1 December 2011
One of Australia's leading health companies has thrown its support behind the Excellence in Pharmacy Education program with a ten-year sponsorship agreement.
Australian Pharmaceutical Industries (API) announced that it will provide a $300,000 donation in support of the innovative approach to teaching and learning taken by Monash University's Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.
API’s significant contribution will be invested in the faculty’s Professional Practice Suites - learning environments designed to facilitate the teaching of contemporary dispensing, primary care and patient communication skills in a 'hands-on' manner.
API CEO and Managing Director, Stephen Roche, said the changing health and retail environment made investment in the skills of young and upcoming pharmacists an important contribution to the future of the industry.
“To be a leading pharmacy in the future will require pharmacies to have the best pharmacists and I hope this contribution to Monash will fulfil part of API’s overall vision to deliver positive health outcomes for patients,” Mr Roche said.
Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Professor Bill Charman said establishing strong connections with industry leading organisations, such as API, was vital to the overall educational experience at Monash and provided development opportunities for students.
"We need to educate students for today’s best practice as well as prepare them to meet the challenges of the future - to be leaders of change as well as safe, efficient and flexible in work practices. Importantly they must be key contributors to the health team,” Professor Charman said.
The faculty's educational approach is based on a belief that the future of pharmacy is centred on the provision of personalised, patient-focussed healthcare, integrated with expert medicine advice, ensuring that pharmacists are an integral part of the healthcare team.
“API’s support for the PPS will enhance the University's ability to produce pharmacy graduates who can better contribute to the future of community pharmacy and we are very thankful for their support,” Professor Charman said.
Replacing a traditional 'dispensing' laboratory, the PPS can adapt to changing teaching styles and emphases. It incorporates two teaching areas, each fitted with a computer-equipped tutorial space for thirty students, two consulting suites, each containing four consulting rooms with video-recording capability, and a social learning space for small informal group work.
API join the Quality Pharmacy Consortium as supporters of the Victorian College of Pharmacy Foundation’s Excellence in Pharmacy Education project.