee-vs-tea-which-one-better-you-309556

all about health

GPs write tons of prescriptions for this painkiller and millions more packets are bought over the counter. It has been considered cheap, effective and safe. But should we think twice before we pop another pill? The best known danger of paracetamol is an overdose – otherwise or intentional. The maximum 24-hour dose is 4g, but another extra 1g can cause complications to the liver, and it can be easy to overdose accidentally by taking more than one product containing it together. Although the potentially fatal effects of taking a paracetamol overdose are popular, the widespread belief has been that the drug is relatively safe and mild if taken at the recommended dose. However, this is being questioned by scientists, who say that taking it long term can have serious side-effects. That might seem a risk worth taking if it were not for recent research that suggests the drug either doesn’t work, or has only small effect for most people.

Many GPs are starting to take a more nuanced approach to the use of this pill. However, Dr Martin Johnson of the Royal College of General Practitioners mentioned that the status quo that drives GPs to prescribe prolonged use of paracetamol for patients no longer makes sense. Patients should consider other diﬀerent ways to manage their pain such as stretching exercises and hot baths. A diﬃcult shiﬅ in the mindset of doctors and patients on ways of using paracetamol and other painkillers is overdue. “What we have to get across to people is that pain itself isn’t doing any harm, it’s not something you can cure and sometimes it makes sense not to take anything. We have to learn to manage pain more proportionately,” says Dickson.

IS PARACETAMOL ENTIRELY SAFE ?

“Paracetamol can actually be a very dangerous drug. It can cause kidney and liver problems, and cause as much gastrointestinal bleeding as the NSAIDs,” says Dr John Dickson, who retired om general practice in Northallerton last year. Of course, most medicines have side-eﬀects, and taking them always involves balancing the beneﬁts against the possible dangers.

Source:

A review of previous research published discovered that paracetamol provided pain relief for some with tension headaches and migraine, but was of li le help for those with cancer, paediatric pain,, period and chronic back, as well as osteoarthritis and rheumatoid. Other research also highlighted evidence that those taking it oﬅen were almost four times more likely to have abnormal liver function test results.

The real problem is that the old ways of judging drugs on the basis of research that averages out their effects makes less sense when these can differ between people. “What we’re discovering now is that with paracetamol, as with all analgesics, there are individuals for whom it can provide good pain relief and others in whom it has no effect at all,” says Professor Andrew Moore, a leading pain researcher at Oxford University. In cases like these, perhaps it makes sense for patients to take a heavier role in managing their own treatment, discussing with medical professionals to figure out what really works for them.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/may/25/does-paracetamol-do-you-more-harm-than-good http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2722347/Is-paracetamol-safe-Research-suggests-popular-pain-killer-isnt-effective-think-worries-effects.html

all about health

Polypharmacy is the use of multiple drugs concurrently to manage coexisting health problems. Frequently, polypharmacy becomes problematic, such as when patients are given too many medications by more than one healthcare providers working independently of each other. Also, drug interactions may happen when no single prescriber knows the patient’s complete medication picture. This is a common problem among the older adults. The agents include both over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription preparations, such as mineral and vitamin supplements and herbal products. The more drug a person takes, the greater the risk of drug interactions and adverse reactions. Pharmacists and nurses are able to help identify patients at risk for inappropriate polypharmacy and educate patients and their families about the reduction of health risks.

A person might take dietary supplements aﬅer hearing about them om family and iends, or even the media. And due to the fact that they are available OTC, people may not think they should mention them to doctors or pharmacists. Yet these preparations have the possibility to interact with some medications and lead to serious adverse effects. Therefore, be sure to ask the patient about all preparations and not just prescription drugs only. Furthermore, prescribers should explore non-pharmacologic alternatives to drugs which includes dietary changes. However, under-prescribing of therapies in older patients also is a concern. Healthcare providers must evaluate and balance a drug’s potential adverse effects against its benefits to discover appropriate approach for the elderly.

