On 25 January the Estonian Academic Society of Pharmacy and BENU pharmacies issued scholarships to future pharmacists.
Thus the recognition was expressed to the work dedicated to improving the quality of treatment of cancer patients, as well as to research papers related to regular use of medicines and the role of sales representatives. The purpose of the scholarship is to motivate students to work and reflect on the development of their specialization.
This year the social pharmacy scholarships were awarded to three students studying at the University of Tartu to become pharmacists. The aim of the work of Triin Durejko was to develop a research methodology to investigate the facts of regular .jpg)
use of medicines by patients. Raili Loomets studied the effects that sales representatives have on the practice of pharmacies, while the work of Iti-Ingris Sei focused on raising the quality of care of patients with cancer and on the aspects related to side effects of drugs that treat cancer.
The head of the Institute of Pharmacy of University of Tartu Ain Raal said that highly practical research works of the students significantly support training of pharmacists and improve quality of service in pharmacies, which in turn leads to people having better health. “The very existence of such scholarship can only be welcomed. Thanks to it students may feel closely connected with specialization of their choice and experience recognition of their work. Using the scholarship we can motivate pharmacy students to deepen their study of the industry and to use research to introduce other students to the specialization and this benefits everyone,” said Raal.
The head of BENU pharmacy network Kaidi Kelt said that competent and motivated young pharmacists are welcome in all general pharmacies in Estonia, and that their research is valuable because it allows improving quality of services in pharmacies. “The interest of young people and a desire to participate in the development of the industry are very important. All works that received scholarships are very va.jpg)
luable – also from a practical point of view – and provide suggestions on how to develop the Estonian health care system and improve patient outcomes. We also highly value these works since they investigate how pharmaceutical companies can improve their internal processes and procedures for selection of personnel in order for visits of patients to pharmacies to become more informative and to improve overall service quality,” said Kelt.
Ain Raal adds that the Institute of Pharmacy of University of Tartu is the center of competence in this particular field, where practical experience is gained due to cooperation with companies operating in various market sectors which – along with BENU pharmacies – appreciate opinion of students regarding development of the industry.
In the past May the Estonian Academic Society of Pharmacy and BENU Apteek Eesti OÜ concluded the contract to establish a scholarship fund for promotion of research and scientific work in the field of social pharmacy. The size of grants for 2015/2016 academic year is 3,000 euros. The commission for awarding scholarships includes professor of the University of Tartu Jyrki Heinamäki, the head of the Institute of Pharmacy of University of Tartu Ain Raal, assistant professor Daisy Volmer and the head of BENU Apteek Eesti OÜ Kaidi Kelt.
