Dean Message

Dean Interview

Assalam o Alaikum!

My name is Professor Dr. Ejaz Ullah Cheema and I’m currently working as the Dean School of Pharmacy at the University of Management and Technology. Prior to joining the University of Management and Technology, I was working as the Program Director for the 5 years MPharm program at the University of Birmingham from September 2018 to September 2021. I graduated from the University of Punjab in the year 2002. I worked in the pharmaceutical industry in Islamabad for a year and then proceeded to the UK where I pursued my Master's in Pharmaceutical Services and Medicines Control from the University of Bradford. I did my Master's in the year 2004 and then did my Overseas Pharmacy Assessment Program which was a diploma program from Aston University in the UK. I also completed a year of training with Boots, one of the largest retailers in the UK and across the world. As pre-registration training, I worked as a registered Pharmacist and Pharmacy Manager for Boots for like 10 years in Birmingham in the UK. I also completed my Ph.D. from the University of Warwick in the area of Pharmacy Practice in 2015 and here I am at the University of Management and Technology.

Popularity of pharmacy:

The pharmacy profession has been one of the top three choices in the health care profession. As far as the Pakistan context is concerned it has been one of the top three choices for students but the latest surge in popularity probably can be explained by the recent legislation which has been enforced by the drug regulatory authority of Pakistan which allows pharmacists to be one of the major contributors in the health care industry, for example, the legislation requires every pharmacy to have a pharmacist on-premises. Secondly, pharmacists are now allowed to use the title “Doctor” as part of their title. As far as the hospital sector is concerned the legislation requires that for every 20 hospital beds there should be a pharmacist and that probably has sort of frozen the employability rate of pharmacists across Pakistan. So this explains why there has been a surge lately in the popularity of pharmacists and in pharmacy education.

Career options:

There are a number of career opportunities for pharmacists in Pakistan. If you talk about the local pharmaceutical industry which is one of the leading industries of Pakistan, which is not only catering to its local population but also exporting medications across the world including the middle east, including Africa. Pharmaceutical industry employees are a significant pharmacy workforce. More than 50 percent of pharmacists who are registered with the Pharmacy Council of Pakistan are working in the pharmaceutical industries where there is production, where there is quality assurance, where there is the procurement of medications, whether it’s quality assurance or quality control, pharmacy employees are working in all these different departments across the pharmaceutical industries. Secondly, if you talk about the hospital sector, the legislation requires pharmacists to be employed for every 20 hospital beds and there is currently new legislation which is in pipeline that proposes that pharmacists’ presence must be ensured for every 10 hospital beds which also employs a number of significant workforce of pharmacists. Thirdly in the retail sector, each and every pharmacy which is operating in Pakistan requires pharmacists to be present on the premises, so the retail and hospital pharmacy sector employs a significant workforce of pharmacists. Then pharmacists are working with the drug regulatory authorities in the regulatory affairs. Fifthly, pharmacists are working in the marketing and sales and the academia sector. So, there are a number of career options for pharmacists.

Global comparison:

Abroad pharmacists are currently working as key players as far as the health care context is concerned. If you talk about the UK, pharmacists are not only on the front line of delivering patient care but are also now prescribing medications to patients in the primary care health centers, working alongside general physicians and dental practitioners and prescribing medications. In the UK pharmacists are delivering a number of services, whether it be medication management services, whether they are hospital services and similarly is in Australia. The role of pharmacists has evolved significantly over the last two decades. In line with the new legislation which is being enforced, implemented and introduced by the drug regulatory authority of Pakistan is sort of mimicking the model which requires pharmacists to be involved in the delivery of patient-centered care. For example, the engagement of pharmacists in the hospital sector for every 20 beds. Similarly, in the retail sector, pharmacists should be present in the pharmacies. So, I am optimistic about the wider engagement of pharmacists in the next 10 years or so where pharmacists will be hoping to deliver much more patient-centered care actually and play a significant role in the delivery of patient care.

Females in Pharmacy:

The healthcare profession, in particular, in Pakistan and pharmacy seems to be a popular choice for the female graduates and female staff and the female staff is actively working in the healthcare profession whether it’s the hospitals, whether it’s the pharmaceutical industries, whether it’s the retail pharmacy outlets and that gives reassurance to the future female students that are in Pakistan. I would encourage our female students to actively apply to the pharmacy program rest assured you will be looked after in our School of Pharmacy.

About UMT School of pharmacy:

Firstly, the University of Management and Technology, Lahore is one of the leading academic institutions in Pakistan in the private sector. It is a chartered university under the government of Punjab and is also recognized by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan. As far as the School of pharmacy is concerned, we have a dedicated campus for the School of Pharmacy. We have very spacious, state-of-the-art and modern facilities, including our labs which are fully equipped with modern equipment, also our classrooms. We have over 2000 books for the students. Secondly, we have foreign qualified and experienced Dean supplemented with foreign qualified faculty. Thirdly we offer a very affordable and competitive fee structure for the students. Fourthly, given the change in the role of pharmacists in the world, we are committed to providing quality education to our students. We are also introducing new and innovative methods of teaching for example we will be employing problem-based learning in our pharmacy practice and clinical teaching. Also, we will be employing simulation-based learning, which has been introduced for the first time in Pakistan as well as the region which is a virtual pharmacy teaching tool that our students will be using across the five-year program. Also, we will be introducing inter-professional education which is about bringing the disciplines together and making them learn in a collaborative and conducive environment. Also, we have signed up collaborations with a number of pharmaceutical industries in Pakistan and in particular Lahore, also with certain leading hospitals in both the public and private sectors.

Pharmacists as quality:

The primary role of pharmacists is to ensure that the patients receive not only safe medications but effective medications. So, it’s the prime responsibility of pharmacists based on their knowledge and expertise in the medicines as well as their components. A pharmacist’s responsibility is to ensure that firstly the medication is safe both in terms of dosage and administration so they can collaborate with the prescriber to ensure that the patient is receiving the right medication with the right dose. Similarly, when it comes to non-drug treatment, the pharmacists can advise the patients about adopting a healthy lifestyle in accordance with their different ailments for example if it's cardiovascular issue, the pharmacists can advise how to take their diet properly and also about adopting an active and healthy lifestyle. Similarly, they can advise patients to take certain vitamins and certain supplements. So all in all its an important role for pharmacists to ensure that patients receive quality, safe and effective medications

Point for prospective:

The Doctor of Pharmacy program is a five-year focus program and we at the School of Pharmacy are very much committed to ensuring that our students maintain a strong focus on their studies while enjoying campus life. We very much look forward to welcoming our students to the School of Pharmacy.