POLYPHARMACY IN THE ELDERLY

Older persons react diﬀerently to medications than teenagers. Aging changes body fat and water composition although the absorption rates for most drugs don’t change with age. The total body water lowers while fat stores increases. These changes alter therapeutic drug levels by causing higher concentrations of water-soluble drugs and longer half-lives of fat-soluble drugs.

Advances in information technology, such as electronic laboratory records, electronic medical records and electronic prescribing are innovative ways to lower the risk of adverse drug interactions and reactions. Moreover, administration-alerting systems and technology-driven integrated prescribing systems are being explored further to address these issues. The new ﬁeld of human-factors engineering focuses on the design of human-machine interfaces and is directly applicable to helping the elders to stay independent and improve their medication management.

In a prescribing cascade, an adverse reaction to a certain drug normally goes misinterpreted or unrecognized, leading to an inappropriate prescription of a second drug by the healthcare provider to treat symptoms and signs. This may cause overprescribing and potentially dangerous situations.

As a general rule, healthcare professionals should reduce the number of medications prescribed for the older patients, keep the dosing schedule simple and limit the number of changes in their medication. And also, be aware of the drugs that are potentially inappropriate for the elder ones.

Source: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/732131_3

what our students say: survival tips in NOTTINGHAM university

WHAT OUR STUDENTS SAY: Survival tips in Nottingham University

University life so far has been challenging and emotional, but as they say, what doesn’t challenge you, does not change you, so in the end it’s been a worthwhile experience. As unforge able as it is, I wouldn’t have made it through the past years in one piece had it not been for the support given by my iends and family. Keeping in contact with your family members and maintaining your relationships with your iends would be the main focus of my advice on coping with university life. Although being independent is a must when going through everyday life in university, keeping in touch with others help set your focus back on track. From an academic point of view, I would advise having a study group with your iends to aid in revising and covering difficult topics. This is especially advisable for those who have difficulties in remembering points when revising and studying alone (such as myself ). When you ask questions together, and try explaining answers to each other, it will surely help you retain knowledge and facts much be er than reading by yourself. As for emotional support, seek companionship with others to share your feelings. Telephone your parents, talk with your brothers, sisters, and know that close iends are always there to lend a shoulder for you to lean on as well as ears to listen to your thoughts. There will be times where you feel demotivated and generally just down in the dumps, sometimes it just takes time and a li le sharing session with others to get that burden off your back. Whenever you feel lost or that there’s a li le too much on your plate, seek the help of others, they’ll gladly take your hand and help you overcome those problems you’ve been having in your mind. As independent as university life should be, it wouldn’t hurt to keep the communication and interaction alive between you and those caring individuals just outside your personal bubble. Zulafifi Abd Rahman PharmNo s President 2015/16

what our students say: survival tips in NOTTINGHAM university

around

In my first year as an undergraduate student studying Pharmaceutical and Health Sciences, I was actually prepared in a sense I knew that the huge leap om being a foundation student to being a first year undergrad student was apparent. It was a tough and rocky year, but it did not stop me om having some fun along the way. As a student myself, I know there would be times where the tides are not in your favour, and that you have to fight against it. However when you are burdened by stress it doesn’t necessarily mean that it will squash you to your mental ends, you can still fight it and have some fun.

Learning wise, I think as a first year student, you could still have a lot of fun, but do not forget your revision. Revise at least twice or thrice a week, just to keep you updated on your materials. This is definitely helpful as it will hinder you om cramming during your revision weeks before finals. But sometimes it doesn’t work that way, there might be weeks where you’ll have countless assignments to do. But even during those times, just try to read even if it’s not much. The key goal here is consistency. This is a very good technique for people who can’t cram at the eleventh hour. But, if you are more of a last minute student, then studying last minute might work for you too. I think in terms of coping with learning materials and lectures, it’s all about finding the style that fits you well. Personally, for me I can’t cram at the last minute, so I study li le by li le, revise weekly and really burn the midnight oil when exams are around the corner. In university, it is also equally important to have fun, socialize and just let loose of yourself. It’s where you can discover your inner potential and make a lot of connections with people om different backgrounds. You should not just stay in your room and study 24/7. Instead, you must also go out, have fun, socialize until it’s 4 am with your iends and just have fun! It’s about self-discovery since you are away om your parents and family. It’s where you explore, and find something new to try. Join societies and take part in their events too! It’s quite valuable and would allow yourself to grow in terms of soﬅ skills. All in all, I would conclude university is about work hard and play hard.

