THE FACULTY of Pharmacy has adopted a more patient-centered curriculum following a directive from the Philippine Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (PACOP).
“UST needs to be at par with the other colleges in Asia,” Acting Dean Ma. Elena Manansala told the Varsitarian, “And the focus nowadays of health-care is on patient counseling and welfare.”
Last October, PACOP ordered Pharmacy schools to have curricula that are patient-centered.
For the new curriculum, which took effect this month covering all incoming Pharmacy freshmen, four Pharmaceutical care (PharmaCare) courses have been added.
The new courses are PharCare1, concerning the general principles of health care; PharCare2, a pre-requisite to Parasitology and Microbiology that focuses on public health; PharCare3, which tackles inter-personal relationships and communication with the patients; and PharCare4, which covers professional techniques of pharmaceutical medication.
“The new curriculum will be a great advantage for all the students because the patients now demand convenience and focus on their needs,” Manansala said.
Pharmacy also will upgrade its pilot laboratory at the Thomas Aquinas Research Center this school year.
The lab started three years ago.
“The pilot lab is for the Pharmacy faculty and students for their experiments and theses,” Manansala said. “It can also be a job evaluation center where companies can come in to research and test their medicines.” Joanarc T. Villaflor
