FIP, as the global leader for pharmacy, has taken the initiative to build the “FIP World List of Pharmacy Schools”, which will be the most comprehensive and up-to-date list of pharmacy institutions from around the world. This global list is intended to guide all pharmacy stakeholders, from students to policymakers, in assessing the appropriateness and effectiveness of pharmacy education strategies. The availability, completeness and quality of FIP’s World List of Pharmacy Schools means it will provide a unique source of information for pharmaceutical workforce policies, procedures and plans.
Further background on the FIP World List of Pharmacy Schools:
The FIP World List of Pharmacy Schools is an initiative to monitor pharmaceutical capacity and capability, similar to those of many other global organisations, such as the World Medical Schools List held by the World Medical Association. Given 2021 is the World Health Organization’s Year of Health and Care Workers, the need for our global organisations to demonstrate increased capacity in all health workers is key to ensure our professions are not further diminished but amplified.
FIP is a founder member of the World Health Professions Alliance (WHPA) with doctors, nurses, dentists, and physiotherapists. All WHPA members have been requested to feedback their schools’ status to the WHO as part of pandemic preparedness, and FIP having a list of accredited pharmacy schools will help to identify where schools may be needed and created to ensure long-term pharmaceutical workforce capacity.
University of British Columbia
Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences
The Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, established in 1946, is internationally recognized for excellenceand innovation in education. Researchers are among the world’s leading minds in the pharmaceuticalsciences, engaging in multidisciplinary and collaborative projects that contribute to improving the health ofBritish Columbians and the world.
UBC’s Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy program currently produces more than 600 pharmacists each yearfor community and hospital pharmacies throughout B.C. The UBC Doctor of Pharmacy program, a twoyearpost-graduate program, prepares advanced clinical pharmacy specialists to join patient-care teamsthroughout B.C. and beyond.
In 1981, the Faculty created Canada’s first Community Pharmacy Residency Program, which enablesgraduates to spend a year of community-based pharmaceutical care in such areas as palliative care,diabetes, asthma and other chronic diseases. Past residents are now medication management pharmacists inpain clinics, pharmacy instructors at colleges and universities and as specialists in geriatric pharmacy withB.C. health authorities.
Faculty highlights:
• More than 4,000 alumni
• Nearly 40 full-time academic faculty and more than 100 clinical instructors
• First in Canada last year for external research funding
• Undergraduate enrolment is one of the highest among Canada’s 10 pharmacy faculties
• UBC’s Doctor of Pharmacy program was Canada’s first to produce more than 100 graduates
Recent research highlights:
Amphotericin B: A new oral formulation of a drug developed by Prof. Kishor Wasan could positivelyimpact the more than 1.5 million people worldwide affected by visceral leishmaniasis (VL), a parasiticdisease typically transmitted by sand flies in areas with poor sanitation conditions.
Amphotericin B is the first drug licensed under UBC’s Global Access Initiative, which works with industry to provide the drug at subsidized costs to developing countries. An estimated 60,000 people die from VLeach year.
Collaboration for Outcomes Research and Collaboration (CORE): This multidisciplinary collaborationof epidemiologists, health economists, clinical pharmacists and health promotion and services researchersaddresses the need for clinical and economic research and education in pharmaceutical outcomes.Led by Profs. Carlo Marra and Larry Lynd, CORE researchers have completed clinical and policy relevantresearch in rheumatology, respiratory and cardiovascular disease, infectious diseases, diabetes, diagnostictesting and screening to achieve the overall mission of improving health-related outcomes associated with drug therapy.
New UBC Pharmaceutical Sciences Building
The new $133.3-million UBC Pharmaceutical Sciences Building, scheduled to open in 2012, will significantly expand the UBC Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences’ capacity for learning and discovery.
The new building space will allow the professional pharmacy degree program to expand 47 per cent in enrollment. An additional 72 students will be able to start the program by 2011 for a total of up to 224 new pharmacists by 2015. The faculty’s Masters, Doctoral and Pharm.D. graduate programs will also expand during the same period and the building will provide space for 896 professional practice degree students.
The 18,382-square-metre building will be built to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) gold certification and feature five acres of floor space that will house research and teaching spaces, as well as the Centre for Drug Research and Development (CDRD). The Faculty and CDRD’s proximity will enable students to participate in pharmaceutical research and learn in an environment of innovation and discovery.