RxEducation - Diving into Lebanese Pharmacy Education

Join us in the captivating world of Lebanese Pharmacy Education with our latest podcast episode, "RxEducation: Diving into Lebanese Pharmacy Education! 🎙️💊
Explore the trends, innovations, and insights from Prof. Mohammad Rahal, Dean of the School of Pharmacy at Lebanese International University. 📚
Don't miss this enlightening conversation! 🇱🇧

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Fellow IVPineers, pharmacy enthusiasts, and lifelong learners, welcome back to the IVPN Voices, the podcast that amplifies the voices of future pharmacists and healthcare leaders. I'm your host, Majd al Hazar, a recent pharmacy graduate from the Lebanese International University, and the proud president of the LIU IVPN Club. Today we embark on a journey of knowledge, discovery, and insightful conversations, all with the goal of advancing pharmacy education, practice, and innovation. Our inaugural episode entitled Oracle's Education, Diving into Lebanese Pharmacy Education is a testament to our commitment to excellence in the advancement of pharmaceutical education. And what better way to kickstart this endeavor than by having a truly distinguished guest, a visionary in the field of pharmacy education, and esteemed dean of the Lebanese International University, School of Pharmacy, Professor Mohammed Rahal. Professor Rahal is not only the dean of School of Pharmacy at the renowned Lebanese International University, but also an active member of various esteemed committees, including the Arab Association of Colleges and Pharmacy Executive Committee, the FIP AIN Advisory Committee, and the ACPE ISP Advisory Group, and the Arab American Pharmacy Educator Steering Committee. With a career that has banned continents and countless contributions to pharmacy education and practice, Professor Rahal stands at the forefront of innovation, shaping the future of pharmacy in Lebanon and beyond. His commitment to fostering collaboration, driving accidents, and propelling the pharmacy profession forward is evident in his active involvement in these prestigious committees, which play a vital role in shaping global pharmacy education standards. Today, we have the privilege of delving into his vast experiences and insights and aspirations for the future of pharmacy education. In this episode, we'll dive into the essence of pharmacy education, discussing the ways in which it has adapted to the ever-changing healthcare landscape and how aspiring pharmacists are being prepared to meet the demands of this dynamic field. So, without further ado, let's welcome our esteemed guest, Professor Mohammed Rahal, to share his insights and wisdoms on the transformative power of pharmacy education. Professor Rahal, thank you so much for joining us today on IVP Unvoice.

SPEAKER_00 2:33

Thank you much for hosting me. I'm very glad to uh join you and uh to reflect on uh my experience with uh your uh and your group.

SPEAKER_01 2:45

Thank you so much for joining us. The honor is ours, actually, Professor Rahal. And as we embark on this journey of RAX education, I would like to start by diving straight into the topic. Can you provide our listeners with an overview of the current state of pharmacy education in Lebanon and its significance within the healthcare system?

SPEAKER_00 3:06

Let me start by saying that we have five schools of pharmacy in Lebanon. Uh, three of them are uh American system, like Lebanese American University, the uh Beirut Arab University, Lebanese International University, and the two French system uh schools, uh the Lebanese University, the public university, and uh St. George uh University or USG. All of the schools, all of the pharmacy programs are uh accredited. Uh the Lebanese University and USG are uh accredited by French uh uh agency. And uh LIU bachelor degree in pharmacy is accredited, uh has international accreditation by ACPE, and lau pharmd program is accredited by ACPE. So all pharmacy programs are uh highly uh qualified and recognized by international agencies, accredited accrediting uh agencies, and most of them they prepare, all of them sorry, they prepare uh well qualified and professional pharmacists to serve the communities, not only in Lebanon, but in any pharmacy uh career or in any region.

SPEAKER_01 4:36

That's great. I'm sure our listeners would love that brief summary on the state of the pharmacy education in Lebanon. So could you shed some light on the variations and pharmacy curriculums among Lebanese universities and how these curriculums have evolved over time to meet the changing demands of the field? So basically, as you know, our pharmacy field is growing fast. Uh, how is the pharmacy curriculum adapting to these changes?

