International Pharmaceutical Students' Federation

Founded in London in 1949, the International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation (IPSF) is one of the world’s oldest international student volunteer organisation. IPSF is the leading international advocacy organisation for pharmacy students with the aim to promote improved public health through provision of information, education, networking as well as a range of publications and professional initiatives. Today, the Federation represents over 350,000 pharmacy students and young graduates from 84 countries worldwide.

International Pharmaceutical Students' Federation
Formation 1949
Type International nongovernmental organization
Headquarters The Hague
Location
Membership
350.000
Official language
English, Arabic, French, Spanish
Website http://www.ipsf.org

Introduction

IPSF holds Official Relations with the World Health Organization (WHO) and Operational Relations with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The organization is also accredited as Observer to the Conference of the Parties of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), the first and only international convention on a public health matter. In August 2006, the Federation was granted Roster Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. IPSF also works in close collaboration with the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP). The IPSF Secretariat is supported and hosted by FIP in The Hague, The Netherlands.

History

The idea of forming IPSF came in 1948 from then-Secretary of the British Pharmaceutical Students' Association, Stephen B. Challen during the 6th Annual Congress of BPSA. The Constitution of the Federation was agreed and signed on August 25, 1949 in London during the Inaugural Conference, marking the organization's founding date. On the same day, Sidney J. Relph was elected as the first President of IPSF along with 4 other Executive Committee members. The 8 founding countries were Austria, Australia, Denmark (also voting for Finland, Norway and Sweden), Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Switzerland and United Kingdom.

Aim

IPSF is the leading international advocacy organisation for pharmacy students and recently graduated pharmacists, promoting improved public health through provisworking and a range of publications and professional initiatives

Objectives

  1. Establishing a permanent form of contact with representative organisations of pharmaceutical students;
  2. Promoting the exchange of ideas by international correspondence and by encouraging full dissemination of scientific and professional knowledge;
  3. Encouraging the formation and development of national pharmaceutical student organisations without trespassing upon their domains;
  4. Collecting opinions and information on the subject of pharmaceutical education and by suggesting improvements where necessary with the aim of attaining unification of pharmaceutical education;
  5. Encouraging member associations to organise annual international pharmaceutical students’ congresses;
  6. Encouraging and promoting international visits and exchanges of students;
  7. Publishing the IPSF News Bulletin as an official organ;
  8. Co-operation with other international organisations on a scientific, educational and cultural plane only, the Federation being non-political;
  9. Representing the opinions of pharmaceutical students in discussions with professional, governmental and non-governmental organisations.

Structure

Membership

IPSF has student organisation members and individual members.

Full Member organisations (FM) represent the majority of pharmacy students in their country and are entitled to vote at the IPSF General Assembly. Members in Association (MiA) are entitled to contribute to the conversation at the IPSF General Assembly, but they are not entitled to vote. Each member organisation nominates a Contact Person who is the link between the IPSF Executive and Regional Offices, and the members in the organisation.

Pharmacy students and graduates up to four years after their graduation from their first degree in pharmacy are entitled to become Individual Members (IM). Individual Members receive regular news updates from IPSF, but they are not entitled to vote at the General Assembly. Friends of the Federation (FoF) are supporters of IPSF.

General Assembly

The General Assembly meets annually to discuss all ongoing matters and plans of the Federation, to accept reports and to elect the Executive Committee.

Executive committee and committees

The IPSF Executive consists of ten elected members: President, Secretary General, Treasurer, Chairperson of Public Health, Chairperson of Media and Publications, Chairperson of Pharmacy Education, Chairperson of Professional Development, Chairperson of Internal Relations, Chairperson of External Relations and Chairperson of Student Exchange. The Executive also includes co-opted members such as the Chairperson of the Congress Reception Committee and Regional Chairpersons. Executive Committee members serve the Federation as volunteers with one Executive member designated as the Permanent Officer to work full-time at the IPSF Headquarters in The Hague, The Netherlands.

IPSF has committees to help and supervise the working of the Executive Committee. committees consist of individuals who nominate themselves each year.

