Celebrating World Pharmacist’s Day 2024
A spotlight on PharmAlliance’s focus on innovation and sustainability in pharmacy
Story by Preetish Patil, Class of ’26 PharmD Student | photo by Danny Alexander | Published September 24, 2024
World Pharmacist’s Day, held annually on September 25, celebrates and recognizes the vital role pharmacists play in global health care. The theme for this year’s World Pharmacist’s Day is Meeting Global Health Needs. This year, we’re highlighting an organization dedicated to just that: PharmAlliance. This international partnership between three schools of pharmacy – the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, Monash University of Australia, and University College London (UCL) in the United Kingdom – brings together faculty and students from these world-leading schools of pharmacy to collaborate on research, education initiatives, and pharmacy practices.
GLIDE Educational Module
One such collaboration was the creation of a new educational module focused on teaching pharmacy students key aspects of global leadership. The module, named Global Leaders in Development (GLIDE), was co-developed by Drs. Sarah Merritt, David Steeb, Andreia Bruno-Tomé, Ms. Oksana Pyzik, and Professor Ian Bates. It is composed of five online lectures and supplemental reading materials, each covering a different aspect of global leadership, from “developing a global mindset” to “understanding the importance of emotional intelligence and empathy in solving problems at a global level.” Students completing this module were invited to complete a voluntary capstone project, an international competition that would challenge students’ critical thinking skills and recently-developed global mindset.
The challenge for this year’s competition was “Sustainability in Pharmacy.” This topic has always been a concern for the practice, both in terms of sustainability of the profession as well as environmental sustainability of pharmaceutical production. With recent estimates that the pharmaceutical industry emits more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than the automotive industry, the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) ranked sustainability in pharmacy as one of 21 goals aimed to improve the pharmaceutical profession on a global scale.
Sustainability Competition
International teams of 3-5 students were instructed to create an intervention to improve the sustainability of the pharmacy profession and its industry by responding to the FIP’s 21st goal. They would create tangible, specific, and actionable steps and present this information to a panel of pharmacists. To create solutions to unsustainable practices in pharmacy was no easy feat; students were challenged to think critically and creatively, as novel ideas and solutions were a key criteria of the competition rubric. Additionally, students had to sell their pitch to the panel of pharmacists, solidifying students’ presentation and professional skills.
Carly Medwin, a current PY3 at the Eshelman School of Pharmacy, was heavily involved in creating the GLIDE competition for this year. She believes that “GLIDE is an innovative and necessary step to shift the conversation in pharmacy toward sustainability and longevity.” By collaborating closely with Ms. Oksana Pyzik (UCL) this past year, they were able to create a competition with critical thinking and creativity at the forefront. “We are responsible for the impacts we leave on our planet and profession,” Carly says. “But there is no better way to address such a large issue than to come together as an international team who is dedicated to spreading change throughout all of our communities.”
While six teams competed, only one team could secure the winning entry. Team 6, composed of Irving (Siyuan) Zhang, Philip Kmiecik, Edric Chia, Yujong Joung, and Rida Karim, won first place for their solution of recycling glass amber bottles at local pharmacies to directly reuse for another medication. Instead of recycling these bottles with other glass items, this initiative aims to recycle amber bottles solely for pharmaceutical companies. This solution reduces energy consumption by preventing more amber bottles from being created, and it promotes the FIP’s 21st goal of sustainable practices in pharmacy. Congratulations to this team, and the hard work they put into this competition!
The GLIDE competition was more than just a showcase of innovation; it was a call to action for future pharmacists across the world to embrace sustainable practices. Creating sustainable practices in pharmacy is a critical aspect in ensuring the longevity of our profession. This competition, without a doubt, raised the awareness of students from UNC, UCL, and Monash University about the importance of sustainable practices in pharmacy and challenged them to think critically, as future leaders in the profession. This World Pharmacist’s Day, spotlighting innovation and sustainability in pharmacy reminds us of how bright the future of pharmacy can be.