A Worthy Cause... Pharmacist's Without Borders ?

[norx]

I am starting out as a pharmacy student, however I have always volunteered for my local hospital, be it a faith or non-faith denomination, as long as the cause is for humanitarian aid and advancement I am there !

However, I did come across this http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/ and saw that there were no positions available for pharmacists (or students) that would like to help. Does anyone know of any non-profit that allows for a similar role in the pharmacy care practice?

I have heard of students doing rotations on native american reservations and in alaska, however I am interested in a global perpective, not just restricted to the US.

Thanks for all your comments in advance, and I look forward to this being a worthy discussion.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Aznfarmerboi]

I am starting out as a pharmacy student, however I have always volunteered for my local hospital, be it a faith or non-faith denomination, as long as the cause is for humanitarian aid and advancement I am there !

However, I did come across this http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/ and saw that there were no positions available for pharmacists (or students) that would like to help. Does anyone know of any non-profit that allows for a similar role in the pharmacy care practice?

I have heard of students doing rotations on native american reservations and in alaska, however I am interested in a global perpective, not just restricted to the US.

Thanks for all your comments in advance, and I look forward to this being a worthy discussion.

They need to have readily avaible access to medications before a pharmacist can be useful. What else can a pharmacist do??? Ask them to order live function tests?

 

[All4MyDaughter]

Pharmacists without Borders


The site is in french. Look in the upper-right hand corner for the link to the english version.

 

[All4MyDaughter]

They need to have readily avaible access to medications before a pharmacist can be useful. What else can a pharmacist do??? Ask them to order live function tests?

Pharmacists provide a lot of services that don't require medication. My friend is a pharmacist, and does not dispense medication at all. She does clinics, diabetes education, etc.

I've heard of mission programs where doctors and pharmacists work together. The doctor sees the patient in a mobile clinic setting and makes the diagnosis. The pharmacist then selects and dispenses the appropriate medication.

 

[sdn1977]

There are a lot of relief agencies out there, but you have to be involved before a disaster strikes. Try to investigate the following links:

directrelief.org
interaction.org
repharmacy.org (a red cross agency I think)

There are others I've seen along the way - just can't think of them right now. You have to be willing to be mobilized on short notice & for an unknown length of time. You'll do everything from organizing drugs from other countries (so you need an international pharmacopeia which cross references drug names) so sometimes providing immunizations and doses if needed.

Search out the international humanitarian organizations. I do know doctors without borders does use pharmacists - perhaps not in their international sites, but they do use them consolidate the donations they receive from this country. You can also contact WHO, Peace Corps, UNICEF - see what they have to offer.

Good Luck!

 

[mph2pharm]

I guess there aren't any current positions but I know that Doctors without Borders has utilized pharmacists in the past. If you go to the website and look under "Voices from the Field" under the 2005 listings, you will see an entry from a pharmacist who is working with the organization in Somalia. This is something that I would also be interested in once I complete my degree.

I am starting out as a pharmacy student, however I have always volunteered for my local hospital, be it a faith or non-faith denomination, as long as the cause is for humanitarian aid and advancement I am there !

However, I did come across this http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/ and saw that there were no positions available for pharmacists (or students) that would like to help. Does anyone know of any non-profit that allows for a similar role in the pharmacy care practice?

I have heard of students doing rotations on native american reservations and in alaska, however I am interested in a global perpective, not just restricted to the US.

Thanks for all your comments in advance, and I look forward to this being a worthy discussion.

 

[Aznfarmerboi]

I guess there aren't any current positions but I know that Doctors without Borders has utilized pharmacists in the past. If you go to the website and look under "Voices from the Field" under the 2005 listings, you will see an entry from a pharmacist who is working with the organization in Somalia. This is something that I would also be interested in once I complete my degree.

hey thats pretty cool. never knew that

 

[njac]

I asked one of our infectious disease pharmacists about this because a good friend of mine is in med school and has spent a couple summer with doctors without borders. she said there are opportunities available, I'm going to meet with her this upcoming semester to discuss it.

 

[klebsiella]

I asked one of our infectious disease pharmacists about this because a good friend of mine is in med school and has spent a couple summer with doctors without borders. she said there are opportunities available, I'm going to meet with her this upcoming semester to discuss it.

Njac: Please post any info you get!

I was in the peace corps for several years and did a lot of work with Pharmacists Without Borders and Doctors without Borders. It was amazing and inspiring....I def want to go this route while in school or when I graduate! They all did so much more than dispense meds and diagnose disease.