SPEAKER_00 5:07

Yeah, this uh I I always like always to mention this and highlight uh this issue that the pharmacy education in Lebanon is uh more advanced than the pharmacy practice in Lebanon. Uh pharmacy education, we have uh, as I mentioned, different uh curricula, uh but most of them they are uh updated, advanced, they and they prepare the pharmacy, the pharmacists, the graduates for uh the challenges and the advances in pharmacy practice. Usually, or before, the pharmacy career was mainly concerned with the dispensing and mixing uh medicines, and the pharmacist was used to call uh to be called the chemist rather than pharmacists. Now, pharmacist role in uh the healthcare system in general and in the community is the drug expert, and he is now a drug consultant, not only for the public, but also for other healthcare providers like physicians, nurses, and uh other partners in the healthcare team. Uh so the pharmacy, the pharmacy curricula in the Lebanese, the five Lebanese university are very well advanced. They shifted from being drug-oriented, concerned with the structure, the physical and chemical uh properties of the drug and their stability and the storage and their chemistry, to more patient-oriented, more uh involved in the health care team as a major contributor to the optimum treatment and care for the patients in general, and for also for the public uh uh by raising awareness about the diseases, about the use of drugs. So pharmacy's role has changed, and the pharmacy curricula have changed also and uh to meet or to the advances in pharmacy practice.

SPEAKER_01 7:18

Your perspective on how the pharmacy curriculum is evolving is truly enlightening, not only for the audience but for me as well. Uh, Professor Rahal, building upon that, could you provide some insight into whether modern pharmacy curricula are integrating crucial aspects like uh digital health or cultural competence or let's say emergency pharmacy? How are these elements being woven into the educational framework to prepare students for the diverse challenges that they may encounter in their future professional uh careers or journeys, let's say?

SPEAKER_00 7:56

Yeah, the new pharmacy curricula is more now concerned with the patient as a human being, regardless of his uh ethnicity, of his uh language or of his uh uh origin. Uh the curricula now they concern with, they included regarding the cultural uh competence. They include uh ethics, they teach students the ethics and law that regulate the role of pharmacists in providing the best uh pharmaceutical, let's say, care to the patients and uh provide the best awareness to the public. Regarding digital uh teaching or health, also the new curricula, they integrated uh simulation courses uh with the use of a new modern technique in teaching and in uh assessment uh through uh new uh tools, digital tools like the Moodle, where the student can know what he or she has obtained from the course objectives, and they are these objectives are are mapped with the program learning outcomes. So each curricula has uh each curriculum has uh program learning outcomes that are mapped with each course learning outcomes, and these are digital teaching regarding the digital uh practice. Uh students can gain knowledge from the pharmacy practice experience courses and uh what we call the internship they do in in the community and in the hospital farm uh uh settings, where they can get data from the uh systems, from the patients provide, and try to assess the cases and also can um can use their knowledge and skills to uh come up with a treatment plan for each case individually.

SPEAKER_01 10:15

Thank you so much for shedding light on the incorporation of contemporary elements into pharmacy education. As a graduate from the Lebanese International University, I'm very proud to see how fast we're progressing. It's honestly amazing. So, now as we consider the broader context, I'm sure our listeners are curious to understand how pharmacy education in Lebanon measures up against international standards. Could you share your perspective on the comparative strengths and areas for growth in our country's pharmacy education system, particularly in relation to global benchmarks, let's say.

SPEAKER_00 10:55

Okay, this is a very interesting question. Let's say that from my engagement with the regional and international uh associations like the International Federation of Pharmacists, and as member in the academic institution membership, which includes all pharmacy educators, uh leaders, deans and vice deans and the chairs, and also as in my participation in the region with the Arab Association of Colleges of Pharmacies, I can tell you that the pharmacy education in Lebanon is very uh advanced and it uh matches, if not exceeds, the standards of many uh regional and international schools. When uh we were involved in the FIP in the International Federation of Pharmacists in the education section, academic section and education section, we are we were uh discussing many issues related to pharmacy education from curriculum to assessment to uh uh leadership uh to uh experiential education. And we find that our programs, our curricula in the Lebanon, are very advanced and they include uh almost all components of pharmacy education in with respect to basic sciences, pharmaceutical sciences, therapeutic sciences, and uh and the major component is the pharmacy practice or what we call it the stage or uh experiential education. When I was involved with the ACPE Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education, which is involved in accrediting the pharmacy pharma programs in the United States and uh internationally, they also are involved in evaluation and accreditation of pharmacy programs. The standards that they use for uh the pharmacy programs in the United States are almost the same standards they use and evaluate pharmacy programs uh internationally, like uh in the Arab region or in Europe or in Asia. So uh when we if we you meet the standards that are set by ACPE, they are the same standards that are used by uh for schools in the United States, and we have very advanced pharmacy programs.

