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Caribbean Pharmacists Converge On Belize
posted (August 10, 2017)
Since yesterday, Pharmacists from all across the Caribbean have been in Belize. They're here to attend the 37th annual convention of the Caribbean Pharmacists' Association. It's an opportunity for the pharmacists to meet with their colleagues and tackle the shared problems in their profession.

This year, the convention is being held under the theme "Caribbean Pharmacists Contributing to Improved Health and Wellness of our Communities". The Umbrella organization is being hosted at the Raddison Hotel by the Pharmacist Association of Belize, and today, we stopped by to find out what they've been up to:

Marvin R. Smith, Pharm. D - President, Caribbean Association of Pharmacists
"We're really pleased to be here. We are the Caribbean Association of Pharmacists, and we are here with our hosts, this week, the Pharmacists Association of Belize. This is our 37th Annual Convention and Annual General Meeting, and this the 41st year of CAP being around. Our member states come from the entire English Speaking Caribbean, the Dutch countries, Curacao and Aruba. We have the countries of Central American, which is Belize, and then we have South America, Suriname and Guyana, and then all the way far up as Bermuda. We also have associate members from the UK, Canada, the United States of America, Latvia -So, they're all here, it's our time once a year, when come together to network, to exchange ideas, to have continuing education, and more importantly, to really spend the time on focusing on the direction that we want the advocacy of our national organizations, such as the Pharmacists Association of Belize, and us as the regional umbrella body, to advocate for the profession, the stakeholders, the decision makers, the policy makers"

"Standard and quality of medication, we want to make sure that our national associations are being advocates for quality medications in the marketplace. We have over 60 corporate partners, and one of the things we do is we screen them, and make sure that all of our partners meet international standards for their products, and we're proud to say that even here today, with the number of products that you see here, and the number of the companies, these are quality products by quality companies, so that's one of the issues. The second thing I think has to be access to pharmacy education. We want to make sure that at every stop within our body, our member states, that there is some level of pharmacy education available to locals. So, we're really pleased that we have come to Belize at the time when they are launching, the University of Belize is launching their bachelors program here."

"The third thing that is a real issue for us is the development and the establishment of quality ethics and professional standards. Pharmacy is a profession, and it's a profession that it's not just what you know, it's how you're able to serve the public. Patients who come in should be able to trust their pharmacists, trust their advice, trust their motives. It cannot just be about sell, sell sell the product. It has to be about health and wellness. Which is why our theme for this week is Caribbean Pharmacists being partners in improving the health and wellness of our communities. We want to make sure that we have healthy patients."

The Convention continues up until Sunday.

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