# \[e-drug\] Course "Managing drug supply" (cont'd) **URL:** \ **Category:** e-drug\ **Created:** [May 31, 2003, 9:51am UTC](https://talk.edrugplus.org/t/e-drug-course-managing-drug-supply-contd/16894 "2003-05-31T09:51:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kibumba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c67d28/32.png) [@kibumba](https://talk.edrugplus.org/u/kibumba)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2003, 9:51am UTC](https://talk.edrugplus.org/t/e-drug-course-managing-drug-supply-contd/16894/1 "2003-05-31T09:51:14Z")
E-drug: Course "Managing drug supply" (cont'd) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear e-druggers, Ms Carol Ntegeka returned to the Dept of Pharmacy, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda, as a lecturer after graduating from a MSc. Clinical Pharmacy programme. The programme was based at a reputable institution. This was before implementing the Ph.D. requirement, and we benefited as students from her obvious competence. Competence as a member of a clinical care team with associated clinical outcomes following acceptable drug therapies. So profound were the interactions that our negative attitude toward Clinical Pharmacy changed. For we began to like it, read it, and use it. On the other hand you are indeed aware that the desire of WHO/MSH is partly to have as many competent health professionals as possible at health facility level. At the same time I entirely agree with Ms. Geeta's ideas about expanding access to the content of the "Managing drug supply" course. I also acknowledge that there is another programme dubbed "Msc. Pharmaceutical Services and Medicines Control" whose objectives appear similar to those of the said course. May you at this point allow me build on this background? A glaring gap between what is taught, the need for integration, and what the graduates actually end up doing are the real issues to tackle in countries where schools of pharmacy exist. On a close examination therefore, I appreciated the need to have a module for our undergraduates based on the course content of "Managing drug supply." This means building human resource capacity at the University. Perhaps via training three or four members of the academic staff to the level of "Ph.D. or Msc Pharmaceutical Services and Medicines Control" from the University of Bradford, U.K or from any other reputable institution. In essence if only countries or donor agencies trained lecturers (conflict of interest absent)! You could figure out this will imply a consistent churning out of pharmacists, pharmacy technicians armed with knowledge, skill to perform pharmacy roles. Whether knowledge doesn't affect practice is another issue which human capacity may fail to solve. But we can and I think must do what is possible. Besides, consider the fact that Pharmaceutical Societies or Associations could work closely with local Universities in order to draw up Continuing Pharmacy Education modules based on the course content of "Managing drug supply"--at mandatory, affordable rates. Here is the other side of the coin, are we really willing to employ this clearly feasible, sustainable strategy? George Kibumba, MPS Teaching Assistant, Clinical Pharmacy Dept of Pharmacy, Makerere University. e-mail: kibumba@yahoo.com -- To send a message to E-Drug, write to: e-drug@healthnet.org To subscribe or unsubscribe, write to: majordomo@healthnet.org in the body of the message type: subscribe e-drug OR unsubscribe e-drug To contact a person, send a message to: e-drug-help@healthnet.org Information and archives: [http://www.essentialdrugs.org/edrug](http://www.essentialdrugs.org/edrug)