EPSA Annual Reception publication - Koon Hei Li (Arthur)

Eye-opening, inspiring and motivational are the three adjectives I would use to conclude the Annual Reception which is hosted by the European Pharmaceutical Students’ Association (EPSA) every year in Brussels, Belgium. Annual Reception is one of the four flagship events organised by EPSA each year where reputational professionals in the pharmacy profession are invited to a panel discussing and sharing their opinions on a trending pharmacy topic. This year, the topic was “Transforming Health Education: A European Strategy” where member of the European Parliament, Irena Joveva, and directors of health-related European Commissions were invited to be panellists of the discussion. It is  very inspiring when European leaders in our profession are sharing their ideas and opinions on what they think would be good attributes and skills for future pharmacists and hence what could be altered in the current training framework. 

This is the first time I attended an international pharmacy event. I remember how nervous I was at the start of the event. Will I understand the content? Did I come prepared? Do I fit in? These questions were lingering in my mind. However as soon as the event started and speakers started talking about their opinions, I realised the above worries were just overthinking. Not only were they easy to understand, but also provocative. There was this collective idea from the panel about standardisation of European pharmacy education which led me to question the feasibility. I thought about the French guideline update at the start of COVID-19 in which NSAIDs such as ibuprofen are not recommended due to higher complication rate while NICE rejected the claim. This made me think back to  whether standardisation of pharmacy education would work since different countries have their colloquial health guide which impacted the way pharmacists are trained. With all my courage, I raised this question to the panel during the discussion session. This caught the attention of president of the European Association of Faculties of Pharmacy (EAFP) Lilian M Azzopardi where she answered my question directly. The answer was in-depth and insightful. 

Apart from the academic side, the Annual Reception was also a fantastic place to meet European students from their respective countries and share our ideas and passion on pharmacy. Some even approached me to discuss the above question I have raised. 

I want to thank the EPSA team for hosting such a fabulous event for like-minded future pharmacists to gather and share the passion for our profession. I would like to thank the BPSA for granting me the Travel Fund for this event. The financial support has meant a lot to all of us after a long period of time without face-to-face international pharmacy events. For those who are considering participating in international pharmacy events, EPSA Annual Reception is definitely a good place to start.