SPEAKER_01 13:25

Your insights into the global landscape of pharmacy education are invaluable, Professor Akal. And uh thank you for diving into the specifics of the ACPE accreditation in LIU uh School of Pharmacy. That's truly enlightening. So, shifting our focus to the diverse pathways within pharmacy, could you elaborate on the areas of specialization that Lebanese students have the opportunity to pursue during during their education? How does the curriculum cater to these specialized fields and what avenues are available for students to delve deeper into their chosen areas of interest?

SPEAKER_00 14:09

The pharmacy programs, mainly the bachelor's degree, prepares pharmacists to be to be able to practice pharmacy in different uh areas in different sectors, from community to hospital pharmacy to clinical with the basic knowledge with to industrial pharmacy and even to um organizational uh pharmacy in the Ministry of Public Health or in the order of pharmacy. Uh however, if you need to be more skilled and professional in one set in any sector of the pharmacy professions, like in industrial pharmacy or a clinical pharmacy or in public health, as I mentioned before, now the role of pharmacists is very important in uh public health awareness regarding the diseases and drugs. So the students can pursue postgraduate studies in any of these areas, in farm in industrial, in medicinal chemistry for drug discovery, in a clinical pharmacy, to be more professional and skilled with uh evaluating patients' cases and diseases and to uh optimize the treatment in the hospital with other healthcare providers, like as I mentioned, the physicians and nurses. Also, they can uh continue postgraduate studies in public health, and they can this is a very important area in related to the pharmacy, and the pharmacists are doing a great job in this area regarding awareness and uh of diseases and surveys they do and analysis they do about the knowledge and awareness and the effectiveness of drugs and knowledge of the community and the public about the diseases, use of drugs, and dangers of some uh abuse of drugs or use of uh drugs like I mean abused drugs or smoking and other other things.

SPEAKER_01 16:31

Thank you so much, Professor Rahal. Uh on explaining the role of uh a pharmacist, we're not just behind the counter, however, we are specialists, we are able to go anywhere into the healthcare field almost. That is what I understood regarding public health, also spreading awarenesses and being part of the healthcare community as a whole. So that's great for the pharmacy education in Lebanon to see how many specialties we can dive into as pharmacy graduates in Lebanon. So, as we consider the broader landscape, it's important to acknowledge the unique circumstances that Lebanese pharmacy students may encounter. Could you shed light on any distinctive challenges or opportunities that these students face during their educational journey? How do these factors shape their growth as future pharmacists and leaders in the healthcare sector?

SPEAKER_00 17:32

Let me start by saying that the Lebanese uh pharmacies, the pharmacy students are very motivated and they have uh they have many potential and ideas. I I've come across many of the uh students from the different universities, and I'm I can say that I'm proudly can say that they are very active, not only in their in their studies, but also in extracurricular activities. They have many challenges, they met many challenges in Lebanon, like the financial situation, the security and safety, and of course, the health uh conditions that uh also happened in the last three years during the pandemic. And they were very great and um brave to face these challenges and to make use of the of these uh challenges and to create opportunities by by uh creating events and uh activities, not face to face, but also through the social media, organizing awareness campaign. I also collaborate with national and international agencies and associations with other pharmacy uh groups in uh in Lebanon and outside Lebanon. So they have many potentials and many ideas, and they are very creative. And I like their um ideas always. I always support them, and I think they will have very great impact on the healthcare system in Lebanon and wherever they have the chance to practice their uh pharmacy profession or uh degree.

SPEAKER_01 19:22

Your words are truly touching, Professor Rahal, regarding the amount of challenges that Lebanese pharmacy students face. Yet uh you still have faith that they will be impactful to the society, that wherever they go, and I, for one of them, hopefully will have an impact in wherever I go due to this uh amazing pharmacy system that we have, especially in Lebanese International University. So we touched on the fact on the topic of COVID-19. Uh, how has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted pharmacy education in Lebanon? What innovative strategies have been implemented to ensure the continuity of learning and the safety of students and educators during these challenging times, specifically in your school of pharmacy, the Lebanese International University?

