National convention of Association of Pharmaceutical Teachers of India inaugurated

Focus of the convention is to empower academia and advance pharmacy education

The three-day annual national convention of Association of Pharmaceutical Teachers of India (APTI) began here on Friday and will focus on empowering academia for advancing pharmacy education.

Hosted by the JSS College of Pharmacy, the objectives of the convention is to create a blue print for promoting research culture, develop strategies on adopting technology in education apart from describing the importance of accreditation and ranking for pharmaceutical institutions.

The convention is also expected to offer a collaborative platform for academicians, researchers, scientists, and students of pharmacy to adopt a vision to guide the future activities of the profession.

About two thousand pharmacy professionals, students, industrialists, pharmaceutical scientists, and pharmaceutical leaders from different states of the country are participating in the three-day event which was inaugurated by Mr. Sudarshan Jain Secretary General, Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA). He said such conventions will not only strengthen the academia and pharmaceutical industry but will motivate and help pharmacy teachers and students to update their knowledge and skills in sync with the latest trend in the industry.

Milind Janrao Umekar, president, APTI, in his presidential address said that the healthcare profession was undergoing a rapid change and  the Indian pharma industry had registered a spectacular progress.

‘’The ever-expanding practice sectors need clinically and technologically trained pharmacy professionals who can face global challenges and compete with multinational companies. It is in that respect, that pharmacists play leadership roles to ensure optimum drug therapy, by contributing to the discovery, development, manufacturing, ensuring quality, supply, and regulatory control of medicines’’, said Mr. Umekar.

V. Muralidhar, organising secretary of the event, said pharmacy education played a pivotal role in preparing competent pharmaceutical care professionals to meet the healthcare needs of the public, and pharmacists had an essential role in ensuring the effective and responsible use of medicines. Pharmacists monitor medicine use and support patients to adhere to medication regimens and to use medicines responsibly, and pharmaceutical scientists can develop novel medicines and therapeutic strategies, he added.