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Quality Policy

Quality Policy of the Department of Pharmacy

The Department of Pharmacy, in collaboration with the University Quality Assurance Unit (MODIP) and the relevant services of the University, has harmonized the Quality Policy of the Pharmacy Undergraduate Program (PUP) with the Quality Policy of the University of Patras.

The quality assurance policy of the Department of Pharmacy is in line with the University's quality policy and is formulated in a statement that is made public and is implemented with the involvement of all stakeholders. It aims to pursue specific objectives related to the quality assurance of the curricula offered by the academic unit.

The Department of Pharmacy is committed to the implementation a quality policy that supports the academic profile and orientation of the curriculum, promotes its aims and focus, implements its strategic goals and sets out the means and the ways of achieving them. The Department is committed to applying the appropriate quality assurance procedures, with the ultimate aim of continuous improvement.

In particular, in order to implement this policy, the Department is committed to the implementation of quality assurance procedures that will demonstrate:

  1. The appropriateness of the structure and organization of the curriculum
  2. The pursuit of learning outcomes and qualifications in accordance with the European and National Higher Education Qualifications Framework
  3. The promotion of the quality and the effectiveness of education (teaching)
  4. The appropriateness of the qualifications of the faculty (teaching staff)
  5. The promotion of the quality and output of the research work of the members of the academic unit
  6. The ways teaching is linked with research
  7. The level of demand for graduates' qualifications in the labor market
  8. The quality of support services, such as administrative services, libraries and student care services
  9. The conduct of the annual review and internal audit of the PUP quality assurance system as well as the cooperation of the departmental quality assurance unit (OMEA) with MODIP.

Vision / Mission of the Department of Pharmacy

Since its establishment (1977), the Department of Pharmacy has been training its students in the Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technology in order to enable them to meet the ever-changing demands and challenges in a global environment with efficiency, responsibility, integrity, cooperative spirit, respect and creativity. At the same time, it trains them to devise, assimilate and apply innovative approaches in research and in industrial production, to communicate their science, and to support the role of the Pharmaceutical profession in providing Primary Health Care, in promoting Public Health and in contributing to the manufacture, control, storage and disposal of pharmaceutical products in community pharmacies, in the pharmaceutical industry, in hospitals and via regulatory agencies.

The Mission of the Department of Pharmacy is therefore to: a) provide high quality education in the Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technology guided by Excellence and Ethics, in order to form the adequately-trained human capital that will serve Science and will staff the workplaces where pharmacists will be employed in the future, b) offer in-depth training in the current and novel directions of the pharmaceutical science and constantly adjust the PUP to them; c) conduct research in new fields of pharmaceutical science and contribute to its global progress, d) establish links with the labor market and the pharmacists' professional workplaces; and (e) contribute to the lifelong education (aka continuing education) of Pharmacy graduates.

To this end, the Department of Pharmacy promotes extroversion and efficient integration into the labor market through participation in international mobility programs (ERASMUS+) and by offering the opportunity to students to conduct an experimental (benchwork-based) Diploma Thesis and to participate to an internship program.These activities result in the acquisition of solid experience and professional skills. The Department of Pharmacy regularly provides information and training to its staff and students on the latest scientific developments through the organization of scientific conferences or the encouragement of their participation in such conferences, seminars and mobility programs, through invitations for lectures and collaborations with scientists of other Universities and Research Centers and specialists in specific scientific fields, etc. It also aims to produce and disseminate internal high-quality research work through participation in national and international research funding programs, collaboration with the private sector, publication in high-quality scientific journals, presentation by its members in conferences, etc.

