AN EARLY START: A UCSI pharmacy student explaining healthcare-related information to two visitors of the Annual Public Health Campaign.

HANDS ON LEARNING: Chan with Assoc Prof Dr Yeong, her research supervisor and the dean, in the pharmacy practice lab.

QUALITY RESEARCH: P’ng feeding a rat extracts from the Sabah snake grass to analyse the toxicity of this popular herb believed to treat cancer as her supervisor Assoc Prof Dr Chin looks on.

When it comes to studying pharmacy, UCSI students have a clear advantage – an education that focuses on introducing them to the profession as soon as possible through impactful hands-on learning. The highlight of this approach would be the UCSI Annual Public Health Campaign. The campaign sees pharmacy students conducting free health checks under the close supervision of their lecturers – who are experienced pharmacists themselves. 

Held for 13 successful years and counting, it is proudly spearheaded by the students. The responsibilities range from planning which includes getting the sponsors on board to fund the free community campaign to doing actual health checks - Body Mass Index (BMI) measurement and blood pressure tests. 

Having brought the campaign to various states in the country including Malacca, Selangor, Johor and Kuantan, UCSI’s pharmacy student have served approximately 10,000 members of the public. 

“The soft skills I learned such as speaking confidently and professionally to sponsors and the public – even when I am nervous – really help me in my job now. I find it easy to communicate with patients and medical suppliers,” said P’ng Xiu Wen. 

P’ng is currently completing her provisionally registered pharmacist stint in a government hospital and was a student counsellor during the 10th and 11th UCSI Annual Public Health Campaigns. 

Just as important as the soft skills learned, the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences hopes that such hands-on activities will ingrain in the students a sense of familiarity and responsibility for community service. 

As a registered pharmacist herself with more than 17 years of experience in pharmacy and academia, Assoc Prof Dr Yeong Siew Wei knows that the profession is deeply intertwined with the health of the community. 

“We want our students to engage with the community early to prepare them to face the challenges of their future careers,” she said. 

All pharmacy students must serve a year internship with the Ministry of Health before serving another year compulsory service as a provisionally recognised pharmacist at a posting selected by the Ministry. 

This early exposure to community pharmacy work will also further the students’ careers in the future, explains Dr Yeong. 

A track record of excellence 

Such extensive knowledge of the field of pharmaceutical sciences comes from the Faculty’s track record of more than 14 years of offering an undergraduate pharmacy programme. It is one of the earliest private tertiary education institutions to offer a pharmacy programme that could be fully completed locally and has the distinction of being among the few institution with full accreditation by the Malaysian Pharmacy Board. 

Its sterling credentials speak for itself and it has graduated approximately 800 pharmacists – 100% of whom have found employment within six months of graduation. 

In its constant effort to further the field of pharmaceutical sciences and the health of the community, the Faculty has also given equal emphasis to pharmaceutical research. Notably, this is not limited to the staff members but is also something that the students have shined in. 

In addition to her active involvement in the UCSI Annual Public Health Campaign, P’ng also has the distinction of having published not just one, but three research papers in internationally refereed journals. This is no small feat as she accomplished this while she was still a student. 

Concerned that the local herb Sabah snake grass (Clinacanthus nutans) popularly believed to cure cancer, might be toxic, she worked with Assoc Prof Dr Chin Jin Han – head of the Postgraduate & Research Department and Assoc Prof Dr Gabriel Akowuah – Head of the Pharmaceutical Chemistry Department for her research. 

“I was concerned because when taken in large amounts, we don’t know if the plant will be damaging to the liver or kidneys,” P’ng explained. 

The research papers are ‘Evaluation of the sub-acute oral toxic effect of methanol extract of Clinacanthus nutans leaves in rats’ in the Journal of Acute Diseases, ‘Acute Oral Toxicity Study of Clinacanthus nutans in Mice’ in the International Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research and ‘Effect of Methanol Extract of Clinacanthus nutans on Serum Biochemical Parameters in Rats’ in the Journal of Applied Pharmacy 

Uniquely, the Faculty champions both lab-based and clinical based research. Chan Mei Fong @ Shobana, P’ng classmate, chose the latter. Chan’s research involved studying the usage of herbal medicine among female breast cancer patients during their treatment and follow up period. 

For Chan, her choice of clinical-based research stemmed from her interest in patient care and her childhood ambition of improving community health. She worked with Dr Yeong and her research results were then incorporated in an easy-to-read poster and presented in the 11th Malaysian Pharmaceutical Society Pharmacy Scientific Conference in 2012. 

Whether it is training pharmacists who will go above and beyond the call of duty for their patients or advancing pharmacy through research, UCSI’s Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences will continue its track record of excellence. 

To know more about the role of pharmacists, drop by the UCSI Special Career Info Day on the 9 & 10 August at its KL Campus (South Wing). For more information contact us at 03-9101 8882 or email www.ucsiuniversity.edu.my/onlineenquiry.