The Pharmaceutical Journal Vol 267 No 7175 745-748
24 November 2001

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  Supervision
  Ramadan
  The Society
  The President
  Community pharmacy

Letters to the Editor

Ramadan

Undergraduates need to know

From Mr M. Hussain, MRPharmS

I was delighted with the article published on fasting during Ramadan (PJ, 10 November, p691). I felt it was written at an appropriate time and was well balanced in terms of why Muslims fast and the clinical aspects involved in fasting. The personal perspective of the writer was a particularly important part of the article as it provided a backbone to understanding Ramadan and consequently allowed the reader to use this information to provide sound advice on diet and medication.

As a Muslim pharmacist I can appreciate the potential problems from the pharmacist's point of view in respect of providing health care advice to a fasting person, especially if the pharmacist is unaware of the concepts of fasting in Ramadan. At the same time I can also appreciate that the patient is likely to be reluctant to ask for advice on the assumption that the pharmacist is unlikely to be familiar with Ramadan and fasting.

Living in a multicultural society, I think such issues will become progressively important and steps will need to be taken to address these. My opinion is that we should educate pharmacy undergraduates about practices in different religious communities where health care is an integral component.

However for practising pharmacists, articles such as that in The Journal are important for building awareness, as well as allowing these issues to become part of the syllabus for continuing professional development. In terms of patients being reluctant to ask for advice a professional notice "Advice on fasting available" can be displayed outside the dispensary during such religious occasions.

I am sure that the article will be appreciated by health care professionals working in the community especially in inner city areas where large Muslim communities reside. However more needs to be done to increase awareness of the different religious practices where health care becomes an essential issue.

Majad Hussain
Birmingham

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