Dr. Muhammad Mahtab Hossain Mazed

Today is Wednesday, September 25. World Pharmacists Day 2024 It has been celebrated since 2010. Although it took another 4 years for it to happen in Bangladesh, that is, it is being celebrated in Bangladesh since 2014The first executive meeting of the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) was held on September 25, 1912 in the city of The Hague, Netherlands, so September 25 was declared as the World Pharmacist Day at the Istanbul Conference held in 2009 under the initiative of the International Pharmaceutical Federation. The following year i.e. from 2010, this day is being celebrated all over the world. Pharmacists from all over the world celebrate with the member organizations of FIP.

And in Bangladesh in 2014, the pharmacy department of a private university celebrated this day for the first time. Since then every year every university pharmacy department, various pharmaceuticals, drug administration department and various pharmacy professional organizations have enthusiastically held rallies and voluntary blood donation programs, seminars and various public awareness activities in major departmental and district cities including DhakaThe day is being observed regularly.And before this there was no special day to celebrate pharmacists worldwide. There are still different opinions about pharmacists among marginalized people. Most of the people in our country think that pharmacist means medicine seller. What is the role of pharmacists? Basically a drug dealer is a pharmacy technician, where a 3 month course gets a certificate as a pharmacy technician. But if we consider the context of our country, there is a difference here too.

In our country, people working in various professions learn to work in a drug store for 3-4 months, that is, they learn the work of selling drugs and become pharmacy technicians. In addition to the sale of medicines in some drug stores, first aid work is also carried out. Again, some of the vendors themselves are giving medicines for various diseases without considering the health aspect after hearing about the disease, the patients are also willingly accepting the service. They are going from the practical concept of selling medicine for 3-4 months to common people as pharmacists! Basically the lack of awareness on both sides has worked here.

To give an example, the saying goes 'If a doctor makes a mistake, a patient will die, but if a pharmacist makes a mistake, the nation will lose a large number.'' Ensure use. The story of health and beautiful life of thousands of people is indirectly created by the hands of a pharmacist. But how many of us know the story of a pharmacist? If you know how much?

A graduate pharmacist is determined to work for the country. A pharmacist is the man who prepares himself to go into pharmaceuticals before the sun rises in the sky. The man who pushed through the foggy winter morning to reach the pharmaceuticals at the appointed time is a pharmacist. The battle of his life starts from the appointed time starting from protecting himself.

After working for a long time, sometimes there is no chance to see the sun for overtime, but the goal is the same, to create funny stories of sick people with all their efforts for the people of the country. The numerous realities of a pharmacist's life are being created every day. Pharmacists who give life to medicines are not only making medicines, they are also delivering medicine services from remote to remote areas. Yet their honor is not fulfilled. A pharmacist does not get proper evaluation.

The industrial main responsibility of a graduate pharmacist is drug preparation. But the scope of a graduate pharmacist is definitely not limited here. Let's shed some light on the need for pharmacists in other sectors of pharmacy. Apart from the industrial duties of pharmacists one of the most important duties is to manage the hospital pharmacy. The patient will come to the doctor for treatment after being ill, the doctor will give the medicine after considering the disease and consulting the pharmacist.

Otherwise, it is difficult to determine what dosage of medication is appropriate for the patient, what the side effects may be. In health care, it is the right way to treat a patient with a combination of doctors, pharmacists, nurses and technologists. But in our country medical care is provided by doctors, nurses and technologists but there is no coordination with pharmacists. Graduate pharmacists are neglected in this regard.

A patient is likely to develop various physical complications due to a lack of understanding of drug dosage or side effects. In the current medical care, the nurse performs the duties after the doctor. Of course, it is never possible or intended for a nurse to diagnose drug toxicity. So pharmacists cannot be thought of as substitutes in considering the quality of medicines.

The context of our country is no different. Few people know that pharmacists have a versatile field beyond this. The country is moving forward, now is the time to know a little more in detail. Those who pass B Pharm (Bachelor of Pharmacy) from any public or private university pharmacy department are called Graduate Pharmacists or A-Grade Pharmacists.