 

[norx]

Fantastic! Great information to start researching my options... please dont let this thread get lost.. if anyone has any updates. Thanks.

 

[pharm06km]

Oops, I accidently hits the Enter key and submitted my reply. Sorry everyone.

There are a couple of points I would like to make:

a. Pharmacists are part of the healthcare team and no mission trip is complete without medications. Even if a site or organization does not specifically mention the need for a pharmacist, you have skills that are needed to help patients.

b. Raising money or obtaining supplies for aid workers is just as important as actually going to another country. As a student, this is something to begin at your school and in your community.

c. Access to medications: creating an organization or searching out an organization that provides medications to countries are a couple of things to consider. It is a big job, but finding financial assistance to purchase large quantities of less expensive generic medications is really what patients in the developing world need. Pharmacists are in the unique position to understand which medications would be best to obtain given the diseases, patient populations, storage options, etc. No one else on the healthcare team is trained in this. As a pharmacist, your main focus should be obtaining medications and ensuring their safe and effective use.

It is students and pharmcists who continually ask questions and prove that pharmacists are very important to the overall health of the public. Slowly more people will come to realize this and appropriate, affordable medications will be available to all. Remember to not give up or become discouraged at the lack of progress or lack of consideration for the pharmacy profession. Big changes happen in small doses!

Good luck!

 

[pharm06km]

So, I didn't submit my reply. Something happened and everything disappeared. Here is the information I tried to post before.

There are opportunities for pharmacists and pharmacy students out there! I was so encouraged by this thread, that I decided to join SDN. Some of this many have been mentioned, but this is what I know is available for humanitarian efforts and gobal pharmacy...

International Pharmaceutical Students' Federation (IPSF) allows students to meet and work together to help our patients. IPSF represents about 350,000 students in over 60 countries. While IPSF does not address the political and financial aspects of medications access, it does provide collaboration on projects, forums on pharmacy education, students exchange program and cultural awareness. In the past, IPSF has created a medical clinic and medication dispensary in Tanzania. In the US, if you are a member of APhA-ASP you are already a member of IPSF. Visit www.ipsf.org and www.aphanet.org/students/ipsf/index.htm for more information.

For pharmacists the international organization is the International Pharmacists Federation or Federation International Pharmaceutique (FIP). Visit www.fip.org.

Christian Pharmacist Fellowship International (www.cpfi.org) does mission trips year round in collaboration with the Christian Medical and Dental Association. On the website there is information about available trips, a manual about short-term medical projects, and more. Please note this is not an attempt to promote any religion. Even if you are not Christian, religious, or believe in religious missions, you do have to admit they do good work. They can also use assistance with finances and supplies.

Management Science for Health (www.msh.org) works with policy makers, managers, providers, consumers to solve public health problems all over the world. There is a whole section about Pharmaceutical Management. From what I understand this is more of a full-time career option rather than short-term volunteer opportunity. Much more information is on the website.

Indiana University-Kenya Partnership (http://medicine.iupui.edu/kenya/introduction.html) provides medications, transportation to and from rural clinics, job skills training, nutritional assistance, and access to physician and pharmacist volunteers all free of charge to the patient. This is one of the most complete and effective public health programs available. I spent November and December 2005 in Kenya helping with this program and saw how it has changed the life of so many families. A video about this program is available at http://www.powerofoneperson.com/.

Pharmacists Without Borders/ Pharmaciens Sans Frontieres International Committee: English-version website is http://www.psfci.org/new/indexuk.htm.

The World Health Organization and United Nations (UNAIDS, UNICEF, UNESCO) have information, opportunities and ideas on how you can become involved.

With this information, the additional points I made make more sense. Please find the message titled Many opportunities-continued.

 

[DownonthePharm]

We should FAQ some of this.

 

[pharm06km]

Found a couple more good websites:

www.transitionsabroad.com and www.aidworkers.net

They aren't pharmacy-specific but it is a starting place.

Don't forget to pass this information along whenever to can!

PS- If you know how to FAQ any this, please feel free.

 

[mph2pharm]

Thanks pharm06km for sharing this information!

 

[Julianne]

I really liked this thread when it was active but it never made it to "sticky" status... anyone have additional/more recent info. to share?

 

[ForcedEntry]

I would love to participate in a doctors w/o borders program.

 

[WVUPharm2007]

Before you mess with the whole Int'l medicine thing, come to Appalachia. We are close enough to a 3rd world country. We could definitely use the free medical services.