Posted on: Tue 16-01-2024

At a time Nigerians, especially medical practitioners migrate to foreign countries for greener pastures, a total of 46 Nigerian foreign-trained pharmacy graduates have returned home to work in the country.

To this end, the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria, PCN, performed oath-taking and induction initiation on them on Friday in Abuja. This was after the successful completion of their 12-month mandatory Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Orientation Programmed, FPGOP.

Speaking at the oath-taking and induction ceremony held in Abuja, the Registrar, PCN, Ibrahim Babashehu Ahmed, charged the inductees to maintain high ethical conduct and leadership standards set forth by the PCN and endeavor to serve as examples for the achievement of excellence in the provision of quality pharmaceutical services for sustainable health care delivery in Nigeria.

This was as he warned against professional misconduct, reminding them of the implications of involvement in such an act.

“PCN frowns at professional misconduct in its entirety. As such, any form of misconduct by any Pharmacist is usually investigated by the PCN Investigating Panel and if the pharmacists have a case to answer, he or she is referred to the disciplinary tribunal which would put the pharmacist on fair trial before pronouncement of any sort; this could lead to the removal of name from the register for a given period during which he/she is not entitled to practice,” he informed them.

He explained that the oath-taking/induction ceremony of the foreign pharmacy graduates became necessary after they completed the orientation program as required by the PCN (Establishment) Act, 2022, and passed the examinations.

The PCN Registrar explained that the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Orientation Program was organized primarily to ensure that the graduates are acquainted with the realities of practice in the tropics with emphasis on Nigeria.

“Let me inform you that it is a global phenomenon that Pharmacy graduates are statutorily required to undergo twelve 12 months of the continuous internship training program under the supervision of a registered and currently licensed pharmacist to be undertaken in an internship center approved by the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria. It is instructive to note that the internship period is primarily a training period and a period of preparation for future opportunities.

“The rapid development of science and patient safety issues require Pharmacists to maintain and update their competencies and skills at all times. In this regard, implementing the Mandatory Continuing Professional Development (MCPD) program is considered to be of utmost importance by the PCN and of course, it is one of the criteria for licensure. This is also consistent with resolutions of the World Health Organization (WHO) for all Health Professionals and directives of the Federal Ministry of Health issued at the maiden Health Summit in 1996.

“Thus, the MCPD program is, among others, aimed at ensuring the continued relevance of pharmacists in the healthcare team with patients in focus. The MCPD program has both online and onsite packages available,” he explained.

He also reminded the inductees that “Pharmacy is a noble profession that guarantees opportunities for new graduates to have great prospects of practicing in different fields such as industries, communities, hospitals, administration, research, academia and in other human endeavors, such as Information Technology, Journalism, Publishing and indeed Governance.

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