The 57th IPSF World Congress

Beberapa waktu yang lalu, kami, mahasiswa farmasi unpad,  yaitu Dinar Azzahra, Indah Saraswati, Intan Larasati, dan Putri Yanuastri berkesempatan untuk menghadiri dan mengikuti kongres berskala internasional yaitu Kongres Dunia IPSF ke-57 ( The 57th IPSF World Congress) sebagai official delegates mewakili BEM Kemafar Universitas Padjadjaran. Kongres dunia yang diadakan oleh International Pharmaceutical Student Federation (IPSF) ini memang menjadi acara tahunan yang setiap tahunnya diselenggarakan di negara yang berbeda-beda. Kali ini kongres dunia diselenggarakan di Hat Yai, Thailand tanggal 3-13 Agustus 2011 dan dilaksanakan oleh The Pharmacy Students’ Union of Thailand (setara dengan ISMAFARSI di Indonesia) setelah sebelumnya dilaksanakan di Slovenia.

Banyak hal bermanfaat yang didapat dari kongres dunia  ini. Selain menjadi ajang silaturahmi para mahasiswa farmasi dari seluruh dunia, acara ini juga menjadi wadah untuk bertukar informasi mengenai kemajuan dunia farmasi salah satunya kurikulum di berbagai negara sehingga memungkinkan para peserta untuk mengaplikasikan kemajuan tersebut di negaranya masing-masing dan tentu saja meningkatkan kemampuan berkomunikasi dalam bahasa inggris. Workshop dengan berbagai tema juga diadakan untuk menambah soft skill para peserta seperti kepemimpinan, tobacco awareness yang disusul dengan kampanye anti tembakau di sepanjang jalan Hat Yai, patient counselling dan clinical skill event, dan workshop yang mengulas dan mengevaluasi tentang beberapa jabatan di IPSF. Di tengah-tengah acara, diadakan pula kompetisi bagi para peserta yang tertarik mengikuti lomba patient counselling dan clinical skill event. Sebagai official delegates dari universitas padjadjaran, mereka juga diharuskan mengikuti General Assembly yang menjadi inti dari acara ini. Sebagaimana kongres pada umumnya, General Assembly membahas AD/ART IPSF. Selain itu juga, General Assembly memilih eksekutif IPSF baru, menetapkan negara penyelenggara selanjutnya, dan menerima anggota baru baik itu sebagai full member dan member in association. Bem Kemafar Universitas Padjadjaran sendiri sejak tahun 2005 menjadi member in association IPSF sehingga Bem Kemafar Unpad memiliki hak suara dalam General Assembly. Berbeda dengan full member yang memiliki baik itu hak suara dan hak pilih.

Pada akhirnya, kongres dunia ini telah menjadi jembatan bagi antarmahasiswa farmasi dari berbagai negara untuk bertukar informasi dan bekerja sama untuk meningkatkan kualitas farmasi baik skala nasional maupun internasional. Semoga dengan keterlibatan mahasiswa farmasi unpad dalam kongres dunia bisa dilanjutkan setiap tahunnya sehingga para mahasiswa bisa berperan aktif dalam kemajuan farmasi dunia dan semoga bem kemafar unpad bisa menjadi penyelenggara kongres dunia maupun regional di tahun-tahun selanjutnya.

(Laporan langsung oleh Dinar Azzahra, Indah Saraswati, Intan Larasati, dan Putri Yanuastri)

Few days ago, we, pharmaceutical students of Padjadjaran University, namely Dinar Azzahra, Indah Saraswati, Intan Larasati, and Putri Yanuastri had the opportunity to attend the international-scaled congress, The 57th IPSF World Congress as the official delegates representing BEM Kemafar Padjadjaran University. This world congress organized by International Pharmaceutical Student Federation (IPSF) is indeed the annual event held in different country on each year for IPSF members in worldwide. This time, the world congress took place in Hat Yai, Thailand from 3rd-13th August 2011 and co-hosted by The Pharmacy Students’ Union of Thailand (equivalent to ISMAFARSI in Indonesia) after previous year held in Slovenia.

There were a lot of beneficial things that participants could get from this congress. Not only becoming the event where the pharmaceutical students from around the world gathered, but also becoming the event to share information about pharmacy progress, ex. curriculum, in various countries so that the participants could possibly apply the progress in their own country and to improve communication skill in English as well. Workshops with various kind of themes were provided to enhance soft skills such as leadership, tobacco awareness followed with anti tobacco campaign along the Hat Yai road, patient counselling and clinical skill events, and workshop that reviewed, shared, and evaluated about some positions in IPSF for example student exchange officer.

(Live Reported by Dinar Azzahra, Indah Saraswati, Intan Larasati, dan Putri Yanuastri)
In the middle of the event, competitions for patient counselling and clinical skill were held for the participants who wanted to know how far their skills in handling patient and solving drug related problems in clinical practice were and also applied what they obtained in workshop before. As the official delegates of Padjadjaran University, we also had to attend the General Assembly which was the main core of the event. Just like any other congresses, General Assembly discussed about motions regarding to election of IPSF new executives, determination of new host for next world congress, and acceptance of new IPSF members as full member or member in association. Bem Kemafar Padjadjaran University itself has been becoming member in association since 2005 so that Bem Kemafar Unpad own a seat at General Assembly and speaking right, unlike with full members that own both of speaking and voting right. For Indonesia itself, full member is represented by ISMAFARSI. At the end of each day, committee provided such an interesting events to explore more about Thailand culture, cuisine, and place, also so many activities that united and encourage us to get along and hang out with friends from other countries in family and warm atmosphere, but the most interesting of all was the International night where 46 Indonesian delegates dressed up in various traditional costumes, batik, and kebaya and succeeded catching people attention so that we could explain more about Indonesian culture which they were interested in.

At last, the world congress has been bridging the pharmaceutical students from entire world to share knowledge and information, learn new things, and cooperate each other so that can improve the quality of pharmacy nationally and internationally and thus make a better the health welfare of human being. We certainly thank to Padjadjaran University, Faculty Pharmacy of Padjadjaran University, and Bank Indonesia that fully supported us in attending world congress. We do hope that the involvement of pharmaceutical students of Padjadjaran University in world congress could be continued every year so that students could take active roles in pharmacy progress in the world and also Bem Kemafar Unpad could be the host for world congress or regional symposium in upcoming years.