Executive Committee 2016-17

  • President: Mr. Israel Bimpe (RPSA, Rwanda);
  • President-Elect: Mr. Christian Roth (BPhD, Germany);
  • Secretary General: Ms. Allie Jo Shipman (APhA-ASP, United States of America);
  • Treasurer: Mr. Michael McIntyre (IM, Canada);
  • Chairperson of External Relations: Mr. Yacoob Mostafa (NAPSA, Australia);
  • Chairperson of Internal Relations: Mr. Lucas Ercolin (IM, Brazil);
  • Chairperson of Media and Publications: Mr. Ahmed Ali Awed (EPSF, Egypt);
  • Chairperson of Pharmacy Education: Mr. James White (IM, Australia);
  • Chairperson of Professional Development: Ms. Juliet Onyinyechi Obi (PANS, Nigeria);
  • Chairperson of Public Health: Ms. Sabrine Chengane (ASEPA, Algeria);
  • Chairperson of Student Exchange: Ms. Petra Orlić (CPSA, Croatia);
  • Chairperson of the African Regional Office: Mr. Arinze Awiligwe (PANS, Nigeria);
  • Chairperson of the Asia Pacific Regional Office: Mr. Sai Yan (Brian) Wong (NZAPS-O, New Zealand);
  • Chairperson of the Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office: Ms. Meryam Hussine (ATEP, Tunisia);
  • Chairperson of the European Regional Office: Mr. Luka Šrot (ŠSSFD, Slovenia);
  • Chairperson of the Pan American Regional Office: Ms. Jessica Rodiles (APhA-ASP, United States of America);
  • Chairperson of the Reception Committee of the 63rd IPSF World Congress: Mr. Jui-Lin Chang (PSA-Taiwan, China);

Regional Offices

The IPSF Regional Office is a functional extension of the IPSF Executive structured by elected pharmacy students from IPSF member countries of a specific IPSF region, forming Regional Working Group. Its mission shall be to advance and support the aims and objectives of the Federation at regional level.

IPSF World Congresses

Projects

Public Health

IPSF initiatives focus mainly in the areas of public health, pharmacy education and professional development. Initiatives include public health campaigns, research on issues in pharmacy education worldwide, the Student Exchange Programme, organising international and regional congresses and symposiums, and publication of the IPSF News Bulletin and the scientific supplement Phuture.

Public Health is of global relevance. Hence IPSF strives to engage member associations in initiatives that positively influence health and health knowledge within their communities. The Federation plays an active role in promoting and implementing Public Health activities and our work is greatly aided by our collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO). IPSF has chosen several significant topics on which to focus efforts.

Public Health Campaigns

Currently, IPSF has four official Public Health Campaigns which are promoted in collaboration with WHO and its World Public Health days to reach a wide international audience. IPSF facilitates the distribution of WHO resources to member associations to enable them to implement public health activities at national and local levels.

HIV/AIDS Awareness Campaign

As one of IPSF’s longest running campaigns, the content of the HIV/AIDS Awareness Campaign is constantly evolving to meet the needs of all member countries and their communities.

HIV/AIDS Campaign Logo

From the initial campaign strategy of increasing disease awareness and promoting disease prevention, the focus is now on educating both healthcare workers and the public against discrimination and stigma associated with the disease. The UNESCO HIV/AIDS and Human Rights – Youth in Action materials have been a useful resource. Promoting universal access to anti-retroviral treatment is a new direction being explored.

Tobacco Alert Campaign

This ongoing campaign aims to educate the public on the risks of smoking and the deadly health consequences of tobacco use. Based on the WHO Code of Practice on Tobacco Control for Health Professional Organisations, IPSF developed a Code of Practice on Tobacco Control to encourage member associations to take on more active roles in promoting a tobacco-free world and in creating a model healthy lifestyle as healthcare students. The Tobacco Alert Campaign has grown to be one of the most popular initiatives of the Federation. Many campaigns aimed at a younger audience (e.g. high school students) have additionally educated IPSF members on how to effectively communicate public health messages to different target audiences and to use initiative to develop effective and informative presentations.

Tuberculosis Campaign

IPSF Anti-TB Campaign Logo

In May 2004 IPSF became first professional organisation representing pharmacists or pharmacy students to be admitted to the WHO Stop TB Partnership. A joint statement between IPSF and the Commonwealth Pharmaceutical Association (CPA) titled Partnerships – the Key to Improving Health Outcomes for Tuberculosis/HIV Patients was also released. Subsequently, the Partnership launched the Global Plan to Stop TB 2006-2015: Actions for Life - Towards a World Free of Tuberculosis. These efforts have given IPSF many opportunities to participate in discussion groups and forums related to the treatment and prevention of tuberculosis (TB).