For me, transitioning om foundation to undergraduate pharmacy degree was quite a hustle I would say, considering the fact that it took me a year to get a visa to study MPharm, I had to se le in all over again. I had to make new iends, meet new people and all. I was also taken aback by the kind of schedule MPharm operated, as hectic as it was, it was the best the school management could oﬀer; not neglecting the stress of exam. However, ge ing through the stress depends on a couple of things. First things ﬁrst, MPharm is competitive so be ready. Next, good relationship with peers is key, you learn something new everyday. And most importantly, when stress gets the best of you, take a break. Also, believing in God does ma er. Aside that, life in No ingham is pre y much cool and interesting depending on what extra-curricular activities you are involved in. I believe that’s how I survive. Dorothy Ken Mpharm Year 1 2015/16

Asyraf Samsudin Pharmaceutical and Health Sciences Year 1 2015/16

what our students say: survival tips in NOTTINGHAM university

When I first entered UNMC, I thought I had all the time in the world to se le down, chill a li le bit, then get started on the serious stuff. However, life is full of surprises. You get waves of peer pressure, bad results, deadlines and iendship or relationship problems thrown at you. In a blink of an eye, I have (barely) passed my second year and am on my way to my final two years abroad. There are still so many things I wish I could have done here. There's that exam I wish I had studied harder for, there's that person I wish I had made iends with, there's that hill in Broga I haven't climbed. Two years in this university has taught me that time does not wait for you to take baby steps out of your comfort zone - you go a go all out. Take opportunities, challenge your fears and embrace the failures. In the midst of all the chaos that is university life, and as cliche as it may sound, you will find yourself. Juliana Yong MPharm Year 2 2015/16

Embarking a journey to become one of the most important components in the healthcare community has its perks and challenges. As oﬅen as you hear om your relatives and iends who acknowledge the prospects of being a pharmacist is rewarding, but li le do they know the sweats and ets behind the scenes. Aﬅer enduring a year as a pharmacy student, I've learnt a handful of things that helped me adapt myself in an international se ing university. First of all, adopting a good habit will beneﬁt you during the long run. Try to do some self-study and revise the things you learnt in lecture earlier in the day. Due to the long hours of lectures, it's pre y hard to pay unwavering a ention to every lecture. It will be good to strengthen and thoroughly understand what've you've learnt. From my perspective, university life shouldn't be bounded by books and notes only. It's a time where you seriously think about your future plans and goals before you step into the society. Personally, I do indulge in society work and things of my interests. Inevitably it takes up some time throughout the day, but having a balance lifestyle do helps to eshen up your mind om all study. In essence, these tips are just a piece of my mind and it doesn't represent the majority. I am pre y sure being able to transcend to tertiary education means you are mature enough to make decisions and take responsibility over your own life. Ivan Yeow Mpharm Year 1 2015/16

CASE STUDIES

CASE 1

CASE STUDIES

As a pharmacist, do you have any concerns about ﬁlling this prescription?

CASE 2

Mefloquine, doxycycline, and atovaquone/proguanil can all be used for chloroquine-resistant malaria prophylaxis in children. However, it is recommended to initiate mefloquine at least 2 to 3 weeks before the first exposure to malaria. Because AA is leaving for India in a week, he would not be able to effectively take this medication. Doxycycline is not FDA-approved for children younger than 8 years and, therefore, would not be appropriate. Atovaquone/ proguanil requires initiation only 1 or 2 days before first exposure to malaria; therefore, switching the prescription to this medication is recommended. Pediatric dosing of atovaquone/proguanil is based on body weight, and the recommended dose for AA is 125 mg/50 mg daily, taken as 2 pediatric tablets to create a single daily dose. Atovaquone/proguanil should be administered until 7 days aﬅer last exposure.

