PSS E-Bulletin August 2014 | Pharmaceutical Society of Singapore

What's Happening

E-Bulletin

The Young Pharmacists Chapter (YPC) kicked off its first event by the newly formed committee, with a Sports Day Event on 2^nd August 2014. Featuring the classic game of Captain’s Ball, the event drew teams from various backgrounds, from young pharmacists to NUS students and even PSS’s 108^th Council. Everyone enjoyed a good workout as they battled it out in stages, with each team against three other teams. The eventual showdown was between a team of young pharmacists led by Jaryl and the NUS Pharmacy team, with Jaryl’s team emerging as the overall champion. The third placing was won by another team of young pharmacists led by Edwin.

In all, the signups for the event surpassed our modest expectations, drawing in 8 teams of the young (and the young-at-heart). We are sure everyone who turned up had enjoyed the evening of healthy workout, friendly networking between students and pharmacists of various backgrounds, as well as the surprise birthday celebration for our PSS President, Ms Miko Thum.

Here are some thoughts from our participants:

“We had a good time. It's a fun way to promote interaction!”

- Mr Lim Mun Moon, Honorary Treasurer, 108th PSS Council

“It was fun! Had a great time of fellowship, sweating, and catching of breath!”

- Ms Ng Hong Yen, Vice President, 108th PSS Council

“It was fun interacting with pharmacy alumni from various age groups through the games.”

- Lih Maan, Year 2 Pharmacy Student

“The YPC sports day was a truly fun and memorable event. It was really heartwarming to see so many fellow pharmacy students and our fellow seniors take time off to participate in this event. I exceptionally loved the relaxed and friendly atmosphere that the event had where the aim was just to have fun and bond over a game of Captain’s ball. The most memorable game for me was with the PSS council members. Though they may be my seniors, but I think that they are truly young at heart. Every minute of game play with them was filled with laughter and joy as their focus was about having a good time with one another and to cheer each other on in the game. I’m glad that through this event I got to know a few pharmacists and I will definitely take part in other similar events in the future.”

- Anthea Pau, Year 3 Pharmacy Student

“It's really nice to be able to meet fellow pharmacists in such a leisure setting (other times were probably during precept but we couldn't really play and have fun but needed to put on a serious attitude). Should have more gatherings like this, perhaps a day by the seaside where we can sit down and chat.”

- Ng Wan Jing, Year 4 Pharmacy Student

Members of the organizing committee: Mr Geoffrey Chai, Mr Chan Boon Kiang, Mr Ong Kheng Yong, Ms Cindy Chew, Ms Tien Li Chen

Finally, the organizing committee and YPC would like to thank everyone for their support. Rest assured, many things are in the pipeline, and great fun awaits you. We hope to see you at our future events! Stay tuned.

Written by

Mr Anson Lim, Mr Ong Kheng Yong

PSS Young Pharmacists Chapter

Tribute to Mr Koe Khoon Poh from the Young Pharmacists Chapter

Since his graduation from the School of Pharmacy, University of Singapore in 1966, Mr. Koe Khoon Poh had lived his life to the fullest as a role model for the pharmacy profession, a brilliant entrepreneur and above all, a caring brother/father to his juniors.

He started his pharmacy career as a pharmacist at Singapore General Hospital (SGH, 1966) in its very early days with limited manpower and resources. It was during this difficult time that he realized the importance of creating a professional image for pharmacists which patients and the public can relate to. With his passion and vision, he established the pharmacists’ professional image with white coat and name tags. He was also the pioneering father of the Pharmaceutical Society of Singapore (PSS), setting up its first office and engaging like-minded pharmacists to brainstorm issues, set up practice standards, and build up our professional identity.

He was elected to be the President of PSS for 4 terms (from 1979 to 1981, and from 1991 to 1993). Under his chairmanship, the first Hospital Pharmacy Technician course and Community Practice Continuing Education Sessions for pharmacists were implemented. Over the years, he sat in committees such as Pharmacy Board, Singapore Health Advisory Committee, Government Parliamentary Committee (Health) Resource Panel and many other committees on professional practice. For his contribution and devotion for pharmacy profession, Mr. Koe was conferred Lifetime Fellow of PSS in 1986. In 2013, he made the profession proud when he received the prestigious NUS Distinguished Alumni Service Award and the Alumni Gold Medal Award.

