PSN advises members to update their knowledge

THE Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) on Tuesday urged members to ensure continuous update of knowledge in order to retain their status and ensure quality healthcare delivery.

Mr Jelili Kilani, Chairman FCT Chapter of PSN, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja at a sensitisation programme in Wuse market, “as part of activities to commemorate the World Pharmacists Day (WPD).’’

NAN reports that the WPD is commemorated globally on September 25 and the theme for 2018 is Pharmacists: Your medicines experts.”

Kilani emphasised that as pharmacists they needed to continuously update their knowledge, professional development to maintain the level of expertise.

According to him, as pharmacists, you must make sure you are up-to-date with what’s happening in your field, or you could lose credibility and potentially expose your company to risks.

Kilani advised them not to rest on their oars, adding that they must be abreast with the current trend in the profession in order to avoid expired knowledge.

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“Pharmacists should update their knowledge, they should know that when pharmacist have expired knowledge he is going to give expired information and in the process, the patient may get expired, that means death.

“Constantly working on your knowledge may be challenging and not comfortable at all, but once it becomes a habit your career will start growing tremendously, giving you the results you could not even dream about before.

“Our role is to ensure a healthy society but we should actually maintain our status by upgrading and updating our knowledge as professionals,’’ Kilani advised.

Kilani urged teaming populace to always seek the services of pharmacists in registered pharmaceutical premises rather than patronising quacks when in need of medicines.

The chairman identified the right of patients in the pharmaceutical industry to include seeing the pharmacists before purchasing medicines and getting the necessary information regarding the medicines they intended taking.

Kilani, who described all medicines as poison, however, urged patients to always ask pharmacists all questions regarding their medication to avoid taking unnecessary drugs.

He says, “Medicines should be taken with care with the right counselling in order to achieve the desired purpose of such medication.

“Once you take medicine into your system it either damages or proffers benefits, hence you need to consult the pharmacists.’’

Meanwhile, Kilani noted that the sensitisation was aimed at enlightening the populace on proper ways to ensure a healthy living.

He identified parts of the services rendered at the market square to include general counselling, checking of body mass index to ascertain if they are overweight, underweight or normal, blood pressure, administering deworming medicines and effect of drug abuse.

On the year’s theme: “Pharmacists: Your medicines experts” Kilani described it as apt, adding that it was aimed at enlightening the public that all questions regarding both drugs and prescription in hospitals are to be channelled to the pharmacists.

He explained that calling pharmacist medicines experts was a challenge and reminder for him to rise up to his responsibilities in order not to fall short of his calling.

“It is the role of pharmacists to screen the prescription given to patients by physicians, look for possible drug interactions, drug-food interactions and even drug-disease interaction, which can be beneficial or harmful.

“So, when the pharmacists now check these they will be able to counsel and dispense medicines appropriately.

“It is the pharmacist that knows the rational use of medicine, which means right patients right drugs, right diseases right dosage, right duration and even right cost; so all these have to be factored out.

“If somebody cannot freely advise based on the above factors such cannot be regarded as an expert or pharmacist.

“As an expert, he also has to ensure that his expertise is not being compromised, giving correct information and doing the necessary thing at the right time,” Kilani noted.

NAN reports that the WPD commemorated on September 25 annually was set aside by the Council of the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP)in 2009 during its congress at Istanbul, Turkey.

It is aimed at showcasing the key position pharmacists occupy as the backbone of healthcare in many different settings and aimed at highlighting the value of pharmacy profession on improving health and as well as remind pharmacists of their oath.