UKZN Pharmacy

UKZN Pharmacy, The Discipline of Pharmaceutical Sciences’ core function is the training of pharmacists to competently practice in all spheres of Pharmacy, i.e., community/retail, hospital, industry, Pharmacy education and training/ academia and pharmaceutical research and development.
Pharmacy is a dynamic profession where the pharmacist, through inculcated competence and skills during the Bachelor of Pharmacy degree and the Pharmacy internship, is committed to meeting the health care needs of all health seeking communities by being the:

• custodian of medicines;
• formulator, manufacturer, distributor and controller of safe, effective and quality medicine;
• advisor on the safe, rational and appropriate use of medicine;
• provider of essential clinical services including screening and referral services;
• provider of health care education and information;
• provider of pharmaceutical care by taking responsibility for the outcome of therapy and by being actively involved in the design, implementation and monitoring of pharmaceutical plans;
• provider of cost-effective and efficient pharmaceutical services. (South African Pharmacy Council)

Vision
The Discipline of Pharmaceutical Sciences envisions becoming the premier such discipline in South Africa and on the African continent.
Mission
A truly South African Discipline of Pharmaceutical Sciences that is academically excellent, innovative in research, critically engaged with society and demographically representative, redressing the disadvantages, inequalities and imbalances of the past. The discipline has as its core mission the the preparation of pharmacy and other health sciences graduates who are equipped to meet the present and future medicines-related health care needs of South Africa. Its Pharmacy graduates are equipped to practise in all spheres of the profession, including community, hospital, industry, academia and research and development, with a clear commitment to ethical practice and advancement of equity. Further it seeks to contribute locally applicable and globally relevant research, while also contributing to the delivery of essential healthcare services.
The mission and vision of The Discipline of Pharmaceutical Sciences are reflected in its objectives, which are:

• To produce pharmacy graduates who are prepared, in order to achieve optimal therapeutic outcomes, to  be responsible for the appropriate use of medicines and medical devices, the design of dosage forms, the compounding of medicines, and the provision of appropriate healthcare services.
• To produce pharmacy graduates who are prepared, in order to achieve optimal therapeutic outcomes, to  be responsible for the appropriate prescribing, administration or use of medicine, and the provision of appropriate healthcare service.
• To produce pharmacy and other health sciences graduates, who together with other members of the healthcare team, will take an active role in making appropriate therapeutic choices with patients, and who will assume responsibility for the empowerment of patients to achieve the desired outcomes of medicine and related therapies.
• To produce pharmacy graduates who will provide a comprehensive pharmaceutical health service, which includes preventive, promotive, curative and rehabilitative care, and which is relevant and appropriate to community served.
• To inculcate an ethical approach to all pharmacy and health sciences graduates, as well as an awareness of the patient and his/her illness in a holistic setting, including family and social relationships.
• To promote undergraduate and postgraduate research in the pharmaceutical sciences and relevant social sciences, which will, inter alia, ensure the provision of a more affordable, accessible and appropriate pharmaceutical health service to all South Africans.
• To encourage staff and students to contribute to pharmaceutical health planning and to the formulation of appropriate medicine policies.
• To offer continuing and supplementary pharmaceutical education programmes for pharmacists and other health personnel.
• To undertake an on-going process of curriculum review to ensure the relevance of the departmental academic programme to pharmacy and other health sciences students, to the pharmacy  and other health professions, to the community served, and to the country’s health and research needs.
• To foster the academic development of departmental staff and students.

Pharmacy is dynamic, information driven, product-and patient-orientated profession. In accordance with the requirements laid down by the South African Pharmacy Council, the Bachelor of Pharmacy degree is designed to produce healthcare professionals who are committed to meeting the pharmaceutical needs of all health seeking communities.
Pharmacists are responsible for distributing prescription drugs to patients and teaching them how to use their medication properly. They keep a careful watch on patients to make sure they are using their prescriptions properly.
They also advise doctors on the side effects, dosages, selection, and interactions of certain medication. Pharmacists have a good understanding of the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of each drug as well as the clinical effects and proper uses.