Newsletter3rd IPSF Eastern Mediterranean Pharmaceutical Symposium

May 2012

N°3

humanitarianEverything about The

campaign

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International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation

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Since establishment in 1949, IPSF now represents more than 350,000 pharmacy students and recent graduates in 84 countries worldwide. IPSF is the leading international advocacy organisation of pharmacy students promoting improved public health through provision of information, education, networking, and a range of publication and professional activities.

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The humanitarien campaign

Post Symposium Tour

Leaders In Training

The FPSA (Faculty of Pharmacy Students’ Association) has always been a pioneer in humanitarian missions. Preparing for and organizing such missions reveals itself as a result of honest, sincere intention to help and develop the local community, whenever and wherever it is required.This deeply rooted tradition was passed down from seniors to juniors. These missions (campaigns) require an enormous amount of dedication, determination and planning that may take more than just one month.

How to plan and when to start planning?What do I need to be aware of when preparing for such missions?How to organize the campaign when we reach the targeted area?

The above questions (and many more) need to be clearly thought of in order to run a successful campaign.

GOALS:These missions are a reflection of the soul of sentiment and solidarity from the students towards others as we aim to touch as many people as we can.

● Optimization of the health level by uplifting the burden from the residents in the area by:1-Providing health care clinics for the patients during the campaign.2-Raising the health awareness amongst the local community using appropriate educational tools.● Creating bonds between the students of the faculty and to give them a valuable opportunity

to learn how to run a campaign and work as a team. It’s really important that they understand the needs of their local community and to improve their communication skills.

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humanitarianThecampaign

MEDICAL MISSION COMMITTEEThis committee is responsible for preparing the medical mission. It consists of:The Head of the committee The Head of each groupThe Head of the Pharmacy The Head of the Health EducationThe Head of the lab The doctors

ORGANIZATION OF THE MEDICAL MISSIONThe major pillars of a typical mission are the following:

● The clinics: which provide free health examinations and counseling for the local community. These clinics include: a Primary Health Care Clinic, a Dental clinic and an Ophthalmic clinic.

● The Labs: which carry out free routine tests (blood,stool,urine..etc.).

● The pharmacy: which provides free medicines including: antibiotics,antimalarials, analgesics,antihistamines, antacids,multivitamins,antifungals and ORS, as well as medications for emergency situations like:IV antispasmodics and adrenaline. The above medicines are provided in various dosage forms (Caps, Tabs, Syrups, creams, ointments, injections…)

● Health Education Groups: these groups conduct the educational workshops in the schools or in the local health care centers (wherever it’s possible) . They also arrange home visits in order to reach those who couldn’t make it to the centers. The tools used are: posters and leaflets. The topics that are usually covered range from communicable to non-communicable diseases.

Here’s a list the topics that are usually covered: Diarrhea and self-hygiene Childhood Illnesses Malaria TB AIDS Malnutrition Hypertension and Diabetes Breast cancer Tobacco Alertness (Awareness?)

GET YOUR WHITE COATS AND GET READY!

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DOCUMENTATION OF THE MEDICAL MISSIONThis will be done by using photos, videos and most importantly, the medical mission report which comprises an extensive account of the mission. It contains detailed information about the following:

■ The area: Its name, distance from Khartoum city, the nature of the road (paved or not), population, their ethnic background, number of health care centers, level of education, level of nutrition and vaccination, water resources, sanitation , the architectural style of the buildings and the most prevalent diseases.

■ The clinics: Number of male and female clinics, Number of participating doctors, total number of patients and the doctors’ evaluation of the health status in the area.

■ The Lab: Number of participating students, the availability and efficiency of the equipments and solutions, the number of tests carried out and the head of the lab’s evaluation.

■ The Pharmacy: The quantity of medicines available, unavailable drugs (if any), the most dispensed drugs and the head of the pharmacy’s evaluation. The dispensed prescriptions are also kept.

■ Home visits: Number of participating students, level of awareness amongst the residents, discussed topics and the most prominent problems in the community.

CHALLENGESSuch medical missions are accompanied by various challenges. But these challenges can be surmounted by suitable coordination and team work. Organizing the humanitarian day to ensure smooth flow of work is of extreme importance. The participating students are divided into groups. Each group must have a round in the pharmacy, the lab and the health education focus groups in precisely predetermined shifts (i.e. each group is to spend a specific amount of time in each place before moving to the next one). This strategy was found to be effective in preventing overcrowding and providing maximum benefit to the students and various aspects of the mission day.

During this “rotation” you will never feel bored, we promise! Actually, you won’t have the time to feel bored because once you’ve joined us you will be in a NON-STOP MOTION of activities...The atmosphere there is electric..!

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FINAL WORDThe Humanitarian Medical Mission is the most popular and anticipated event of the year. Its two major roles are helping the less fortunate and providing an u n f o r g e t t a b l e experience for the students.A wise man once said: “A journey is best measured in FRIENDS rather than miles”…and we say: you all will be definitely amazed not only by the new friends you’ll have, but also by the amount of new things you’ll learn and your potential to achieve wonderful t h i n g s … … W E PROMISE.

