FIP, as the global leader for pharmacy, has taken the initiative to build the “FIP World List of Pharmacy Schools”, which will be the most comprehensive and up-to-date list of pharmacy institutions from around the world. This global list is intended to guide all pharmacy stakeholders, from students to policymakers, in assessing the appropriateness and effectiveness of pharmacy education strategies. The availability, completeness and quality of FIP’s World List of Pharmacy Schools means it will provide a unique source of information for pharmaceutical workforce policies, procedures and plans.
Further background on the FIP World List of Pharmacy Schools:
The FIP World List of Pharmacy Schools is an initiative to monitor pharmaceutical capacity and capability, similar to those of many other global organisations, such as the World Medical Schools List held by the World Medical Association. Given 2021 is the World Health Organization’s Year of Health and Care Workers, the need for our global organisations to demonstrate increased capacity in all health workers is key to ensure our professions are not further diminished but amplified.
FIP is a founder member of the World Health Professions Alliance (WHPA) with doctors, nurses, dentists, and physiotherapists. All WHPA members have been requested to feedback their schools’ status to the WHO as part of pandemic preparedness, and FIP having a list of accredited pharmacy schools will help to identify where schools may be needed and created to ensure long-term pharmaceutical workforce capacity.
University of Witwatersrand
The Department of Pharmacy and Pharmacology
Wits Medical School, 7 York Road, Parktown, 2193, Johannesburg, GautengSouth Africa
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Overview of the Department of Pharmacy at Wits University
Wits Pharmacy is one of nine pharmacy schools in South Africa. We are a world-class and premier pharmacy education provider. Our graduates and researchers serve the people of South Africa by helping to solve the world’s most pressing pharmaceutical challenges. Whether our students pursue different careers in the profession, they study under some of the worlds most respected and accomplished pharmacy education experts. The Wits Advanced Drug Delivery Platform (WADDP) Research Unit remains our flagship by generating the majority of our research outputs resulting in recognition and new knowledge. Our reputation is led by nearly 1000 proud and loyal alumni who are accomplished throughout the world as leaders of various pharmaceutical businesses and organizations. We currently enrol close to 100 BPharm 1 students and 70-80 postgraduates (PGs) enrol in our MPharm, MSc(Med) and PhD programs. Our PGs produce research supervised by our staff in the various disciplines of pharmacy. In total, close to 400 students are studying at the Department. Our teaching and research successes are impressive. Research-active staff have leading research programs in a number of areas.
Educational Philosophy
Upon completion of a Wits Pharmacy degree, students will have a strong foundation in all spheres of pharmacy and will be practice-ready for team-based health care. They will have the knowledge, skills, and entrepreneurial spirit needed to remedy many of the health-related socio-economic challenges in South Africa and participate in a global context by using their pharmacy degree as a catalyst for change. They will be able to deliver patient-centred care leading an inter-professional team to manage pharmaceutical resources and advance the profession as a powerhouse for all knowledge related to the production, supply and use of medicines. We execute a variety of educational methods including traditional classroom instruction, case studies, laboratory practicals, reflective writing, standardized patient assessments, group discussions, e-Learning, clinical simulation and workplace-based learning. We routinely explore ways to advance the effectiveness of our curriculum so that students acquire a strong foundation in anatomical, physiological, microbiological, biomedical, pharmaceutical, business, social, behavioural, administrative, and clinical science principles. As students’ progress through our programs, they transition from being a dependent learner to an active, self-directed, lifelong learner with an edge for entrepreneurship. Our approach is to transform to meet student needs without compromising on delivering a first-class pharmacy education.
Vision, Mission and Values
Wits Pharmacy has established a reputation for innovation, creativity and excellence in our approach to pharmacy education and research. We aspire to be “A Pharmacy School like No other” and this is reflected in our vision, mission and values.
Vision:
Our vision is to be a place of choice for innovation, creativity and excellence in research-led pharmacy education.
Mission:
To provide pharmacy education designed to meet societal needs underpinned by research. The following is central to our mission:
- Nurture students to attain the knowledge and competencies to practice as pharmacists.
- Educate students to prepare them intellectually and ethically as leaders in the profession.
- Create an environment of learning and awareness of people from diverse backgrounds.
- Inspire and share knowledge through multidisciplinary scholarly activity.
- Collaborate to reform the entrepreneurial spirit of pharmacy and optimize health and wellness.
- Inculcate in staff and students a commitment to promote the profession and serve society.
Values:
- Partnerships, collaboration, and teamwork.
- Research innovation, creativity and excellence.
- Responsivity to the health and wellness needs of people.
- Professionalism and ethical behaviour.
- Respect, diversity and compassion.
Our values support a culture that exemplifies:
- A pledge of innovation, creativity and excellence in pharmacy education, research and service.
- Dedication to discover new knowledge and advance the pharmacy profession.
- A modern pharmacy teaching, learning and research agenda.
- A model for inclusivity to support inter-professional education and multidisciplinary research.
- Respect of the dignity, rights, culture, and diversity of each other and the populations we serve.
- Appraisal, review and proficient growth of staff and students for self-directed lifelong learning.
We have identified the following as our priority areas to ENDOW a Culture of Excellence:
E: Excellence in Teaching and Learning
N: Nurture Innovation and Research
D: Develop and Improve Infrastructure
O: Outstanding Professional/Community Service
W: Winning Student and Staff Environment