December 2017 | Taiwan
In a bid to internationalize its academic degree program, the College of Pharmacy of Our Lady of Fatima University conducted an academic visit to, as well as, benchmarking activities at the Kaohsiung Medical University (KMU) AND THE Kaohsiung Municipal Siaogang Hospital (KMSH) in Kaohsiu
In its efforts to expand the internationalization endeavors of its academic degree program, Our Lady of Fatima University – College of Pharmacy embarked on academic visit and benchmarking activities at the Kaohsiung Medical University (KMU) and Kaohsiung Municipal Siaogang Hospital (KMSH) in Kaohsiung, Taiwan last December 11-13, 2017.
Being a well-known private medical university in Southern Taiwan, the KMU offers a wide range of programs including Pharmacy. It has received multiple awards for its excellence in the areas of administration, education and consultation, research, and extension education. Also associated with several major research centers and networks, KMU is bolstered by research partnerships with many universities across other countries. In the Philippines alone, the said institution has already forged linkages with the University of the Philippines and the University of Sto. Tomas.
On the other hand, the KMU-managed, 496-bed capacity Kaohsiung Municipal Siaogang Hospital (KMSH) specializes in environmental and occupational medicine, tropical medicine, emergency and critical care medicine, and community medicine. Further, this private hospital boasts of a Health Management Center, a Cancer Treatment Center and an International Medical Center.
The visit of OLFU’s College of Pharmacy to these Taiwanese learning institutions aims to identify best practices in the areas of instruction and practical laboratory, and to observe their facilities and operations. OLFU was represented by Pharmacy Dean Olive M. de Vera, Program Head Juneve F. Tejada, and Faculty Members Rizza A. Caluag and Jasper Cayanga. Assisted by the International Relations Office of KMU and the KMSH, the OLFU delegation specifically visited the university’s School of Pharmacy, and the hospital’s Pharmacy Department.
KMU Professor Jih-Heng Li facilitated an orientation on their university’s School of Pharmacy— its curricular offerings, departments, instruction, research and internationalization. In counterpoint, Dean de Vera touched on the same aspects in relation to OLFU’s own College of Pharmacy. Part of the conversation involved OLFU’s intention to draft a linkage and partnership agreement for future collaborative undertakings in instruction and research, including sending faculty members to Taiwan for post-graduate studies and training.
The Taiwanese hosts also gave the OLFU delegation a tour of the laboratory and research facilities of KMU’s School of Pharmacy, as well as the KMSH Pharmacy Department which is comprised of five units, namely: the In-Patient Dispensing Unit, the OPD Pharmacy, the Chinese Herb Pharmacy, the Cancer Chemotherapy Unit, and the Drugs Storage Room. This enabled the OLFU contingent to get a better grasp of new trends and updates in terms of applied technology in various fields of Pharmacy.
The fruitful outcome of the activities is an offshoot of support from OLFU’s Admninistration, the Center for Professional Development and Academic Partnerships (CPDAP), and the efforts of OLFU’s Chinese Coordinator, Dr. Michael Lin.