SPEAKER_00 20:17

Okay, the uh the COVID pandemic or has uh great effect on pharmacy education, not only in Lebanon, but also uh worldwide. It has both both positive and negative effect, but uh from the negative impact that uh we we we found that uh students they were they were dependent on uh a more easy lecturing and uh learning, and they uh sometimes uh they don't participate in online uh discussion and uh activities. And uh they also they lost some of their practical skills, whether in the labs or in the practice sites. This is due to the lockdown and it occurred in all countries, not only in Lebanon. The positive effect of the COVID pandemic, COVID-19 pandemic, is that we created new strategies in teaching and assessment. Now we this is a new, as I mentioned before, digital learning in health education is very important. The material is now uh shared with the students and kept, and they can go over it many times and they can ask. They can uh we have created new tools in in assessment, as I mentioned before. Also make it easy to assess the students' achievements of learning outcomes, of the course learning outcomes, and we can immediately release the uh Results of assessments and the students they can review their achievements and they can also know their weaknesses and their strengths. Also, as I mentioned, in COVID-19, we had also the chance to share ideas with other schools outside Lebanon, particularly with our engagement in the FIT. We used to have webinars to discuss the challenges in pharmacy education and in pharmacy practice, and whether we were able to come out with the new techniques and tools to optimize and to keep the momentum and advance in pharmacy education and keep the same, at least the same knowledge and the skills that students use to obtain from face-to-face teaching through online teaching and through, I call it digital teaching rather than online teaching.

SPEAKER_01 23:09

Your perspective on navigating the pandemic's impact on education is greatly appreciated, Professor Rahal. Before we conclude this insightful conversation, I'd like to invite you to share a message with pharmacy leaders and educators around the world. As a distinguished figure in pharmacy education and a visionary leader, what words of wisdom or guidance would you offer to those who are shaping the future of pharmacy on a global scale? Your insights could inspire and guide leaders as they continue to propel the field forward.

SPEAKER_00 23:40

Thank you, Majd. I would like to say to my colleagues, pharmacy leaders, Lebanon and internationally, that we uh we have um a mission to uh prepare qualified pharmacists that are able to be uh useful and major partners in the healthcare teams. We should always work together, share ideas, discuss new techniques, new tools in management and in teaching, and in uh and also to always uh update our pharmacy curriculum to uh collaborate. We have uh I can I can say it now, we have uh a new project, the five schools of pharmacy in Lebanon we are collaborating in, organizing a pharmacy conference that will be held in February, that will be uh will be focused on pharmacy education and practice, the and advances in pharmacy education and practice. I encourage our colleagues internationally. We will uh post about the about the conferences. I would encourage our colleagues from the region and from other uh universities worldwide in the schools of pharmacy to participate and to join us because we are going to talk about pharmacy education and practice in Lebanon and also in the global setting, not only the challenges and uh opportunities of pharmacy education and practice in Lebanon, but also globally. So I always encourage my colleagues and the pharmacy leaders. We always meet, and now we are meeting in in uh September in uh Brisbane, Australia. We have meetings for the pharmacy leaders, and I always encourage them to participate in these meetings, in these conferences, because we need to uh share ideas, we need to collaborate, to always advance the pharmacy education as we also be to meet that advances the advancement in the pharmacy practice.

SPEAKER_01 25:54

Thank you, Professor Rahal. Uh I'm very excited to see what comes out of this conference in Brisbane. Hopefully, I'll be able to attend. And again, thank you for gracing us with your wisdom and insights today. Your wealth of knowledge and dedication to advancing pharmacy education are truly inspiring. So, our listeners, thank you for joining us on this enlightening episode of IVP and Voice. We've delved into the evolution of pharmacy education in Lebanon, explored dynamic changes in the curriculum, and gained a deeper understanding of the challenges and opportunities that shape the journey of aspiring pharmacists. Professor Rahal's expertise has illuminated the path towards excellence in pharmacy education. Remember, dear listeners, as we continue this journey, let's embrace innovation, collaboration, and lifelong learning. The future of pharmacy is vibrant, and its leaders like Professor Rahal will pave the way for a brighter tomorrow. Stay tuned for more captivating discussions on IVTN voice. Until next time, keep aspiring, keep innovating, and keep advocating for the transformative power of pharmacy education. Again, thank you, Professor Rahal, for everything that you've given. I'm sure our audience all around the world are gonna benefit from this conversation that we had together and uh hopefully towards a brighter future, inshallah. Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_00 27:24

Thank you, Majd, and uh good luck for you and uh your colleagues in IVP and Lebanon. And uh look forward to see you and meet you in uh face to face in next year with the new projects and ideas.

SPEAKER_01 27:38

Inshallah Ya Rad.