Maria Gonzalez is a final-year PharmD candidate at the Ferris State University College of Pharmacy and chair of the 2022–2023 APhA–ASP International Standing Committee (ISC), Grant Smith is a third-year PharmD candidate at the Samford University McWhorter School of Pharmacy and a member of the 2022–2023 ISC, and Joanne Shen is a third-year PharmD candidate at the Union University College of Pharmacy and a member of the 2022–2023 ISC.
Of the opportunities available to APhA–ASP members of International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation (IPSF), few are as grand as the international conferences. There are 2 major conferences organized by IPSF: the World Congress and the regional symposia. This summer, members of the APhA–ASP International Standing Committee (ISC) had the privilege of attending the World Congress in Egypt and the Pan American Regional Symposium (PARS) in Chile.
World Congress occurs on a global stage and brings students from countries all over the globe, including the Canadian Association of Pharmacy Students and Interns, the British Pharmaceutical Students’ Association, the Algerian Student Pharmacist Association, the Korean National Association for Pharmacy Students from South Korea, and the Mexican Pharmaceutical Federation, to name a few. Meanwhile PARS allows students to connect, collaborate on international projects and policies, and build lasting relationships. The congress includes students from North America, Central America, and South America.
Career pathway advice
These conferences provide many educational opportunities. For example, during PARS, one enlightening session was about the opportunities available to pharmacists in Chile and around the world. The speaker, Eva Graf, highlighted unique pharmacy practice settings and career opportunities that are not usually available in the United States. A few of the jobs discussed included clinical aesthetician, official translator for technical medical documents, medical marketing specialist, and medical editor of health laws.
As students in this country, we often only see community and hospital practices as attainable career pathways. Yet this talk highlighted the versatility of pharmacists and the potential for unique work environments. Within pharmacy, there are many ways to design your own job and prove your abilities to your employer, and with a little courage you can market your skills to get the position you want. In doing so, you may even be able to pioneer a new field of pharmacy that will expand the possibilities of pharmacists and inspire future pharmacists for generations to come!
Our official duties
As members of the APhA–ASP ISC, we had the honor of serving as the official delegates representing the United States and APhA–ASP during the General Assembly (GA) and Regional Assembly at World Congress.
The GA, which is the global version of the APhA House of Delegates, was a great opportunity to listen to others and voice our own opinions on a global level. On behalf of APhA–ASP, we proposed 2 motions that passed unanimously. The first improved students’ access to and the functionality of the IPSF website, and the second motion revised the federation’s code of ethics and conduct. Members of APhA–ASP are able to participate in these assemblies as observers or by serving on various committees such as the Motions Committee. These committees help review motions that are submitted to the assembly and help resolve any issues that arise regarding the IPSF constitution.
We also had the opportunity to participate in clinical skills and industrial skills events. These sessions provided student pharmacists with the opportunity to demonstrate and improve their professional skills. The clinical skills event consisted of teams answering various clinical questions about patient care that included topics such as pharmacotherapy in diabetes and renal dosing. The industrial skills events allowed students to design a biomedical device and present a marketing plan to promote its use, implementation, and sale. Participants then pitched their plans to a panel of judges and audience. These competitions, along with competitions in public health and research, are open to student pharmacists at all levels of education and serve to further develop their professional abilities.
See you in 2023!
There are many different ways to be involved in international conferences: networking, learning, policymaking, and professional development. These conferences are available to all APhA–ASP members, and we hope to see many of you join us next year in São Paulo, Brazil, for PARS 2023 and Bali, Indonesia, for World Congress 2023!