Compounding Corner - April

Compounding Event Cases - ZPSA from Zimbabwe

By Comfort Tanaka Gutu (ZPSA Activity Coordinator)

& Munyaradzi A. Maunge (ZPSA Contact Person)

Zimbabwe Pharmaceutical Students’ Association (ZPSA) held what it dubbed the Professional Skills Event where compounding, patient-counselling and clinical skills events were combined. The association hosted this event hoping to improve compounding skills amongst pharmacy students, hence promoting the manufacturing pharmaceutical sector as well as improving patient interactions in retail pharmacies. The Professional Skills Event ran under the theme, “Igniting innovation and creativity through precision”. It was held on the 11th October 2017 at the Harare Institute of Technology and about 99 students participated  in the competitions.

The aim of the competition was to instill creativity and innovation amongst pharmacy students. This event is highly relevant for pharmaceutical students in Zimbabwe, and especially concentrates on skills important to the manufacturing sector, which has been running under-capacity. ZPSA used this event to ensure that students maintain an interest in compounding and also helped to prepare them for cases they may encounter when they practise in the field. This competition, especially the compounding event, acted as a tool to raise awareness about the importance of compounding within the pharmacy profession and quality and assurance measures regarding the production of compounded pharmaceutical products.

ZPSA had a significant amount of help and sponsorship from the corporate world, namely Varichem Pharmaceuticals who provided chemicals and materials that were used in the compounding event. ZPSA also received various donations from Kenlink pharmacies, Datlabs, Pharmanova and the Pharmaceutical Society of Zimbabwe which included pens, t-shirts, backpacks and gift hampers which were then given to participants. Representatives from these various companies including clinicians from the University of Zimbabwe attended the event acting as judges in the various categories.

The day started with brief introductions of our invited guests. Participants were then moved to separate lecture theatres where they were briefed on what was expected from them in their categories. After the lectures, participants in the Compounding Event were required to compound a cream. In this event there were two difficulty levels, beginners and advanced and judges chose the best three in each level. These three participants walked away with prizes courtesy of our sponsors. The rest of the participants walked away with certificates of participation and pens courtesy of our sponsors and also the experience. Some judges gave comments on what they expected from the participants when they come into the real world.

The professional skills competition was an eye opener and very beneficial with some participants being encouraged to pursue a career in the various fields of pharmacy that were on show during the competitions. Our invited guests also were impressed with how well organized the event was and encouraged ZPSA to make these competitions an annual event which they would be happy to help organize as well as provide financial support. Overall, the event was a great success.