““Are you the student come from Taiwan?” A woman who wears abaya asked me this question.
“Yeah, I Am.” I replied, giving my name card to her with cautious.
“It’s great to meet you! Please follow me.” I followed her step, and the visit to Pharmacy College at Qatar University began.



(The beginning)

I could still remember the feeling and the timing when I sent my proposal to Pharmacy College at Qatar University. It was in May and I was still on the way to prepare the trip to Doha. The visit to Qatar University is one initiative that drew me to this country. Therefore, visiting school’s website became my routine, finding anything new on it could always be interesting.

While I was waiting in the office, I observed the surrounding and prepare the material for the meeting. The atmosphere here was serene but I a little bit nervous until the appearance of Ms. Alla.

“Ya hala. It’s great to meet you, Mr. Shih” Ms. Alla talked to me with a grim, which relieved my stress.

“Thank you for providing the opportunity for me to here!” I said. And, Ms. Ella started to introduce the history of the school to me.

Pharmacy College at Qatar University was founded in 2007, which is the first and the only pharmacy college in Qatar. The school also is the first and only international program to be awarded full accreditation status by CCAPP (Canada). CCAPP is the sole pharmacy program accreditation agency in Canada. Therefore, for this young and new college, the accreditation is the symbol of excellency and quality education.

Ms. Alla then talked about the academic programs. Now three approved academic programs are provided to meet the needs of professional skills. They are Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy (BSc (Pharm)) degree program; Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) degree program and the; Master of Sciences (MSc (Pharm)) degree program.

In the near future, the school planned to launch PhD programs and expand the scale the school. (Now only 25 female student maximum in each grade) Although the school is small, they provide a variety of curriculums for student to the field of pharmacy. “Clinical pharmacy” is the core of the curriculum. Therefore, students are required to get internship in real work places (e.g. hospital, Drug Company) in their academic years.

This is quite different from the courses in Taiwan, where we usually have rotations in the last year of college life. Clinical pharmacy for us still is a new idea. But in this place, clinical pharmacist has become more prevalent and provides professional consultation to the patients.



(The first meet with the dean, Dr. Ayman El-Kadi )

After getting some concepts of the school, Ms. Ella led me to meet the dean of the college, Dr. Ayman El-Kadi. Dr. El-Kadi was a professor in the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Alberta since 2001 before he came to Qatar University. His research interests are in the areas of Pharmacology and Molecular and Environmental Toxicology.

The meeting with Dr. El-Kadi was pleasant. I shared my pharmacy life in Taiwan and the status of quo of Taiwan. To my surprise, Dr El-Kadi was familiar with Taiwan due to the experiences to China. He mentioned about the academic programs in Qatar University and analyzed the strength of the school. Although Pharmacy College at Qatar University is young and new, but the vibrancy of the collaboration with distinguished schools (e.g. University of South Carolina and Purdue University), has pushed this school into higher stage.



Afterwards, I was curious about the use of Chinese medicine in the country. It seems like the treatment is not common or prevalent here. Only a few clinics provide acupuncture or Chinese massage in Doha. Therefore, the potential of Chinese medicine in this area is high.

Dr. El- Kadi provided useful information about pharmacy in Qatar. In the discussion, I found differences between Qatar and Taiwan in many aspects. But one thing in common --- the positioning of pharmacists is changing, from dispensing drugs to become a professional consultant.

The field of pharmacy has been different, for student as I am, keeping learning is necessary. From Dr. El-Kadi’s encouragement, I think being a pharmacist is not only get one degree but being a good health care provider. There are still long way to go for me to be a pharmacist but learning never comes to end, and this is what I get from the meeting.



(Tour to the school)

“ How do you think of the meeting?” Ms. Tammy asked me.
“Pretty well, I cannot wait to find out more here” I said.
“OK, let’s go!” I followed Ms. Tammy’s step and started the tour.

Pharmacy College now located in the female science building in the campus. The College of Pharmacy building now is under constructing and expects to provide a pleasant environment for all members.



1. General information

We went upstairs, where is the main classroom area. Ms. Tammy showed me the photos of the activities. Because students in the school come from various countries, the blend of culture here is beyond my imagination. Besides, the amount of the students is small, which allows professor and students have close relationship.

