Pharmacy Students' Symposium 2009
9-13 March 2009

IHC Auditorium, Mater Dei Hospital

The Pharmacy Project: An Education Tool Enabling Student Initiative and Participation

The Annual Pharmacy Symposium is an event on the calendar of the Department of Pharmacy where pharmacy staff and students work together as a team. It is an opportunity for undergraduate and postgraduate students to present their work and to network within the profession. The modules in the Pharmacy Practice Project provide the platform for the exposure of students to research methodology and writing skills. Under the direction of the supervisors, students acquire the basic skills required to develop competence in approaching research and report writing.

In identifying student projects, the department takes into account local and external developments in the pharmacy profession. The work presented is a reflection of the excellent collaboration that the Department of Pharmacy has with other departments in the University and with colleagues in the healthcare field and the pharmaceutical industry. The department believes that through such collaborations the gap between academia and practice is minimised and that an objective, empirical approach to educational development of pharmacists is maintained. Safe, effective and consistent performance is required of pharmacists in whichever setting they are practising.

Undergraduate teaching and training should provide graduates who can perform and are competent to develop their skills in the various areas they intend to practice. The Department of Pharmacy also offers postgraduate programmes for graduates intending to further develop academically their competences. The final year Master of Science (Pharmacy) postgraduate students present their projects in the areas of clinical pharmacy, pharmacoeconomics and industrial pharmacy.

It is a pleasure to note that a number of these projects lead to publications in peer-reviewed journals and to contributions which are later adopted in ‘real-life’ scenarios. The project compliments the formal teaching schedule and the practical placements that are required within the pharmacy course.

The placement includes practice in community pharmacy and experiential learning in the hospital and the pharmaceutical industry settings. Students are encouraged to take up mobility programmes such as the Erasmus programme to broaden their experiences in other countries.

Professor Lilian M. Azzopardi
Head, Department of Pharmacy

Project Abstracts presented:

Final Year Students

Postgraduate Students

Project Progress Reports presented:

Fourth Year Students

Third Year Students

Second Year Students