Pharmacists at Your Service

World Pharmacist Day was celebrated in every corner of the globe today.  The day is set aside to expose the work of pharmacists in improving health care to all. There was not much fanfare in Belize, but persons are being encouraged to deposit those expired medications in medicine cabinets at a number of pharmacies across the country. News Five’s Isani Cayetano reports.

Isani Cayetano, Reporting

Across the world, pharmacists are highlighting the value of their profession, emphasizing the role of dispensing chemists as the backbone of healthcare.  The universal theme for this year is, “From research to health care: Your pharmacist is at your service.”  The International Pharmaceutical Federation is the global federation representing three million pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists worldwide.

Beverly Coleman

Beverly Coleman, President, Pharmacist Association of Belize

“World Pharmacists Day started a few years ago and was designated by the International Pharmaceutical Federation and it was mandated that it is celebrated on September twenty-fifth of each year.  Here in Belize, we at the association, activities: we are encouraging our members to engage with your communities, get to know your communities, get to know your people because these are the people that you serve.”

Today is used to organize activities that promote and advocate for the role of pharmacists in improving health in every corner of the world.

Beverly Coleman

“The pharmacist is a member of the healthcare team, as are the doctors, the nurses, the medical lab technicians.  We are all a part of the team and we pharmacists believe that we all play an important role and I may be biased when I say, but we as pharmacists feel that we are the most accessible members of the healthcare team.  And so because of this idea that we are equal, there is no one more important.  So being members of the team, what we learn to do, we learn to consult with each other, we learn this when a problem arises because at the end of the day Isani, we are all patient advocates and the patient’s best interest should be our first goal.”

Activities this week culminate with an annual general meeting on Saturday which will include the election of new officers to the executive of the Pharmacists Association of Belize.

Beverly Coleman

“Our constitution mandates that by the end of September of each year, an annual general meeting is held.  The issues that will be discussed, basically, I’m not saying that we don’t have any issues but because of the association hosting the Caribbean Association of Pharmacists earlier this year for their annual convention.  The AGM will be basically to report to our members what we actually did leading up to, during and after the convention.  All members in the executive, all posts in the executive will be up for election and I think next year, the new executive will start looking, or should start looking at the issues.  This year, because of, as I said, preparing for the CAP conference, all our energies and all our focus was toward the convention.”

Reporting for News Five, I am Isani Cayetano.