Inside Tomorrow's Pharmacist (2001)

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IPSF. What's that?

IPSF. What's that? by Andy Christopherson

OK, what does the IPSF do?

The IPSF's mission statement is "to study and promote the interests of pharmaceutical students and to encourage international co-operation between them." In plain English that means that the IPSF represents the interests of pharmacy students worldwide. It runs a variety of events, projects and services that pharmacy students across the globe can participate in, the aim being to bring students of differing backgrounds, beliefs and nationalities together.

What sort of events?

The main event is the IPSF annual congress. Each year the IPSF congress attracts nearly 200 students for 10 days of debates, workshops and partying. Congresses have been previously held in El Salvador, Finland, Canada, Ghana and many other countries. The 2001 congress is being held in Cairo in Egypt, while next year's will in Budapest in Hungary.

Sounds OK, but what goes on at these congresses?

During the day, there are debating sessions, workshops and seminars often taken by world leaders in different aspects of pharmacy. But it's during the evening where the real fun begins. Organised trips, fancy dress parties and charity events are just the tip of the iceberg. Congress is a great place to meet people from all over the world, so if you fancy learning Croatian drinking games or how to ask for beers in Guatemalan Spanish (muchos cerveza grande por favor) or perhaps singing African party songs, you'll love it.

Yeah but all this happens in foreign countries, how can I get involved here?

IPSF also runs several world-wide projects aimed at promoting health education. Projects like Tobacco Alert or AIDS Awareness offer support and resources for pharmacy students at a local level. So whether you want to go into local primary schools and talk about the dangers of smoking, or you want to set up an AIDS awareness stand at your local GP surgery, IPSF can help you.

Does IPSF run any other projects?

Probably the most well known IPSF scheme is the Neema project.

Neema project, what's that?

In 1993 after a chance meeting between two pharmacy students, one from Catalonia in Spain and the other from Tanzania, the Neema project was born. It was the first village concept project to be initiated by IPSF and until recently was only a dream.

The overall aim of the Neema project is to build and run a dispensary. But a dispensary in Tanzania is not simply a place where medicines are handed out, it is more like a one-stop primary care post offering medical advice on all sorts of problems from diarrhoea to a complicated labour.

Pharmacy students from all over the world can work together on this project, and you can travel to Tanzania for periods of three to six months to work in the dispensary. After training in Tanzania's capital city of Dar-Es-Salaam, students will be responsible for the day to day running of the pharmaceutical side of the dispensary as well as co-ordinating and implementing public health and education campaigns.

But money is still needed to fully equip, run and hopefully extend the dispensary. In the past few years British pharmacy students, through the BPSA, have provided a major chunk of the cash. This has been raised through efforts as diverse as a sponsored abseil down the Royal Pharmaceutical Society headquarters building in Lambeth and a bus-pub crawl in Glasgow to a sunglasses day in Cardiff and a pantomime in Aberdeen. If you've ever fancied organising a fundraising activity, then maybe Neema is for you.

I've heard something about a student exchange scheme or something. Is that IPSF?

Yes that's right. The IPSF student exchange programme offers the chance for students to spend between one and three months in a pharmacy placement abroad. Placements are available in community, hospital, industrial and academic sectors, and in the majority of cases accommodation and food is provided for you. Countries from Brazil and Belgium to Singapore and Spain take part and over 50 British students are accepted each year. Usually accommodation is with a host family, which offers you the chance to experience the culture and live abroad as opposed to just visiting.

In Britain, the student exchange programme is co-ordinated by the student exchange officer (SEO), a member of the BPSA executive committee. The SEO can provide more information on the exchange programme as well as application forms.

Alright, you've convinced me. Where can I find out more?

Well the first place to start would be the IPSF website. Go to www.ipsf.org for all the information you'll need on international student pharmacy. Alternatively, contact the BPSA vice-president at vicepres@bpsa.com. For more information on the student exchange programme contact the BPSA student exchange officer at seo@bpsa.com

How can I become a member of IPSF?

Chances are you're already a member. All BPSA members are automatically members of the IPSF. BPSA membership covers your four years at university and your preregistration year. After that you can still be an IPSF member for three years and it is possible to become an individual member, which allows access to all IPSF events and services.

IPSF offers the chance to find out about pharmacy on a global level, to make friends that will last a lifetime and to experience new cultures and ideas. Get involved, it will change your life!

Andy Christopherson BPSA vice-president