While passing by the classroom, Ms. Tammy pointed at the camera on the ceiling to introduce the innovative teaching method --- Lecture Capture. Lecture Capture is that use of distance learning. Every class in Pharmacy College is recorded in the video clips for students to review after class. It’s especially useful for students whose mother tongue is not English.

Also, e-textbook is prevalent in the school. Students could find e-version of the textbook on the website, which breaks the barrier of time and distance of learning.
It is an eco-friendly proof as well.

Ms. Tammy also mentioned about other activities like white coat ceremonies, research nights. These are every year’s highlight and are grand in the school.

2. Clinical pharmacy Labs

During the tour, these two laboratories might be the most unforgettable places.

When I stepped into the first one, I said “wow” at the first glance. In the school, two laboratories are set up for class of clinical pharmacy. They were decorated as real drug store and wards in the hospital. It is also a classroom for SMSA class.

For students in the first grade, SMSA is a compulsory subject to take. SMSA (Structured Multi-Skill Assessment) is similar to PCE (Patient consulting Examination) in Taiwan. Students practice their skill of consulting with the patients, which is useful in their future career.

Because of my PCE experience in Taiwan, I am excited about to find the counterpart here in Qatar. Furthermore, the assessment in not limited to pharmacy student but also students in medical college. This is different from Taiwan. Every year Qatar University will hold competition of SMSA, as one measurement of clinical skills.

In another lab, which looks like a ward in the hospital, is also one classroom for clinical pharmacy. In the class, doctors, nurses and pharmacists will take part in, and the student will pretend as a patient lying on the bed. Medical simulation equipped students the must-have skill in the future. Through the experience, they would be able to face the challenges in the career.



3. Wet labs

Clinical pharmacy lab had already surprised me a lot. Therefore, I am thinking of whether wet labs could be as good as previous ones? But the answer is yes and they are far more than I expect.

In Qatar, cardio vascular disease, diabetes are huge problems. This might be the reason why I met lots of scientist in this area before I came to Qatar University. The first lab I visited also did related research. Two graduate students lead me to the lab and provided me some information of their research, which focused on cardio vascular disease prevention.





The next lab was mainly on polymeric drug delivery research. I was lucky to meet Dr. Somayeh Zamani, who is the Post Doctoral fellow working at of the lab. She explained her research, and gave me a framework of drug delivery, which was to find the appropriate substances to deliver the drugs. Although I only had some concepts to the topic, I got some points after Dr. Somayeh Zamani’s explanation.



The equipment in both labs is new and complete, providing the research team the best environment. Ms.Tammy told me that some labs take the grant from QNRF (Qatar National Research Foundation, one member of Qatar foundation). These show that the achievement are highly anticipated, dedicating to enhance the level of health in Qatar.

(The meeting with QPhus)

The meeting with QPhus( Qatar Pharmacy Undergraduate Society) was my last stop today. Actually I was excited about it because I could meet students in person, understanding more about real pharmacy education experience in Qatar.



Before starting the meeting, one student told me that she enjoyed Taiwanese movies. I was delighted and show them one video clip of Taiwan, sceneries with Taiwanese folks. From their faces, I could feel they were surprised about the scenes, which were totally different from here.



During the discussion, although the academic programs are quite different, we could still found similarities in two systems. They had high interest of PCE in Taiwan as I first met SMSA in Qatar. One of them shared her experience to me, because she won the first prize in SMSA competition. School life in Taiwan also was a topic. Because their tight schedule, club life for them were unfamiliar but they were still participate in many activities. So, their life is still very colorful.






From their sharing, pharmacy life in the Middle East seems not as I imagine, which was more than great. The diversity of nationalities was one dominant reason. When I asked about their origins, they told me an unexpected answer--- most of them came from different countries. The blend of culture and the width of the scope are their strength, not to mention about their academic performance.



(A great experience)

“ I am grateful for the opportunity to be here!” After the meeting, I talked to Ms.Alla.
“ I am glad that you enjoy the tour.” Ms. Alla said.
“Of course I did!” My eyes were clear and determined

After saying goodbye to them, I stepped out the building and constantly thinking one thing --- what is the best pharmacy education? From this experience, I believe that Pharmacy College at Qatar University is a model of glocalization. It respects local culture while providing world-class curriculums. Every place could find the suitable one for them, and Doha finds the greatest one. The first encounter of pharmacy life in the Middle East truly means a lot to me. I am glad to get the opportunity to this promising college, which is a precious experience and truly expand my horizon.


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