The University of Malta puts great importance on developing students who would be able to meet the needs of society. This it does in addition to the propagation of knowledge for its own sake and through the development of areas of a more cultural nature such as the Music Unit in the Mediterranean Institute.
Several Departments and Faculties hold symposia annually to show to the public the projects that students develop during their university education. A number of these projects show how the University is educating its students to investigate ways of meeting the needs of society.
Last week we were given a good show by Chemistry students in an evening presentation of excellent work in this area. Earlier this year the Biology Department held their own symposium with stimulating presentations, some of them with great relevance to the needs of our environment. Similarly, in the case of engineering and IT, a good number of projects, applicable to our present state of development, were presented. Architecture and other departments also hold their presentations.
Although the major reason for these projects is to stimulate the student to develop ideas, some of these projects could, rather than just being shelved, be put to good use. However, one must always keep in mind that these are student projects and one should not capitalise on the findings especially if these happen to point to some negative aspect present in society. The findings more often than not require corroboration of the evidence presented.
From March 20 to 24, the Department of Pharmacy, which was one of the first departments to initiate the presentation of projects, will be holding its symposium during a week of activities. This symposium will take place when Malta is witnessing a rapid development of the pharmaceutical industry. The Pharmacy Department must see to it that while it ensures that the needs of the pharmaceutical industry for pharmacists are met in the right amount and quality, the pharmaceutical care and clinical needs of the patients both in hospital and in the community are also met with the same vigour and high reputation which the department built throughout the years.
The Department of Pharmacy this year received the University of Madrid Complutense Medal for its contribution to Pharmacy Education in Europe. The organisation of the European Association of Faculties of Pharmacy (EAFP) annual meeting in Malta has put the island on the European pharmacy education map through the publication of the Malta Declaration on Pharmacy Education, which was followed by the European Directive on Pharmacy Education which clearly states that the Pharmacy course at all EU Universities must retain its five-year structure.
The Malta Declaration was published in the latest newsletter of EAFP. The University of Malta Senate now needs to move forward and change the nomenclature of the degree from B.Pharm. (Hons.) to the more appropriate M.Pharm.
The pharmacy symposium serves as a showcase for some of the work that pharmacy students carry out. This year, in addition to the fifth year oral presentations and the poster sessions by second, third and fourth year students, the fourth years are also delivering a brief outline of their projects. This should help them to measure the progress of their research against that of the fifth years which may be considered as a benchmark.
Pharmacy covers a vast range of subjects and our students are quite flexible in serving society by promoting safe and effective use of medicines. One area that is essential to achieve this goal is proper information and IT. Projects which are very relevant to today's needs in this area include a Maltese supplement to the British National Formulary (BNF) which is the most commonly used quick reference by health professionals in the UK and also in Malta. The translation of technical pharmaceutical terms into Maltese as well as the use of barcoding in a hospital pharmacy are considered in other projects.
Pharmacy administration and pharmacoeconomics are very relevant topics at a time when quality and finance form a key area in the country's needs. Quality in local pharmacies as well as the cost of antibacterials are examples of projects in this field. In addition, a student from Cyprus has applied the Validation of Community Pharmacy Method developed in Malta to Cyprus. The Department has kept its traditional interests in forensic studies through two projects in the field, namely one on the lifting of fingerprints and the other on DNA determination.
The development of the pharmaceutical industry in Malta has led to projects in this area with the support of the same pharmaceutical industry. The projects cover both regulatory and analytical areas. These range from developing guidelines for pharmaceutical waste disposal to chromatographic analysis, to heavy metal analysis and determination of metals in lubricating oil. Regulatory affairs projects deal with establishing specifications for new drug products, devising protocols and SOPs. The practice of pharmaceutical regulatory affairs in the Middle East was also investigated. A philosophical aspect of regulatory affairs is dealt with in a project on questioning the possibly unjustified withholding of therapeutic agents.
Pharmaceutical care and pharmacotherapy are among the most important pillars of the pharmacy profession. The pharmacist's interventions in immunisation programmes, allergy, recurrent miscarriage, gastro-oesophageal reflux disease, acne and use of Perindopril in coronary heart disease are considered in other projects. The proposed pharmacist interventions used various methodologies such as the development of protocols, ways to improve the quality of life, management of a disease and methods for improving dosage regimens.
One hopes that the five-year course gave the necessary background for the newly graduating pharmacists for a lifelong education needed to ensure the safe availability and use of drugs with the resources available. From the next academic year the department is starting an M.Sc. course with specialisation in Industrial Pharmacy, Pharmacoeconomics and Clinical Pharmacy. This is in addition to the successful M.Phil. and Ph.D. programmes which have been running for some years.