Last month, the WSU College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (CPPS) signed a memorandum of understanding with the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) Gulf Medical University (GMU) to collaborate through faculty and student exchanges. In the agreement, the two schools will have joint educational training and research activities as well as share expertise on drug information services.
“Through this exchange, I hope that students and faculty from both our universities are able to broaden their horizons on the practice of pharmacy,” said Linda Garrelts MacLean, interim dean at CPPS, who led the WSU delegation and signed the agreement with Sherief Ibrahim Khalifa, dean for College of Pharmacy, and Hossam Hamdy, chancellor for GMU. “The professional landscape for pharmacy is changing, and we want our student pharmacists to be at the forefront of this change.”
Along with in-person student and faculty exchanges, the two universities will also learn from each other via regular video lectures. In addition, Danial Baker, professor in pharmacotherapy at WSU and one of the delegates in the exchange with GMU, will assist in the establishment of the Center for Drug Information and Evidence-Based Pharmacy at the Thumbay Hospital in the UAE.
“I truly appreciate the opportunity to get to know and understand what fellow students and professors in other countries are doing in pharmacy education. Everyone involved in this collaboration is committed to advancing the pharmacy practice to improve health for the citizens of our two countries, and people around the world,” said Dr. Baker.
Linda Garrelts MacLean, Julie Akers, Kimberly McKeirnan and Danial Baker were part of the WSU delegation visiting the UAE to present in a symposium covering a range of topics including pharmacist prescriptions for minor illnesses (Dr. Akers), flu vaccinations (Dr. McKeirnan), and preparing pharmacists for the future (Dr. Baker).