A busy but fruitful workshop-filled semester!
In the past months, the NUS Department of Pharmacy organized a myriad of workshops which met the interests and needs of audience from diverse background. The workshops were delivered by faculty members and invited speakers, and many involved interactive discussions and hands-on activities to engage participants deeper.
Beyond healthcare to health, beyond hospital to community, beyond quality to value – the future of healthcare is transforming rapidly.
Community practice
To prepare ourselves for the future, participants at the “Engaging the Power of Community: From Tertiary Care to Patient Empowerment” workshop which took place in January learnt from experts such as Professor Kelly Goode, Director of Community Pharmacy Practice and Residency Program in Virginia Commonwealth University and Dr Chow Wai Leng, Director of Health Services Integration and Development Division, Ministry of Health, amongst other speakers. The session ended with an activity to perform medication therapy management for wellness programmes in community settings.
Professor Kelly Goode delivering a talk at the “Engaging the Power of Community” workshop
Big data and AI
With the current and future technology advances to come, participants at the “Healthcare in the Era of Big Data and Artificial Intelligence” workshop learnt from international and local speakers from academia, regulatory and ministry on how AI and technology can be used to enhance healthcare. The workshop provided opportunities to establish potential collaborations.
Participants and speakers at the “Healthcare in the Era of Big Data and Artificial Intelligence” workshop
Professor Caro giving a talk at the HTA workshop
Health Technology Assessments
Following on, how do we assess the properties, effects and impacts of health technology? Participants learnt from invited speaker, Professor Jaime Caro, Chief Scientist of Evidera, about Advanced Modelling Techniques in Health Technology Assessments (HTA) and Real World Evidence Generation” in February. This workshop was supported by Dr Wee Hwee Lin’s National Medical Research Council Health Services Grant for a mix of participants from academia, government and industry whom have background in HTA modelling.
Diabetes management
In its 9th run, the “Foundation of Clinical Diabetes Management Certification Programme” provided a holistic training on a variety of topics including special topics such as managing Type 2 Diabetes during Ramadan Observance. The programme was conducted by an expert and experienced interprofessional team of clinicians from 24 – 26 April 2019. It was organized by the National University of Singapore Academy of GxP Excellence (NUSAGE) and opened to all healthcare professionals.
Workshop participants also had an opportunity to keep themselves updated with current development and rapid advancements in the industry.
Formulation
Targeted at R&D and manufacturing personnel of pharmaceutical products, participants had a chance to practise preparing multi-particulate dosage forms, including coated pellets and mini-tablets, in the “Hands-on Workshop on the Design of Multi-Particulate Delivery Systems” organized in March by GEA-NUS, a pharmaceutical technology research group in the Department.
Participants and speakers at the workshop organized by GEA-NUS
Pharmacokinetics and drug discovery
The “Pharmacokinetics as Detectives” workshop which took place in early April gave participants an insight into the practical applications of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics concepts in decision-making processes during the drug discovery and development process. The workshop was conducted by Dr Emile Chen, who is the Director of System Modelling and Translational Biology in Glaxo-SmithKline, Inc.
Dr Emile Chen (first row, third from right) with participants and academic staff at the “Pharmacokinetics as Detectives” workshop
Consumer hair care
The “Consumer Hair Care: Academics to Applied R&D” workshop in April explored several topics related to hair, from its biological and chemical attributes to styling and colouring approaches and hair-related conditions particularly prevalent in Singapore. International renowned Scientists from USA (TRI-Princeton), New Zealand (Crown Research Institute (CRI)) and Singapore (Skin Research Institute of Singapore (SRIS), National Skin Centre (NSC) and Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences (ICES) delivered interactive lectures and had enriching discussions with the participants.
It has been a busy but fruitful workshop-filled semester indeed! We look forward to you joining us in our future workshops in your continuing education and lifelong learning endeavours. More information on the upcoming workshops can be found at: https://pharmacy.nus.edu.sg.
Article by Ms Ng Shi Ying (NUS Pharmacy staff) and Dr Chng Hui Ting (NUS Pharmacy academic faculty, Class of ’08)