TB is a disease relevant to many countries worldwide and members are encouraged and supported in partnering other pharmaceutical or non-pharmaceutical bodies in their country to jointly promote the Global Plan and World TB Day through raising awareness as a multi-disciplinary team.

More specifically, pharmacy students around the world can be educated by the work of their peers. The TB web forum for pharmacists and pharmacy students, www.pharmacistsfighttb.org, is jointly maintained by IPSF and CPA. IPSF, CPA and the Indian Pharmaceutical Association ran the TB Fact Card Project which led to community pharmacists in Mumbai, India taking an active role in the prevention and treatment of TB through patient education and medication counselling.

Healthy Living and Diabetes Campaign

The Healthy Living and Diabetes Campaign, launched in August 2005, is one of IPSF’s newest campaigns. It aims to raise awareness of a healthy lifestyle in the prevention and care of diabetes and to encourage pro-active rather than reactive health promotion. The objectives also include training and motivating pharmacy students to move towards multi-disciplinary collaboration in planning events and campaigns while bringing awareness to a globally significant issue. Healthy Living and Diabetes will be one of the Federation’s main focuses in the coming years, with a large educational component to increase awareness amongst both healthcare professionals and the public in the prevention and care of this chronic disease.

World Health Day

World Health Day Logo

In addition to the official Public Health Campaigns, IPSF actively promotes World Health Day on 7 April each year, raising awareness of a chosen theme among both pharmacy students and pharmacists, as part of the multi-disciplinary healthcare team. In 2006, the theme was Working Together for Health.

The IPSF Public Health Portfolio is constantly evolving with the development of new and existing activities to enable us to promote public health topics of relevance to our members worldwide, handing them opportunities to further their own education and that of others, as well as to expand their involvement in the public health arena.

Anti-Counterfeit Drugs Campaign (ACDC)

ACDC Logo

The Anti-Counterfeit Drugs Campaign, launched in August 2007, is one of the newest IPSF campaign. This campaign serves as a milestone as it is the first resource campaign on counterfeit medicines geared towards health care students. The main objective of this project is to increase the general awareness among health care students about the risks associated with counterfeit and substandard medicines.

Counterfeit and substandard medicines are a serious and growing public health concern. A counterfeit medicine is deliberately and fraudulently mislabelled with respect to identity and/or source. Forging can apply to both branded and generic products and counterfeit medicines may include products with the correct ingredients or with the wrong ingredients, which can be toxic, without active ingredients, with insufficient active ingredients or with fake packaging. However, the appearance of a counterfeit medicine usually mimics that of the original one.

Pharmacists, physicians, nurses and other healthcare professionals play an important role in educating the public about the risks and dangers of counterfeit and substandard medicines. This campaign aims to increase awareness among health care students and empower them with information about the threats of counterfeit and substandard medicines to public health. By targeting health care students, it is expected that as future healthcare professionals, they will continually combat counterfeit drugs throughout their career

Humanitarian

Humanitarian Campaign Logo

Some IPSF member organizations have already organized a few humanitarian activities, such as Vampire Cup (Blood Donation Day), Collecting of toys and books for children, Clothes’ Collecting, Christmas Bazaar etc. By supporting local activities IPSF would like to encourage all member countries to continue with their work. By exchanging ideas, creating materials for humanitarian activities, and helping each other, we can manage to organize at least one local humanitarian activity per year in every member country. This is the goal we would like to achieve this year. By organising a Humanitarian Campaign, member countries will become involved in IPSF Public Health Reward System.

Pharmacy Education (and Professional Development)

Education plays an extremely important role in preparing pharmacy students for practice and other professional activities. It serves to ensure adequate and appropriate competence, knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviour required of pharmacists in order to contribute to communities and health systems in the best possible ways.

IPSF is committed to ensuring quality pharmacy education. The Federation strives to provide pharmacy students around the globe with avenues to broaden their knowledge base and encourages member associations to be proactive in improving pharmacy education.

In addition, professional development initiatives in IPSF advocate and promote the role of the pharmacist as an integral member of the health professional team. Activities aim to encourage the development of core skills required by pharmacists to effectively communicate with patients and other health professionals and to optimise health outcomes.

Moving On Research

Moving On is a series of original, questionnaire-based research projects on issues relevant to the profession and education that IPSF conducts on an international scale. Apart from addressing pertinent issues in pharmacy education, the projects are a platform for pharmacy students to be engaged in scientific research and for student-led advancement of pharmacy education worldwide. Project findings will be published in the academic journal Pharmacy Education.