Besides his activities to promote pharmacists’ image and safe pharmacy practice, Mr. Koe is better known as a brilliant entrepreneur. His first encounter with pharmaceutical industry was with Apex Pharmacy (1968), where he learnt first-hand all aspects of managing a small distribution and retail enterprise. He left shortly to join his two friends to start Orchard Pharmacy (1969). In the following year, he set up his very first own company, Woods International (1970), to export pharmaceutical products from Singapore to Indonesia. However, his most successful story was with Integrated Contract Manufacturing Private Limited, also known as ICM Pharma (1975). With a volume of up to four millions units of products being dispensed annually at the market, ICM Pharma is of no doubt the biggest supplier of local pharmaceutical products.

Mr. Koe was a great leader of the profession and a caring big brother/father to his junior fellows. He was always humble when he told us about his past experiences. His sharing made us reflect upon our life and was a real inspiration for young pharmacists to thrive. He also tried to attend every professional event and spoke at every occasion whenever he could. He encouraged us for the efforts, celebrated our success, and brought us back to reality if needed. He treated every pharmacist with warmth and thoughtfulness so we could easily confide in him, as a pioneer, a mentor, and a friend.

Although Mr. Koe is no longer here with us, his teachings remain:

“Have a vision, be different and go for it!

Work hard, persevere and be pragmatic

Treat all setbacks as part of learning process”

Written by:

Miss Tran Anh Nhi, Mr Anson Lim

PSS Young Pharmacists’ Chapter

PSS Pharmacotherapy Series

Mark Your Calendar!

Manchester Business School will be offering an evening talk on Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management by their visiting faculty Professor Francis Chittenden.

Date: 1st October 2014

Time: 7.00pm to 8.30pm

Keep a lookout for more details coming soon!

Volunteer Pharmacists Needed!

For the first time, a pharmacist consultation booth will be introduced at the NUS Medical Society's annual Public Health Screening (PHS).

General information about PHS:

PHS is an annual project organised by the NUS Medical Society which aims to raise health awareness amongst Singapore’s public. Now into its 9th year, the project has established itself as one of the largest free public health screenings and has been featured on various media platforms. The project is held free of charge and has 3 main components, including health promotion, health screening and follow-up.

Last year, PHS 2013 was held at Toa Payoh HDB Hub, spanning two days over the weekend on the 5th and 6th October. The event was a success, having reached out to more than 1,200 members of the public.

PHS 2014 will be held on 11th and 12th October 2014 (Sat & Sun), from 8am to 6pm (last admission: 5pm) at Clementi Central. The exact venue is at Clementi Avenue 3, at the open area beside Block 449. Its proximity to a shopping mall, MRT station and Bus interchange makes it an accessible location for all our participants and volunteers from all over Singapore.

PHS 2014 aims to screen 1,500 participants over a span of 2 days and plug them back into the health system if necessary. The medical screening component will include the following:

                1.       Body mass index (BMI)

                2.       Blood pressure measurement

                3.       Fasting venous glucose and cholesterol (Phlebotomy)

                4.       Breast cancer education

                5.       Faecal Immunochemical Test kit (FIT)

                6.       Geriatric component for visual impairment and fall risk assessment

                7.       Questionnaire for the identification of risk factors for chronic conditions like cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, cancer and urinary incontinence

                8.       Participants can then discuss any abnormalities detected with volunteer doctors paired with senior medical students at the free consultation booths

                9.       Consultation with a pharmacist will be offered to participants who bring their medications along

Pharmacy Consultation Booth:

This year, a Pharmacy Consultation booth will be introduced for the benefit of the participants going through health screening. The aim is to allow participants to have a better understanding of their medications (indication, dosage regimen, contraindications, when to seek help for adverse reactions).

Details:

The pharmacist booths will be located after the consultation booths with the doctors. It will be the last station of the screening and participants will head towards the exhibition area after consulting the pharmacist. 6 pharmacists are required each day with 3 pharmacists at the station during each 5- hour shift. We need a total of 12 pharmacists for this event.

If you can join us at this event, kindly email the PSS secretariat at admin@pss.org.sg with the email title "Volunteer at PHS"

Please indicate your preference for the date and time you would like to volunteer:

A. Saturday, 11 Oct 2014, 8am - 1pm

B. Saturday, 11 Oct 2014, 1pm - 6pm

C. Sunday, 12 Oct 2014, 8am - 1pm

C. Sunday, 12 Oct 2014, 1am - 6pm

Thank you and we hope to see you at PHS 2014!

Congratulations!

PSS offers our heartiest congratulations to Mr Lim Mun Moon, our Honorary Treasurer and Director of Pharmacy, Singapore General Hospital for being awarded the Commendation Medal at the National Day Awards 2014.