A Nigerian EMU Pharmacy graduate narrates her Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Orientation Program Experience

FOREIGN PHARMACY GRADUATE ORIENTATION PROGRAM (FPGOP), AUGUST/SEPTEMBER, 2016

Hello everyone, I wish to share my experience at the just concluded FPGOP program in Sagamu with you all. I wish that it will be a means of preparing yourself for forthcoming ones as you graduate from school and return to Nigeria with the hope of practicing in Nigeria as a licensed pharmacist. This exam is regardless of age and qualification (MPharm, Pharm D, Bsc Pharm. etc)

The FPGOP program is a compulsory program for all Nigerian who trained abroad as a pharmacist. It's a continuous six weeks program comprising of class lectures, laboratory practices and clinical visitation on seven courses. The courses are Clinical pharmacy, Pharmacology, Pharmaceutical chemistry, Pharmaceutical microbiology, Pharmacy law also known as forensic pharmacy, Pharmacognosy, and Pharmaceutical technology.  It takes places in an approved schools of pharmacy in Nigeria to be decided by the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN). There are at the moment (year 2016) 17 approved schools of pharmacy in Nigeria. The FPGOP program year 2015 took place at UNN, Enugu, OOUTH, Sagamu Ogun state hosted for the year 2016, and the next one in 2017 will hopefully be in UNI-JOS. For now, the program takes place once in every year but the council is planning to have it twice a year. Interested students should be on the watch for a likely February, 2017 program.

Accommodation and feeding is the responsibility of individual applicant. There is no student hostel in OOUTH but the school made transport, hotel and lunch arrangement for interested students at discounted price. The first day of the program was for interview. There was a brief welcoming speech from the council and introduction of all the present Deans of approved schools of pharmacy in Nigeria and introduction of some council members especially those responsible for registration and internship program. Each student went for individual interview with a panel of three members. Questions were asked relating to pharmacy courses, your project or thesis topic and certificates and documents were also checked. The main aim of the interview was to confirm that applicant truly attended and graduated from school of pharmacy and didn't just present a fake certificate.

Classes commenced fully on the third day from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm but there are no lectures during weekends. We were made to buy a compiled lecture notes comprising all the courses (#10,000), Nigerian pharmacy law book (#2500) and laboratory manual for Pharmacognosy (#170), Chemistry, and Pharmaceutical technology (#500 each). We also had lab reports and assignment which are part of our assessment for the program. The method of lecture and lecture notes depends solely on the host university system because, I saw a copy of the lecture note used in UNN last year (sold for #20,000) but it was quite different from the one we used this year. How ever  the examination is based on what was taught during the program and will be set by the teachers who taught during the program. (So, notes are not transferable☺).

It's not compulsory to attend the program immediately after graduation however, the program is a prerequisite for you to be registered as a licensed pharmacist in Nigeria whenever you are ready to come back to practise in Nigeria. Those who have license in their country of study also have to attend the program but they will be exempted from the one year internship program. Those who have no license of practise in their country of training will have to go for induction at Abuja after successful completion of the FPGOP program and then start the one year internship program.

I have attached some sample questions from this year program however the exams consist of 100 MCQ and average of four essay type question to answer three.

Wish you all happy resumption, happy Nigeria week and a successful semester ahead.

Note that this is just my experience at OOUTH Sagamu, there might be slight difference in the ones conducted in other schools in subsequent years.

Pharm. Halimat Balogun

Contact Nigerian Association of Pharmacy Students Eastern Mediterranean University (NAPS-EMU) for more information