To get a picture of what is happening in the way we practice pharmacy, I have been encouraging pharmacy students to write about their internship experience. Early this year, I finally got one from among our long-term interns. She had her short-term internship in another hospital and this is what she wrote:

I am a student of (name of school)... I have chosen (name of hospital) as my hospital minor internship expecting that... it would expose me to various cases that entails the application of my knowledge in pharmacy. Unfortunately, I was disappointed.

From our university, they accepted 20 students to have their internship, aside from students in other universities. In my perception, the number of students is not a question if only the pharmacy could accommodate all of us, but it seems that the large number of students would not purposely teach us but instead formed a crowd and hindrance inside the pharmacy.

Our major daily activity was to [dispose of] expired donated drugs. I agree that it was part of the proper disposal and management of drugs, however bulk of expired medicines were disposed due to their control of dispensing of these medicines. As I observed, there are drugs that are still available and yet they told the patients that they have none and should buy the medicines outside. This system of dispensing could be the cause of bulk of medicines stored, disposed and did not serve its purpose.

Once I was assigned [to] a night shift from 6 PM to 6 AM. The pharmacy [was] open 24 hours daily but the pharmacists on duty did not attend to [their]... responsibility by sleeping after 10 o'clock. As a result, the students could creep easily outside the pharmacy... [non-pharmacy personnel could get inside and may [steal] items that [may be] used [for purposes] unknown to me.

The issues [that arise] from the things I mentioned above are only part of my experiences in the said hospital but as I have talked to students from [another] university who were interns prior to my stay, said that there was a case that they were asked to erase the expiry date and dispensed it to patients. I understand, a six months allowance of the real expiry date is acceptable but I [am] opposed to the idea that the patients are not receiving the proper medication they needed.*

... I am [concerned] with [the] succeeding batch [of interns] that would experience these things. Supposedly, the ideal practice [taught] in... school should be the system in the field of work. [Although], I could not blame if in the... hospital like (name of hospital), cases like this happen because I know it could be lack of fund in the part of our government. However, there are news I received from my schoolmates that other hospitals have common idea about the internship, that we are tasked to clean the pharmacy, buy them favors to earn the hours we need and enclosed to clerical works than learn the pharmacist's responsibilities.

I am appealing not for my personal interest but for the succeeding students and future pharmacists and for the patients who could [hardly] buy medicines but [were victims] of [self-interest] of higher intellegence.

I would like to [address] this problem for the upliftment of our pharmacy course [and] to be known as part of the health care team and to improve the quality of pharmacists here in our country.

As a student, I have already talked to our internship [coordinators] about this issue and they agree not to recommend the said hospital for internship. They can only monitor the activities of the student through activity reports as always but I guess the problem [is] deeply rooted from the pharmacists today that tolerated the students not to learn the essence of discipline in the field of work.

I am blessed that I have been accepted as an intern in your institution... I hope other hospitals have the same internship program, have the same concern and appreciation to interns and the same protection of the welfare and interest to our course.

_________________

pinoypharmacist's note:

* The Bureau of Food and Drugs has already issued BFAD Advisory No. 00-04 dated May 10, 2000 "Warning against Dispensing Expired Drugs." For the full text of the Advisory, visit the BFAD website at www.bfad.gov.ph