The silent struggle of pharmacy house officers in Ghana: A plea for our monies owed us to be paid

Read Comments Comments (4)

• Elikem 1 year ago

  Honestly, we are hungry and it's not even funny.
  6 months of wasted time at home post-graduation and 8 months of working with no clearance, where did we go wrong?

  Honestly, we are hungry and it's not even funny.
  6 months of wasted time at home post-graduation and 8 months of working with no clearance, where did we go wrong?

  reply
• FarmD 1 year ago

  You went wrong by thinking you are like medical students. Drop your self-important attitude, your leaders even know you're second fiddle to medical doctors and it shows in the hospitals.
  Now the real doctors want to be iden ...
  read full comment

  You went wrong by thinking you are like medical students. Drop your self-important attitude, your leaders even know you're second fiddle to medical doctors and it shows in the hospitals.
  Now the real doctors want to be identified as "doctor med" to be distinguished from PharmDs and this is as funny as it is sad.

  reply
• Daniel 1 year ago

  @FarmD, it is so sad that we're in 2024 and someone can be this ignorant!How long would it take you to realize that Pharmacists are professionals in their own regard. It is ignorant people like you who think that the health s ...
  read full comment

  @FarmD, it is so sad that we're in 2024 and someone can be this ignorant!How long would it take you to realize that Pharmacists are professionals in their own regard. It is ignorant people like you who think that the health sector is only for 'Medical Doctors'. Interestingly, the Doctors themselves know the importance of Pharmacists.Wallow in your ignorance but don't pollute others and certainly do not come crying when you start dying from medication errors and stuff because you did not even know the essence of pharmacists in the health sector. These young ones are being treated unfairly and instead of you to add your voice to stop this, you are here drawing comparison where none exists. Sad, just sad!

  reply
• True Talk 1 year ago

  I am a PharmD myself but truth need be told.
  
  1.The whole 6-year curriculum is trash, and extremely little if anything has been done by way of amendment. You go to school and more than half the syllabus is stuff you would n ...
  read full comment

  I am a PharmD myself but truth need be told.
  
  1.The whole 6-year curriculum is trash, and extremely little if anything has been done by way of amendment. You go to school and more than half the syllabus is stuff you would never ever apply in practice. On the one hand, they claim the focus of the PharmD is clinical pharmacy. On the other hand, they insist that the pharmacy is so broad and varied that our training does not limit us. I say this is mere rhetoric. The true worth of the PharmD is clinical pharmacy indeed. So, for those who are not exactly interested in that field of pharmacy it is a waste of time because you would need to retrain to specialise. If so revert to the 4 years and let the PharmD target clinically-oriented minds. The BPharm worked just fine.
  In other jurisdictions and for other disciplines, after six years of study you come out as a specialist in a specific area of practice. This is the way to go.
  
  2. Your leaders don't respect students. Rx 2022 got "punished" for protesting their legitimate right to fair and timely remuneration by incurring a delay of 6-7 months. So, Rx 23 have become cowardly bastards sitting around for Pharmacy Council (utterly incompetent and dishonest folk) to honour their promises. They said Rx 23 would start by January, March is almost over now. Brethren, you are not starting housemanship until September! Forget the April/June talk and find serious employment for your own sanity. They most likely want to return to the normal timing of housemanship. I am tempted to say that because Council has majority of its members belonging the B.Pharm era, they are not 100% in touch with the reality of the PharmD and this is also causing problems.
  
  3. Look at the stress involved and the money required for registration for housemanship. They wouldn't pay you when you begin housemanship plus you have not officially started working but you yourselves know how much payment you made in total for registration. I can hardly see how that makes any sense. Charging students that much and coupled with the poverty of communication makes the whole process appear corrupt.
  
  4. Even your lecturers know that the hype around PharmD is a facade. Why is it that the majority of their kids read medicine instead? If you know you know. Unless you're really passionate about pharmacy or other discipline, if you want to work in health (in Ghana), you best be a doctor.
  
  5. More and more education and policy framework is needed for people to understand the true value or equivalence of a Doctor of Pharmacy qualification. Many people think it is a PhD. Others think we are different types of "medical doctors".
  
  Conclusion: It is time to clean our house to earn the respect we expect. Students, demand accountability now! Make yourselves heard. Rx 23 the onus lies on you. You don't deserve to be kept in the dark any longer, demand answers. Otherwise, nothing will change and subsequent batches will similar or worse suffer ill-treatment. Don't forget that this problem with remuneration of housemen began at least 3 years ago and is getting worse.

  reply