Sunday
26 NovNational Pharmacy Week, 2017
National Pharmacy Week (NPW) is observed by the Indian Pharmaceutical Association (IPA), a professional body for pharmacists in India across the country to create awareness about the pharmacy profession, the role of the pharmacist amongst the public to promote rational use of medicines.
During this year, the NPW was celebrated from November 19 to November 25. Various activities such as exhibitions, lectures for the public, street plays, and rallies etc. were conducted at B.S. Anangpuria Institute of Pharmacy. The theme for this year was “Know Your Medicines: Ask Your Pharmacist”.
Modern Medicines are like double-edged swords – of great benefit if used correctly, but can cause harm if used incorrectly. The overuse, underuse or misuse of medicines results in wastage of scarce resources and leads to widespread health hazards.
According to the WHO, more than a half of the patients do not take their medicines appropriately. According to the report of the Ministers Summit held in Amsterdam in 2012, billions of dollars can be saved if medicine usage is done responsibly. Irrational use of medicines leads to so many ill consequences, which leads to delayed recovery, the continuance of agonies and discomforts, often increased expenses, hospitalizations, and even premature deaths. Therefore, educating the public to use medicines responsibly is an essential task and pharmacists have an important role to play in this task. Responsible use of medicines brings benefit to the individual, society as well as to the national health budget. Pharmacist, being medicine expert, consumers and patients are appealed to ask about the medicines to the pharmacist, to know more about the medicines they are consuming to ensure their proper use and safety.
B.S. ANANGPURIA INSTITUTE OF PHARMACY gave us the opportunity to conduct various activities during the week to convey the message of the “Theme” for the current year. With immense support of our honorable Principal Dr. Roop K. Khar and respectable Head of the Department Dr. Shiv Kumar Yadav, NPW celebrations commenced on 20th Nov 2017. As a part of the celebration, various competitions based on the theme “Know Your Medicine, Ask Your Pharmacist” including poster making, rangoli, logo design and quiz competitions were conducted for our D.Pharmacy and B.Pharmacy students throughout the week. We are thankful for the contributions made by our senior faculty members Dr. Swati Gupta, Ms.Deepika Thareja and Ms. Deepika Yadav for judging our contestants. All the selected posters were displayed in the reception area. Street plays were also performed by our students raising awareness on various social issues emerging in our society like drug abuse, female foeticide etc. Winning teams from all the years were selected and they competed for winning the trophies. On the last day, a “Health Camp” was organized for the routine health check-up of B.S.A.E.I family. It was open to the entire campus staff and students. Various diagnostic tests for preliminary health check-up include Blood pressure, BMI, Haemoglobin estimation, Blood Glucose and Blood group determination.
The valedictory function of NWP was held on 24th Nov 2017. Dr. Naresh Sharma, Assistant Director of CDSCO, Govt. of India and President IPA, Delhi branch was the chief guest. The function was presided over by the Principal Prof. Dr. Roop K. Khar. The Chief Guest gave an informative lecture on “WHO GMP, Certification Scheme, and Current Scenario”.The prize-winning students of different events were given away prize by the chief guest.
The NPW programme was coordinated by Ms. Digvijaya with the help and support of the faculty members and the students of B.S.A.I.P.
The aim of organizing various activities during the week was to motivate the young budding pharmacists to develop their confidence, knowledge, leadership qualities, organizational capabilities and make them aware about the importance of the profession and the rational use of drugs of pharmacy.