(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Qatar University's College of Pharmacy (QU-CPH) and Qatar Pharmacy Undergraduate Society (QPhUS) conducted a webinar titled ‘Covid-19 Creating Opportunities from a Crisis for Pharmacy Students: Discussion from Around the Globe'.
The event was held via the WebEx platform with more than 100 attendees from around the world and over 300 views on YouTube, QU said in a statement. Speakers at the event included student leaders and members of pharmacy associations that are part of the International Pharmaceutical Students' Federation. They were Hend al-Naimi, QPhUS president and CPH fourth professional year student; Ghulam Mujtaba, member of the Pakistan Pharmaceutical Students' Federation; Wafa Othman, member of the Palestinian Pharmaceutical Students' Federation - An-Najah National University; Melissa Kieley, Canadian Association of Pharmacy Students and Interns (CAPSI) contact person; and Ismail Jomha, vice-president and chairperson of the Professional Development Committee at the Lebanese Pharmacy Students' Association (LPSA).
The webinar aimed to share the different experiences of pharmacy students around the world and how they created new stories of success despite the unprecedented circumstances the world is facing. The opening remarks were delivered by CPH assistant dean for Students Affairs Dr Alla El-Awaisi, who said: 'This pandemic has affected us all in so many different ways, but the beauty is that every crisis contains seeds of opportunities.
Sometime during the crisis, it might be difficult to think but the key is to pause and reflect on what happened. How do we cope with this crisis then, what are the lessons learned and what opportunities have this crisis created? Also, how would we deal with it if it continued and how can we prepare to respond rapidly and effectively?
She expressed delight listening to the different presentations, saying: 'It was really interesting listening to pharmacy students from different places around the globe about the challenges they faced and how they managed to create opportunities from this crisis. Well done to our future pharmacy leaders for concluding their semesters successfully, we are really proud of you.
Al-Naimi talked about how students at QU, especially College of Pharmacy, succeeded in taking an advantage of the Covid-19 crisis and created opportunities. She applauded the 'enormous effort exerted to succeed in this challenging semester. She also discussed how this was a good opportunity to practise telepharmacy and educate pharmacy students on providing a high standard of care despite the circumstances. She added, 'We were curious about how other future pharmacists around the world coped with this pandemic to continue their education. Due to Covid-19, we got the chance to meet other pharmacy students and discuss this topic virtually. It was an exceptional webinar and I was impressed with the number of attendees and the positive feedback we received.
Kieley said, 'I feel as though this webinar has provided me with a global perspective and I look forward to bringing the many ideas and tips I have learned back to implement within CAPSI. This opportunity has opened my eyes to the passion for healthcare among pharmacy students from around the globe!
Jomha added: ' I really enjoyed this informative webinar that exposed us to valuable experiences on how the Covid-19 pandemic was approached and tackled in different countries around the world.
The session was moderated by Bassant Elkattan, BSc pharmacy graduate 2020 and QPhUS contactperson, who concluded by saying: 'The resilience of educational institutes and students showed us how a wonderful opportunity can be born from such a devastating crisis. I was honoured to be a part of this webinar and to be able to see how much everyone is striving to do their best in these hard times and truly showing that we are all in this together.
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