Advisory Board Annual meeting
The Advisory Board of the College had its annual meeting virtually on Wednesday, March 8, 2022. Prof. Nageeb welcomed all members of the Board and new members who joined recently, and thanked the Board for the crucial role in giving opinion on College programs and on collaborating in research, field training and alumni internships and recruitment.
Dr Moawia Altabakha, Head of Pharmaceutical Sciences Department was invited to the meeting to debrief the Board on the changes in the curriculum for the BPharm program including a duration of four and a half years due to the CAA requirements and the increase in experiential education from 16 to 24 credit hours. The curriculum now has modern courses of social pharmacy, pharmacy management and economics which should equip students with needed skills in the market. Dr Moawia also discussed other programs being prepared at the College including a proposed dual PhD program which would be a first of its kind in UAE in collaboration with a UK-based university. An associate degree in Cosmetic Sciences is a diploma that focuses on the formulation, constituents, and the regulations with regard to cosmetic products is also being prepared at this time.
Dr Sanah (Board Chair) debriefed the members on the recent changes that were made to the Master of Clinical Pharmacy program considering CAA recommendations including: several innovative courses were added to the program such as Leadership and Management, and Telehealth and Telepharmacy. Training courses were updated, the CCA now requires forty (40) weeks of training in clinical patient care. Dr. Sanah also discussed professional certification programs offered by the COPHS at this time which are usually conducted at the request of partners from the community and pharmaceutical companies. One about asthma management was conducted last December and one will be conducted at the end of March 2022.
Other avenues to collaborate with the College were discussed, including alumni internship where local companies/manufacturers are recruiting new graduates of the program to enroll in internship with the possibility of employment at the conclusion of the internship. Other discussion focused on students curricular training in institutions and other training regarding their future job selection, preparing for interviews and on tips on writing effective CVs, which may be offered by Board members. Some members also emphasized the need for more collaboration between academia and regulatory bodies and pharmacy practice to consolidate efforts to more the profession forward.