The Aim of the undergraduate program of the Department of Pharmacy is to train the students in Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technology and to help them develop their laboratory/research skills in this broad area. Specifically, the PUP covers the in-depth study of the approved drugs and medicinal products, emphasizing their mechanism of action, effects, approved therapeutic use and adverse effects (Pharmacology, Pharmacotherapy, Toxicology), the optimization of their efficacy through the study of the genome of the patients (Pharmacogenomics), but also issues of Clinical Pharmacy, Pharmacy Practice, Promotion (Pharmaceutical Marketing) and Pharmacoeconomics. Furthermore, it exposes the students to the discovery of new molecular drug targets (Molecular Pharmacology) and the discovery of new lead compounds by design, synthesis and identification of their structure (Medicinal Chemistry, In silico Chemistry) or by identifying and isolating them from nature and then studying their action on the human or experimental animal tissues (Pharmacognosy, Pharmaceutical Biotechnology). In addition, it familiarizes students with the identification and quality control (purity, concentration and stability) of raw materials and of pharmaceuticals, galenic preparations and cosmetic products (Pharmaceutical Analysis, Physical Pharmacy). Finally, it trains them in formulation matters so that the preparations can be administered according to their therapeutic indication (Pharmaceutical Technology), as well as in the study of their fate (absorption, metabolism, distribution, excretion) in the human body (Biopharmaceutics, Pharmacokinetics).

The Strategic Goals of the Department are connected to those of the University and include:

  • Provide high-quality education, with a focus on student-centered learning, on the continuous upgrade of the PUP through the statutory annual revision process of the PUP and on the update and standardization of the academic functions by putting emphasis on Learning Outcomes.
    These expected Learning Outcomes include:
    • In-depth understanding of a broad variety of scientific concepts, principles and theories concerning the Pharmaceutical Sciences and adjacent scientific fields, such as Chemistry, Biology, Physiology and Anatomy
    • Ability to synthesize and render the above-alluded scientific concepts and knowledge in a succinct and clear manner
    • Acquisition of an ensemble of specialized knowledge and skills that together provide a unique ability to its graduates to continuously evolve professionally and to update their services, whether in the professional space of Community Pharmacies, state Hospital and private Clinic Pharmacies, Regulatory Agencies and state Health Insurance Agencies, Pharmaceutical Industry, Cosmetics Industry and last but not least, in the area of Research.
    • The acquisition by the students, via the Diploma Thesis work they all undertake, of significant skills, such as a) the ability to search, analyze and compare data and information by use of the appropriate technologies and sources, b) the capacity to synthesize information, by critically processing of published scientific data, c) the ability to transmit this synthetic, structured knowledge orally or in writing, and d) the ability of critical thought, including critical self-inspection. Especially through the Experimental (benchwork-based) Diploma Thesis, the program aims to teach the students laboratory skills, the ability to put together a written report and an oral presentation regarding the results of their work, the capacity of independent decision-making and, finally, the ability of autonomous critical analysis of the results of their work.
    • In addition, in the framework of "Pharmaceutical Care – Pharmacy Practice" the students are familiarized with a professional environment of high standards and expectations (practical training in a Community Pharmacy or a Hospital/Clinical Pharmacy), which teaches them significant skills and capabilities related to: a) the real-life, everyday function of a Pharmacy, b) the practical use, application and updating of knowledge and skills acquired in the previous years of their studies, c) contact and communication with patients and Pharmacy clients (interpersonal relation forging), d) exposure to the financial/technical organization of a Pharmacy, and e) the ability to deliver in an easily understandable and simple manner the use and effects of the pharmaceutical products they handle.
  • Improve the link to the labor market, to scientific associations and to the alumni of the Department.
  • Conduct high-level research based on world-wide scientific developments through the promotion of research collaborations and the exploitation and dissemination of results for the eventual benefit of the economy and society as a whole.
  • Promote and recognize excellence and innovation by encouraging, enabling and rewarding the achievements of members of the academic community in teaching and research.
  • Strengthen extroversion by fostering and promoting collaborations, networking and publicity actions. The PUP aims to strengthen the international presence of the Department, through the establishment of collaborations with foreign institutions as well as via comparison with foreign universities of similar size, aiming to promote the distinctions of the Department at the local, national and international level.
  • Increase the effectiveness of administrative procedures and the improvement of the Department's infrastructure

The quality assurance procedures listed in the University's Quality Policy are also applied at the Departmental level, with appropriate modifications. All Quality Assurance procedures of the Department of Pharmacy are subject to inspection and review, conducted annually by the OMEA in collaboration with the MODIP.

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