By Kelechukwu Iruoma, UNN

NOT less than 27 new pharmacists trained by the University of Port Harcourt were inducted into the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria, PCN, at the third oath taking andinduction ceremony of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences held on Friday at the Ebitim Benigo Auditorium.

Presenting the inductees to the Council, the Vice-Chancellor of the University, Professor Joseph Ajienka congratulated them for meeting the stringent requirements specified by the Senate of the University for award of the Bachelor of Pharmacy degree, which qualified them to obtain provisional licence of the Pharmacist Council of Nigeria.

He however charged the inductees to be worthy ambassadors of the University by striving towards the ideal of diligence and excellence in service delivery to humanity as well as ensure that the best industry practices are maintained at all times.

In his keynote address titled Pharmaceutical Care: a Paradigm Shift, Professor Azuka Opara of the University of Benin, who revealed that drug related problems posed serious challenge all over the world, disclosed that the problems were however preventable with the right attitude from practitioners through quality pharmacy education, competency-based training and proper care-giving service to patients.

Speaking before formally inducting the graduands, new Registrar of the Council, Mr. Elijah Mohammed, who also congratulated them for completing the first phase of their pharmacy training advised the new pharmacists to get themselves acquainted properly with the code of ethics which prescribed professional and moral responsibilities to the patients and other care-givers in the health sector, stating that strict compliance to the code of ethics is indispensable for practice of the pharmacy profession.