So, are you ready to join us? It’s a once in a life time opportunity…We guarantee that you won’t regret it!!CAN’T WAIT TO MEET YOU ALL THIS SUMMER IN KHARTOUM!

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The task of leadership is not to put greatness into people, but to elicit it, for the greatness is there already. In the LIT programme that is exactly what we intend to do: extract and nurture one’s greatness and leadership attributes. A blend of hard work and plenty of fun results in an extraordinary “LEADER”.

The Leaders in Training workshop equips participants with the skills, tools, knowledge and attitudes they need to be a leader and trainer. The Program consists of half learning and half participating within these topics:

This session will explore personal attributes, behaviour, strengths and weaknesses in order to get to know yourself better before

becoming a leader. Here we will also learn concepts of servant leadership, time, email and calendar management skills,

prioritising and sharing the IPSF spirit.

Personal Development

Leaders In Training Programme

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Being involved in leadership will inevitably require regular contact with members and

other people you must work with, and the necessary skills. These will include

responsibilities in being fluent with email contact, how to provide positive and

constructive feedback, how to participate, prepare and chair a meeting and respect

others’ ideas during discussions and meetings, conflict resolution and public speaking skills.

Communication

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Succession planning & Group dynamics

At IPSF we believe in the importance of survival of any organisation, especially student organisations

where there are high turnover rates, which requires successful succession planning. And this includes

LIT! It’s also important to identify group dynamics in order to work well as a team during the year and at the same time identify and encourage younger

student members to be more involved in your organisation.

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For those who are interested, LIT will also provide participants with the skills on

‘how to’ run a successful training session at their local association. This will include how to be a facilitator, communication,

session planning, evaluation and feedback and energizer games. Participants will also provide training during the symposium in

short workshops to obtain practice in one of the above 5 topics certified by IPSF.

Project management

Successful training

As leaders, you will often need to be involved in organising projects, from local events to the international ones

such as IPSF World Congress. Thus future project or event organisers are encouraged to also attend this

session. It will include concepts such as timeline planning, sponsorship

seeking, dealing with external professional contacts in verbal and written form and budget planning.

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LIT VENUEThe LIT workshops will take place in the

National Telecom Corporation (NTC) tower.

The LIT social program will take place in a lot of Khartoum city popular places,

among the activities there will be bowling, and chilling in Khartoum’s most amazing

restaurants.

Photo: National Telecom Corporation (NTC) tower

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The post-symposium tour will bring us to Meroe, the beautiful tranquil village lying on the eastern bank of the great river Nile, approximately 200 km north-east of Khartoum, where the ruins of the Meroe kingdom (Bajrawia pyramids) can still be found. Meroe was the southern capital of the Napata/Meroitic Kingdom and was the base of the flourishing kingdom whose wealth was due to a strong iron industry and international trade involving India and China.

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Post SymposiumTour

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The ancient royal cemetery of Meroe is one of Sudan’s most spectacular sights. There are close to two hundred pyramids in a relatively small area, the ancient burial site of the Merotic Kingdom (sometimes known as the Kingdom of Kush). The Pyramids are smaller than their Egyptian cousins but equally impressive due to their number.

Forty generations of Nubian royalty are buried in Meroe, and every royal Nubian tomb is housed within a pyramid.It was found that the pyramids were commonly built over sepulchral chambers containing the remains of bodies of the Meroitic pharaohs. The Meroitic South cemetery contained the tombs of three kings and six queens.Several hundred yards to the north, the Meroitic North cemetery hold an additional thirty kings and six queens, the successors of the South cemetery group.

Their tombs were built under steep pyramids, where the rulers were mummified and covered with jewelry and laid in wooden mummy cases. The larger tombs contained remains of weapons, bows, quivers of arrows, archers’ thumb rings, horse harnesses, wooden boxes and furniture, pottery, colored glass and metal vessels, many of them imported from Egypt and the Greek and Roman lands. Meroe belongs to the most important monuments of the beginning of civilization the African continent.

Excavations of the Pyramids started in mid 19th Century. Most notoriously, an Italian explorer, Giuseppe Ferlini (1800-1870), smashed the

tops of 40 pyramids in a quest to find treasure. What was found was brought back to British and German museums along with samples of Meroitic writings and reliefs depicting historical events. Through the years, the pyramids have been plundered of all their wealth and left to the elements. But many of the pyramids still stand and their architectural elegance is totally worth a trip.

Access to Bajrawia from Khartoum is mainly by bus. The journey takes roughly 3 hours and the road from Khartoum to Bajrawia is bustling with young traders selling tea, coffee, fruits and many other goods. There are also many restaurants and traditional coffee shops along the way where you can relax and enjoy traditional food and drinks.

On the way to Bajrawia, you pass by the Main oil refinery (just outside Khartoum province) after a stretch of pastures where local nomads can be seen on both sides of the road with their camels, sheeps and cows.

Transportation within the village or to and from the main souk (market) and in between the surrounding villages is largely done on donkeys, camels and locally manufactured horse-driven carts, although modern transportation does also exist.

The Village enjoys fresh supplies of water and electricity. Schools, clinics, super markets and a small hotel for tourists are located on the main road linking it to Khartoum.

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VISITemps2012.uofk.eduTo register

emps2012.uofk.edu