Moving On I – Academic Mobility

Academic mobility refers to the exchange of knowledge and skills through the international exchange of academics. Such exchange is vital in the generation of novel ideas, practices and cultural diversity in order to promote positive changes in pharmacy education. Pharmacy education has great influence on professional development and the role of a pharmacist and thus factors that can be utilized to enhance it should be identified.

International trends in the exchange of university staff and researchers in the field of pharmaceutical sciences as well as factors that promote or deter academic mobility were evaluated. 162 academics from 24 countries participated in the study in 2002-03.

Moving On II – Pharmacy Curricula and Student Learning Experience

There is much interest in standards of pharmacy education as health policy makers focus more on the greater use of pharmacy practitioners. Curriculum design and delivery are as important as curriculum content for effective learning. As students are most directly affected by the system, their input is important in making informed, justified decisions in the development of educational policies and practices. It is thus of interest to survey the learning experience and quality of education from students’ perspectives for the construction of an evidence base for educational development and advancement.

This project allows world-wide comparisons of the learning experiences of students enrolled in pharmacy programs. It is the first to make international comparisons in the field of pharmacy education and is the largest study of its type to date. Data is also collected on pharmacy students’ demography, professional aspirations and motivations for choosing pharmacy.

The project will be run from March 2005 to June 2007. About 5000 responses from 25 countries have been received to date. Plans to run the project periodically as a longitudinal study to track changes in pharmacy education on a global scale are being investigated.

Moving On III - Emerging Pharmacists and intention to Migrate

The ‘Brain Drain’, a condition whereby workers with badly needed skills, particularly health workers, leave for better conditions and higher wages in richer countries, is a significant, cross-cutting issue that hinders efforts in sustainable development and leads to inevitable weakening in all aspects of the community. This was identified at the UNESCO Non-Governmental Organisations Collective Consultation on Higher Education in April 2005.

In conjunction with the United Nations Decade for Education for Sustainable Development 2005-2014, this project is a collaborative effort with the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) which aims to determine factors in the education and environment of pharmacy students that influence their desire to migrate as well as to identify areas for intervention. A validated questionnaire tool that can be applied to other professions may be developed. 801 responses from final-year students in nine countries have been received since data collection started in April 2006.

Leaders in Training

As part of collaboration with the International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA), IPSF adopted and started the development of a ‘training culture’.

Training aims to empower students in their lives and careers. It provides them the avenue to acquire and develop essential knowledge and skills that may not explicitly be taught in their curricula, but yet are vital in individuals who will be able to contribute well to their profession and societies. It yields short and long-term benefits for organisations.

Training is conducted in an interactive, cascade manner. Professional trainers train identified IPSF leaders in a variety of topics such as leadership styles, presentation skills, group dynamics, project development etc. in small group workshops. These trained leaders then plan, run and evaluate their own training sessions for IPSF members at international and regional meetings as well as on a local level.

Educational Publications

In 1999, IPSF and the European Pharmaceutical Students’ Association (EPSA) jointly published the booklet Pharmacy Education: A Vision of the Future which reported the essential developments in pharmacy education as studied by students worldwide. Plans to evaluate the outcomes of the booklet and to publish updates in accordance with the needs of the evolving profession and healthcare are underway.

IPSF also publishes Phuture, an annual scientific supplement that accompanies the IPSF News Bulletin. Each issue addresses a current topic significant to pharmacy and healthcare. Past themes include Healthy Living and Aging, Concordance, and Interdisciplinary Collaboration.

Patient Counselling and Clinical Skills

IPSF believes that communication skills and clinical knowledge should be core components of pharmacy curricula worldwide to improve medication management for patients. Patient Counselling Events and Clinical Skills Events are organised on international and local levels to promote the role of a pharmacist in patient care.

Patient counselling is a primary duty of pharmacists as public health educators. Patient Counselling Events demonstrate and promote the importance of communication skills in drug therapy and disease management, in the patient-health provider relationship, and in encouraging concordance and compliance. Such events foster effective communication and patient interaction in fun and competitive environments.

IPSF teamed up with the FIP Pharmacy Information Section to jointly produce a booklet on patient counselling - Counselling, Concordance, and Communication: Innovative Education for Pharmacists. The publication was launched in 2005 and drew much attention onto the subject. It was used to initiate opportunities for pharmacists and pharmacy students to develop their counselling skills worldwide and also used as an education reform tool. Plans to further develop the booklet, such as guidelines to paediatric counselling, are underway.

