A delegation from the Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana paid a courtesy call to the Provost of the KNUST College of Health Sciences, Professor Christian Agyare, and the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Professor Samuel Asare-Nkansah on the 20th February 2022 to deliberate on issues and challenges related to the training of pharmacists in Ghana.
In an interview, the provost of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana, Dr. Samuel Kow Donkoh revealed that the agenda of the meeting was to discuss matters of concern in relation to the training of pharmacy students, especially for Postgraduates when they are on internship programmes at the various teaching hospitals in their fifth year. He also made known the Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana brought feedback from preceptors and various teaching hospitals affiliated with the College of Health Sciences, on what can be done positively to enhance the quality training of students.
Dr. Samuel Kow Donkoh also stated they looked into the future of job opportunities for pharmacists being trained especially considering the current number of pharmacists passing out yearly. "We also looked at the situation whether the number of pharmacists produced is not too many for the job market and provide the solution of job creation for trained pharmacists", he added. Another major highlight of the meeting was how KNUST can do a peer review for other Pharmaceutical Training Institutes to ensure that there is quality training for students.
He stated that there are seven (7) Pharmacy Training Institutes in Ghana, and KNUST Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences is the premier institution for pharmacy training in Ghana hence they can offer peer review to the other six (6) institutions.
The Provost of CHS, Professor Christian Agyare thanked the PSGH for their visit and assured the College of Health Sciences and the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences will attend to all issues raised to foster progress or improvement in the training of pharmacists.