On January 11, 2024, the College of Pharmacy (CoP) at Gulf Medical University worked with IVPN-Network, to organize and deliver a webinar on Empowering Pharmacy Technicians for Community and Hospital Excellence. This event was highly attended by 1647 delegates from healthcare professionals coming from the Middle East region and all over the world. This webinar aimed to:
- Showcase different experiences of integrating pharmacy technicians into the healthcare systems in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Canada, US, and Malta.
- Explore the outcomes of starting Pharmacy Technicians academic programs (diplomas and bachelors).
- Evaluate the current status of the privileges given to the pharmacy technicians within the above countries.
The opening remarks event was delivered by Prof. Sherief Khalifa, the Dean of GMU College of Pharmacy and Vice Chancellor for Quality and Institutional Effectiveness. The event was moderated by Dr. Ahmad El Ouweini, clinical lecturer and critical care clinical pharmacist and preceptor at Thumbay University Hospital. Additionally, Dr. Juny Sebastian, a clinical assistant professor and the director of Diploma in Pharmacy Technician program at the College of Pharmacy at GMU, presented on “Pharmacy Technicians in the UAE and a New Era in Training.” Dr. Juny discussed the Current landscape of pharmacy technician in the UAE, the development of the GMU’s Diploma in Pharmacy technician program, and the GMU experience with its first cohort of this program.
