UAE – The College of Pharmacy at the Gulf Medical University (GMU) and the British Pharmacological Society (BPS) have partnered to improve the competencies of healthcare professionals.

Founded in 1998, GMU is owned and operated by Thumbay Group, the Dubai-based global conglomerate.

GMU pushes for the integration of health professions’ education, translational research, quality healthcare, innovation, and social accountability.

Through national, international partnerships, and community engagement, the Gulf Medical University plans to strengthen its core niche in the health sector.

GMU’s College of Pharmacy and BPS jointly hosted a workshop under the theme of ‘Prescribing Skills Training and Assessment in Health Professions Education and Practice’.

The educational workshop brought together over 1,00 students, educators, and practitioners from all pharmacy disciplines under one roof, including faculty from various leading medical colleges in UAE.

Faculty members from these colleges of pharmacy agreed on the need to integrate prescribing skills into the country’s pharmacy curricula.

This workshop comes barely a week after Dubai introduced a new online medical education platform for healthcare professionals in the United Arab Emirates.

Dr. Thumbay Moideen, Founder President of Thumbay Group, created Healthvarsity to help professionals and learners progress in their careers and ultimately, positively impact their lives.

GMU’s College of Pharmacy and London-based BPS organized the latest educational workshop to ensure patient safety and advance the pharmacy profession.

The workshop was an ideal opportunity for attendees to gain insights into the best practices and to discuss the future of healthcare systems and medical education.

It was a unique, interactive, and dynamic space for participants to embellish their medical education, and prescription writing skills in concerted efforts to reduce prescribing errors

Moreover, the event served as a knowledge-sharing platform for students, educators, and practitioners to dig deep into the BPS Framework of Prescribing Safety Training and Assessment.

It featured full-spectrum presentations from renowned speakers from Gulf Medical University’s Colleges of Pharmacy and College of Medicine.

GMU’s faculty from the College of Pharmacy and Medicine shared with the participants important take-home messages from their experience with the BPS prescribing skills assessment over the past three years.

Hossam Hamdy, the Chancellor of GMU, and Professor Simon Maxwell of the British Pharmacological Society also delivered industry briefings on key matters in the field of pharmacy.

In a keynote speech, Chancellor Hossam Hamdy provides comprehensive information about the future of healthcare systems and medical education and its implication to prescription writing skills.

Academic Healthcare Systems and innovation will be the norms for future medical education,” stressed Professor Hamdy.

This move aligns with Gulf Medical University’s vision to be a leading international Academic Health System.

He underscored that innovative technologies will allow the training of students to be conducted in all healthcare-related facilities in the community as years go by.

Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) will be measured frequently at different points of the students learning trajectory to check their ‘Readiness for Practice’ in a multidisciplinary team-based practice,” underscored the GMU Chancellor.

He further pointed out that research and innovation will be integral to the students’ learning experience.

Students should be exposed to how researchers think and behave and be embedded in a research environment,” added Chancellor Hamdy.

Furthermore, these presentations were followed by a Q&A panel discussion wherein the participants received hands-on training.

Participants were taught practical skills on the use of online platforms for prescribing skills assessment and how to navigate through the diverse features of an online pharmacy.

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