A group of students from the School of Pharmacy took a one-week study trip to Australia, visiting hospitals, community pharmacies and non-government organisations in addition to the University of South Australia
Dr. ShirLey and students in Australia
As a new way of learning and exploring pharmacy, culture and people, Dr. Tan Shir Ley (Associate Dean Int'l) took a group of students from the School of Pharmacy (SoP) to visit Adelaide (Australia). This was the first study trip organised in conjunction with the SoP international partner, the University of South Australia (UniSA).
The one-week study-trip exposed students to Adelaide’s hospitals, community pharmacies, non-governmental organisations (NGO) and also allowed students to immerse into the lectures and tutorials with UniSA students. Dr. Tan Shir Ley said “UniSA has a strong emphasis on practice-based learning, and has made significant investments in high-quality teaching facility such as their simulated hospital and on-campus clinics.
These facilities allows students to gain sufficient practical experience on how to deal with people in the community, and helps to better prepare them before working in a real-world clinical setting.” Taylor’s students also got to visit the Royal Adelaide Hospital. Its new building is deemed to be the third most expensive building in the world, and is equipped with Robotic Automatic Guided Vehicle and Dispensing Robot to deliver medicines, food, store and linen throughout the hospital.
The students also visited the National Pharmacy which is a community pharmacy that has installed automated dispensary technology. Such equipment significantly reduces prescription waiting times, and delivers better healthcare service to customers.
Given the focus on experiential learning, the students had the opportunity to gain some hands-on experiences during their visits to various Australian NGO's - such as the Sexual Health Information Networking Education (SHINE) and Arthritis South Australia.
Finally, there was the opportunity to visit tourist spots such as Hahndorf Village, Glenelg Beach, Cleland Wildlife Park and the Beerenberg strawberry farm. the School of Pharmacy will be offering this Adelaide study-trip again next year and recently entered into an articulation agreement with UniSA.