These pharmacists are given A-Grade Pharmacist Registration Number from Pharmacy Council of Bangladesh, which is required for further career and is very important in many casesAnd we know very well, for a better life, for a prosperous nation, we want healthy and flexible people, we want intelligent, enlightened people. Staying healthy is essential for a beautiful and healthy life. Among the endless demands of life, health is the first demand. One of the basic human needs is health care.

According to Article 15(a) of the Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh in 1972, by identifying health care as one of the tasks of the state, it is one of the basic responsibilities of the state to provide the basic materials of life and according to article 18(1), it is the state's responsibility to improve the nutritional level of the people and improve public healthRecognized as one of the primary duties.At present, the health care that people are getting in the public and private sectors in the country needs to be improved in terms of range and quality. The motto of the National Health Policy 2011 was 'Ensure primary health and emergency medical care for all'. After Bangladesh's independence, pharmacy was recognized as a profession and pharmacists were recognized as professionals by promulgating the Pharmacy Ordinance. Just as the role of doctors and nurses in healthcare is immense, the role of graduate pharmacist in healthcare is also essential to ensure drug preservation, quality, correct drug selection and rational use of drugs.

Graduate pharmacists work in the pharmaceutical industry (manufacturing, quality control, quality assurance, research and development, marketing, production planning, dispensing, regulatory affairs, business development and export) in government agencies, private hospitals, community pharmacies and educational institutions with their professional skillsgoingNotable among them is the radical change in the development of the pharmaceutical industry. At present, 98 percent of the medicines required by the country are produced in the country and exported to 182 countries. Currently, graduate pharmacists are playing a significant role in major pharmaceutical companies of the countryAnd we |Currently pharmaceutical industry in Bangladesh is in a good position. According to a survey, the country currently produces drugs worth about Tk 200 crore. Which is capable of meeting 98 percent of the drug demand within the country. Pharmacists are the biggest contributors to the growth of this industry. Pharmacists alone can bring the term self-sufficient to the pharmaceutical industry of a country. A-grade pharmacists make the biggest contribution to this pharmaceutical industry. If we compare the position of A-grade pharmacists in Bangladesh with the developed world, we can see that their position in Bangladesh is very insignificant compared to those countries.

In the developed world, A-grade pharmacists advise and advise MBBS doctors as well as medicines on patient healthcare and treatment. But A-grade pharmacists are rarely seen in these fields in Bangladesh. Most of the A-grade pharmacists in this country are found working in drug factories. At present, pharmacy is taught in a total of 41 universities, including public and private universities, and about 4,000 graduate pharmacists pass out from there every year. A large number of them work in the pharmaceutical industry, while the rest switch to other professions or remain unemployed. Employing graduate pharmacists in hospital pharmacy services, clinical pharmacy services and retail pharmacy services will improve the health system.

Finally, I would like to say that the life of this great work is the pharmacist brothers and sistersA pharmacist's career is not only in drug manufacturing companies but also drug research work, drug quality control through drug administration, work in the public health sector and even being an entrepreneur of a model pharmacy or model medicine shop. The health of the majority of patients in the country depends on the hard work and honesty of the pharmacist brothers and sisters. Governments, development partners, donor agencies are all geared up to bring improved medicine services to the masses. But this campaign will be successful only when the pharmacists come forward as the spearhead of the movement for improved drug services - to deliver safe drug services to the country and people, this great movement will succeed, that is what is desiredAnd today on World Pharmacist Day, I want to say one thing - graduate pharmacists must be valued to spread global health care and ensure a complete health system. Their knowledge, education and skills will take the pharmaceutical sector of this country to the top of development, as well as global health care will be spread everywhere. And this is the aim and purpose of World Pharmacists Day.

The writer is a, columnist and researcher Founder Chairman,Jatiya Rogi Kallyan Society