Pharmaceutical knowledge is the core fundamental of pharmacy curricula. Clinical Skills Events are designed to test and develop pharmaceutical knowledge as well as problem solving, verbal and written communication and clinical skills in friendly, competitive settings.

Pharmacy Professional Awareness Campaign

Although important to healthcare, it is a challenge for the pharmacy profession to communicate effectively to the public about the role, scope and importance of the profession. Pharmacy students are the pharmacists of tomorrow. They are the future leaders of the profession and can be key players in increasing awareness and changing attitudes towards the pharmacy profession. Through the Pharmacy Profession Awareness Campaign (PPAC), IPSF aims to make pharmacy a more recognisable profession.

Scientific and Educational Symposia and Collaborative Representation

These events serve to engage pharmacy students in their future profession by highlighting relevant issues and updates in pharmacy and healthcare.

Scientific symposia are a venue for science-based research and topics to be presented, through plenary lectures and poster exhibitions, while the Education Forum addresses current issues in pharmacy education through plenary and workshop sessions. These events are held at the annual IPSF Congress and also at regional meetings.

FIP and IPSF collaborate on a Students’ Day programme held each year at the annual FIP congress. The programme is based on a particular theme that is deemed timely and of interest to pharmacy students. In addition, IPSF also holds joint sessions with individual FIP sections (e.g. Pharmacy Information and Academic Pharmacy).

Student Exchange Programme

IPSF recognises mobility in pharmacy education as an important factor in preparing pharmacy students to work as health professionals in the dynamic global health care environment. The global exchange of knowledge, ideas, skills and experience is necessary for the international progression of pharmacy as a profession.

Since 1958, the Student Exchange Programme (SEP) has provided IPSF members opportunities to explore pharmacy education, practice and research outside their home countries. Currently, close to 50 member countries participate in SEP and over 600 international exchanges take place each year, with increasing numbers.

The aim of SEP is to promote understanding and cooperation amongst pharmacy students and all health care professionals. It offers a unique educational and cultural experience and also helps to broaden students' understanding of pharmaceutical and social conditions in different countries.

SEP runs throughout the year, but most exchanges take place between May and September, each lasting between one and three months. Host sites are wide-ranging and sourced from community, hospital, industrial, academic and administrative sectors of pharmacy. Intensive evaluation follows each exchange to allow IPSF to improve the programme based on feedback obtained.

The IPSF Chairperson of Student Exchange heads the Student Exchange Committee and co-ordinates the programme through national Student Exchange Officers.

Internships

Internship places are offered at the World Health Organization (WHO) Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland and at the IPSF Secretariat in The Hague, The Netherlands.

The Federation has successfully negotiated for internship places at the Stop TB Secretariat and at the WHO Department of Medicines Policy and Standards. Through these, IPSF members are given the opportunity to broaden their experiences and to gain an invaluable insight into the public health sector.

In the internship programme at the IPSF Secretariat, members are selected to spend one month in The Hague assisting the Executive Committee in the running of the Federation, allowing them to experience work at the heart of a global health organisation.

Interdisciplinary Collaboration Acknowledging the need for the various healthcare disciplines to work together for the benefit of the patient and the profession, IPSF has been collaborating with the International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA).

In November 2005, the 1st World Medical and Pharmacy Students (WorldMaPS) Symposium was held in Saint John’s Bay, Malta. The event was jointly organised by IPSF, IFMSA, the European Pharmaceutical Students’ Association (EPSA) and the European Medical Students’ Association (EMSA). At this largest ever international meeting between pharmacy and medical students, future cooperation between both healthcare professions and students were discussed. A Statement of Beliefs on interdisciplinary collaboration was developed.

Collaboration between IPSF and IFMSA has had much progress, with the adoption of each another’s projects and activities and communication on regional and local levels. The 2nd World Healthcare Students’ Symposium (WorldHSS) was held in November 2007 in Albufeíra, Portugal and there were also involved the International Nursing Student Network. The 3rd WorldHSS took place in Alexandria, Egypt in 2009.

Partners

Professional organisations

Student organisations

References

  1. ↑ "IPSF AfRO". IPSF AfRO.
  2. ↑ "IPSF Asia Pacific Regional Office – International Pharmaceutical Students' Federation".
  3. ↑ Essra Noureldin. "Viagra online = Canadian Online Pharmacy.".
  4. ↑ "Home".
  5. ↑ "IPSF PARO".

External links

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