CASE 2

A couple comes to the pharmacy with their 7-yearold son, AA, who is traveling to India next week. (India is known to have chloroquine-resistant malaria.) AA’s parents present a prescription for meﬂoquine, which they received om a travel clinic 5 weeks ago, but forgot to ﬁll until now. Upon questioning, they tell you that AA is 48 inches tall, weighs 25 kg, has an allergy to amoxicillin, and is up-to-date on all his childhood vaccinations. He is not taking any other medications.

CASE 1

GK is a 47-year-old, 80-kg man who presents to the hospital with new-onset atrial ﬁbrillation and a heart rate of 130 beats/min. He is given a bolus of 20 mg (0.25 mg/kg) intravenous (IV) diltiazem over 2 minutes and then is initiated on a diltiazem drip of 10 mg/hr, which is ultimately titrated to a rate of 15 mg/hr for heart rate control. Per the hospital’s policy regarding patients receiving IV diltiazem, GK is receiving care in the intermediate care unit (IMU). GK has received his infusion of diltiazem for the past 24 hours and has not required any supplemental bolus doses or dose adjustments. GK has achieved a desirable heart rate and has no other medical problems that would necessitate remaining in the IMU. The team would like to transfer GK to a medical ﬂoor, but this requires conversion of IV diltiazem to oral diltiazem.

By switching GK om IV diltiazem to oral diltiazem, he can be treated on the medical ﬂoor rather than in the IMU. It is common practice to use the following formula to calculate the approximate oral diltiazem dose required: Total daily oral dose of diltiazem = (IV infusion rate [in mg/hr] × 3 + 3) × 10 GK can be started on oral therapy with immediate-release diltiazem, with his total daily dose split into 4 equal doses administered every 6 hours. GK’s recommended oral diltiazem dose is 480 mg/day, equating to approximately 120 mg of immediate-release diltiazem every 6 hours. Although the optimal time to stop the IV infusion before initiating oral therapy is unknown, it is typically recommended that oral diltiazem be initiated approximately 1 hour prior to discontinuing or down-titrating the infusion.

The above Case Studies were written Jonathan Liu (June 2016) Mr. Liu is a PharmD candidate at the University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy, Storrs, Connecticut. Drs. Weeda and Nguyen are outcomes research fellows at the University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy. Dr. Coleman is professor of pharmacy practice at the University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy For more case studies, see more at http://www.pharmacytimes.com/publications/issue/2016/June2016/CaseStudies-June-2016#sthash.BqwjK42s.dpuf

JOKES 2 LAUGH

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Q: Why did the doctor tell the nurse to walk past the pill cupboard quietly? A: So she wouldn’t wake the sleeping pills.

Patient: Doc, is it true, that if I ate a lot of carrots, I won't need glasses? Doctor: Sure, have you ever seen a rabbit with glasses?

Q: What’s the diﬀerence between a general practitioner and a specialist? A: One treats what you have, the other thinks you have what he treats. Patient: ‘Doctor, doctor, will I be able to play the violin aﬅer the operation?’ Doctor: ‘Yes, of course…’ Patient: ‘Great! I never could before!’

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JOKES 2 LAUGH

Doctor: I have some bad news and worse news. Patient: What is it, doctor? Doctor: The laboratory test results show that you have only 24 hours to live. Patient: Oh my God! Doctor: The worse news is that I tried telling this to you yesterday but your cell phone was unreachable. Source: https://www.aimseducation.edu/blog/medical-puns-jokes-and-one-liners/

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Doctor: Sir, were you using a condom during the last time you had sex? Patient: Doctor, what do you mean by “the last time”?

Dentist: Don’t worry, it will take me only a minute to pull your tooth out. Patient: And how much will it cost me? Dentist: 100$. Patient: For a 1 minute job?! Dentist: If you prefer, I can be pulling it out for one hour...

Patient: Doctor, this bucket has a hole. Would you please repair it? Doctor: Do you know who I am? Patient: Yes I do – you are specialist in plastic surgery… http://www.funny-jokes-quotes.com/medical-jokes.html

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