History

Proposals to develop a Faculty of Pharmacy were circulated at Kuwait University as early as 1972. However, it was not until February 3, 1996, that the Amiri Decree establishing the faculty was officially published. The faculty accepted its first class of 32 full-time students into the first year of the program in September 1997. The first batch of students graduated in 2002 and so far, 337 students have successfully completed the program and have been awarded the Bachelor’s degree of Pharmacy (BPharm) from the faculty. The faculty offers a five year program, most graduates of the program go on to serve at the Ministry of Health as professional pharmacists.

The faculty has four established departments with appointed chairmen; the department of Pharmacy Practice, Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Pharmaceutics and Applied Therapeutics. All four departments of the faculty are striving for excellence in teaching and practical training. The curriculum is continuously monitored, and revised if necessary, so as to produce professionally competent pharmacists. In addition, the Ministry of Health (MOH) is continuing its support by deputing its pharmacists in supervising compounding, dispensing and clinical practical sessions. Further, both the physician- and pharmacist-preceptors of MOH are actively supporting the training programs of our pharmacy students in various polyclinics and hospitals throughout Kuwait.

Features of FOP Strategic Plan 2009/2010

Approval of PharmD (Clinical Pharmacy) Program

The Kuwait University has approved the implementation of PharmD program at the FOP to improve and upgrade the quality of pharmacy learning to international standards. The program is expected to be effective in September 2011. It is a two year program aimed at equipping pharmacists with optimal clinical skills and knowledge to improve patient care in Kuwait. The first year of this program will be mostly didactic in nature, whereas the second year of the program involves hospital placements focusing in different therapeutic areas (clerkships). The total credit hours of this program over two years are 56 credits with 36 being allocated to the didactic courses. The didactic courses include foundational courses such as clinical pharmacokinetics, physical and chemical assessments, evidence-base pharmacy practice, social and behavioral pharmacy, and advanced pharmacotherapy modules. The admission will be limited initially to graduates from the Faculty of Pharmacy and then will be expanded to allow pharmacists who graduate from foreign schools of Pharmacy. The admission capacity during the first five years is not likely to exceed 12 students. The admission criteria will be based on a good GPA score of at least 3 and other aspects such as knowledge and level of practice assessed via a two day workshops held by the Faculty of Pharmacy before the start of the program. The FOP is in the process of establishing the clinical pharmacy department and hiring clinical academic and support staffs to run the PharmD program.

Development of Master Program Curriculum

In addition to PharmD program, the FOP is planning to establish the Master program in Pharmaceutical Sciences with specialty in either pharmaceutical chemistry, pharmaceutics or applied therapeutics. The MSc committee has suggested the admission criteria and established the MSc curriculum, course contents and descriptions. The final draft of MSc proposal has been completed and will be forwarded to the departments for discussion before submission to the Faculty council for approval. The MSc program is expected to be effective in the academic year 2011/2012. This program will be the first multidisciplinary graduate program in Pharmaceutical Sciences in Kuwait. The program is structured to prepare highly educated and specialized pharmacists, who are able to actively contribute to different pharmaceutical fields in Kuwait. The program is directed towards pharmacists who are interested to promote their education and skills. The graduated students should successfully complete 21 credits course work (compulsory and elective courses) and non-credited research thesis. The Master degree will be awarded in Pharmaceutical Sciences with a specialty in either pharmaceutical chemistry, pharmaceutics or pharmacology/ therapeutics.

Continual Improvement of Teaching Skills

The faculty strongly stresses the improvement of the teaching abilities and skills of the academic staffs, especially the new academic staffs, by encouraging them to attend educational workshops organized by Kuwait University. Moreover, the Faculty encourages the staffs to use recent teaching methods such as e-learning for teaching students.

Continual Improvement of Research

The faculty continuously supports the research activities, encourages staffs to apply for research grants and urges researchers to publish their research in well-recognised journals, conferences and symposia. In 2009/2010 the Faculty members participated in more than 20 scientific missions at international level. There is an intra- and inter-departmental collaboration among the Faculty members within and outside Kuwait. Academic staff publish results of their research in international scientific journals. Additionally, academic staff are serving as the members of the Editorial Board of reputed scientific journals such as the International Journal of Immunopathology and Pharmacology (Italy), European Journal of Inflammation (Italy), Archives of Medical Research (Mexico City), Inflammopharmacology (UK) and Medical Principles and Practice (Kuwait). Academic staff delivered several invited lectures during the period of report and served as reviewers for manuscripts submitted to many international scientific journals. The faculty continues to regularly publish its Kuwait Pharmacy Bulletin.

Continual Improvement of Community Services

In the course of continual education (CE) program, the faculty strongly encourages collaboration with Kuwait Institute for Medical Specialists (KIMS) and Kuwait Pharmaceutical Association (KPA), to organize workshops or to deliver lectures related to pharmacy profession, to update the pharmacist’s knowledge. The Faculty also, encourages staff members to use their expertise to provide community services such as newborn screening and pharmacokinetics consultation services. As a part of FOP activity, the Faculty organized the 3rd Kuwait International Pharmacy Conference (3rd KIPC) in February 2011. The theme of the conference was (Medication Safety). International speakers were invited in addition to well-recognised regional and local speakers. Several specialty areas were covered in the conference such as; clinical pharmacy, pharmaceutical care, pharmaceutical technology and others. Recently, the “Office of Consultation, Studies and Training” has been approved by the Kuwait University to provide the pharmaceutical and clinical consultation services to different healthcare sectors in Kuwait. A consultation office’s board representing the different departments at the faculty will be established to supervise and follow up the consultation office’s activities.