E-drug: Brain drain of pharmacists (cont'd)
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What is stopping us from training more pharmacists? In a recent
meeting of the Pharmaceutical Society of Kenya, the soon-to
-graduate pharmacy students were lamenting that there are no jobs
for them. Why? Because their jobs have been taken up by "other
people".
Australia has taken the lead in encouraging pharmacists to work in
rural and remote areas of their vast country by having a course called
"Rural Pharmacy Practice" together with other incentives (such as
ensuring good schools for the children of those who have families,
not missing out on CPDs etc). I came across a small private hospital
in the rural areas of Kenya which uses a very interesting (not
necessarily unique) concept. They have two medical officers housed
on site and they have consultants coming from the major cities to run
clinics on a monthly basis. They have computer and email facilities
and the medical officers have the contacts of all the consultants. They
discuss cases via email/on phone etc. That sounds like the issue of
having supervising pharmacists.
In Kenya for example, a large number of Pharmacists have now
opened up retail pharmacies in rural areas (something that we
thought was not possible). A number of pharmacists are also now
working in public or private hospitals in the peripheral towns - many
more than in the 90s. The university has doubled its intake.
Take the case of medical officers in Kenya: since the Government
approved a pay rise (not as high as they wanted though), it has been
very difficult for private sector healthcare institutions to recruit them. "I
would rather stay with the government" is theie comment. Isn't it nice
to hear that?
The wage bill for the pharmacist is affordable if the general population
will see that medicines are available and are used rationally.
Currently, the profession of pharmacy is silently blamed by the
general public for lack of medicines in public health facilities. The
public understands that a pharmacist will always be involved in the
process of ensuring medications are available for them and rightly so.
However, this is not the case in most systems. Have the pharmacists
at these levels, who are definitely there abdicated their duties or they
have been sidelined?
We probably need to reexamine the theories we hold regarding this
issue and think "outside the box" for solutions.
I concur with Eva Ombaka that CPA/FIP can look into this matter and
boost our Universities capacities to train more (and bind them) so
they do not go North).
Atieno Ojoo
Chief Pharmacist
Gertrude's Garden Children's Hospital
P O Box 42325-00100
GPO, Nairobi
Tel 254 2 3763474-7
Fax 254 2 3763281
Email: atisojoo@yahoo.co.uk
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