FF UNAIR Students Visit Management & Science University
On 13-27 August 2024, Airlangga University Pharmacist professional education students visited Management & Science University in Malaysia for Student Outbound activities. A total of 10 Pharmacist professional education students took part in a series of activities within the scope of pharmaceutical work starting from the community, hospital and pharmacy for 2 weeks.
On the first day, there was a welcome and introduction event from MSU led by the Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy, Associate Professor Dr. Mohd Fadli Mohd Asmani. After that, it was continued with a tour of the pharmacy faculty and the MSU campus environment. On the following day, there were discussions regarding the Outpatient Department, visits and practices at the MSU Medical Center related to pharmaceutical activities at the Hospital. This activity is carried out alternately by students of the Pharmacist Education Profession. Apart from that, there is also a case discussion regarding the prescribing system, health facilities and value added services in Malaysia. This activity was organized by dr. Lyna Irawati and Madam Mah which lasted for 5 days starting from August 15 to August 21. Next, on August 22, we had the opportunity to take a class related to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). In this class we were guided by Mr. Boon Loong Chang, M.S and Ms. Annie Lim Jian Thing to learn more about Acupuncture and Herbal Medication for Wellness and Disease Prevention. Apart from gaining knowledge regarding this material, we also got the opportunity to get to know herbal medicines directly and try acupunture.
One of the memorable opportunities that we got in this program was that we got the opportunity to take part in the Short Course certification: Eco - Friendly Cosmetics (Development of Lipstick and Hand Lotion Using Palm Oil). Under the guidance of Mr. Saeid Mezail Mawazi, we studied in more depth regarding formulation development, sustainability analysis, and consumer acceptance testing in the development of cosmetic products using palm oil as raw materials. At the end of this short course we received a training certificate and the cosmetic products we made, namely lipstick and hand lotion.
On 26-27 August 2024, we had the opportunity to visit the pharmacy owned by Management and Science University at HQ Laman seri business park, Seksyen 13, Shah Alam, Selangor called MediCart Pharmacy. There we were accompanied by Madam Zainun and Mr. Nizam to discuss with the pharmacist (Puan Adimas). We were given information regarding drug management and administration that generally occurs in Malaysian retail pharmacies. Apart from that, we also learned about what registration documents a pharmacist needs to be able to work in a retail pharmacy/pharmacy. In general, the systems in Indonesia and Malaysia are more or less the same, there are only differences such as the lack of dispensing rights for pharmacists in Malaysia which has had a big impact in reducing consumers buying medicines. This issue related to dispensing rights is a hot issue regarding the boundaries between doctors and pharmacists.
The recording books that we studied were the poison prescription book B, the poison prescription book C, the poison wholesale sales book (pseudoephedrine), the poison wholesale sales book, and the pseudoephedrine record book. Wholesale refers to the sale of OTC medicines, while poison B and C are the categories of medicines used by Malaysia (if in Indonesia they use the free, limited free, hard, etc. categories). To access this drug category, the pharmacist will look at the page https://pharmacy.moh.gov.my/ to check the drug category, because there is no label/symbol on the drug packaging to mark the drug category.
Then on August 28 2024, we are scheduled to return to Surabaya, thus completing our activities for approximately 15 days at Management and Science University Malaysia. Thank you to the Faculty of Pharmacy, Airlangga University, pharmacist education program for contributing to this student exchange program. The opportunity we received to be involved in student exchange in the pharmaceutical field has given us very valuable experience, both from an academic and personal perspective. Through interactions with professionals, lecturers and colleagues abroad, we not only gain new knowledge about the latest practices and developments in pharmacy, but also learn about cultural diversity and international approaches. We also really appreciate the support and guidance provided by lecturers and facilitators from the MSU pharmacy faculty who have patiently guided us and provided in-depth insight. We hope that this collaboration can continue and develop, so that more pharmacist professional program students can experience the same benefits.
This program is a form of FF UNAIR's involvement in supporting SDGs 17 Partnerships for the goals. The collaboration between FF UNAIR and Hoshi University is able to improve the quality of education and teaching for FF UNAIR students who will later be deployed to the community as reliable pharmacists to handle the quality of public health.
