June 10, 2019, by ZY
BPSA 77th Annual Conference in Nottingham, UK
The 77th British Pharmaceutical Students’ Association conference this year was held on 14th April 2019-21st April 2019 at Nottingham, UK. It was a whole new experience for both Rachel and me. We learned a lot and were deeply inspired by this amazing opportunity. Before the trip, we already felt pumped up to fly across the globe and engage with people from different cultures and beliefs, despite rushing to meet the deadline for our BFI essay.
The event kicked off with conference business, where pharmacy students debated on motions such as “Should cannabis be legalized?” or “Should herbal medicines be taught during the course?”. Once the motion was being carried, it will then be implemented into the BPSA policy. Most of the time there was a heated discussion in the room, where everyone gave out their views. Witnessing the scene of people fighting for the future of pharmacy, as well as their bravery to change the world, has made me stand firm and continue practicing in this course. The conference organizers took pride in their work and their sense of duty in making a better future for the pharmacy students was what made them shine and had motivated me to continue pursuing. During the event, we also got the chance to listened to inspirational stories from various speakers of different pharmacy’s profession. For example, we were told about the global opportunities for pharmacy students and how global issues had threatened public health. Listening to their visions and viewing things from a different perspective had helped me to broaden my horizons and learned how to respect others’ opinions.
This happened during the RPS dinner night where every participant was assigned to different tables. This was a unique experience where we got to network with the members from the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and many of the event’s sponsors. Every evening, there would be different social themes for us to dress up and socialize. This is usually the most anticipating part of the day as the tense and serious atmosphere began to lighten up.
The 4th day of the event was the Boot’s day out! We got to visit the Boots headquarters. Boots has been the largest UK’s leading pharmacy chain till present and we felt honoured to be able to visit them through this UK trip. Three of the Boot’s pharmacists gave a brief talk about the different stages in their life as a pharmacist. The fact that made me looked up to them was their ability and enthusiasm in their work, despite their nations, skin colours or religions. On other days of the conference, we got to select and attend various interesting workshops. These workshops are particularly useful as they provided detailed information according to our interests and choices. Throughout the event, we were also being introduced to the International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation, which is a student exchange programme, exclusively for pharmacy students. Furthermore, we were also educated on the sustainable development goals of the United Nations during the Public health campaign speech by a BPSA member.
This was taken at the BPSA annual ball with Nottingham alumni and it was also the final night for us. Everyone dressed up nicely for that evening, and mixed emotions started swirling inside us. Deep inside, I felt relieved to be able to get back to my comfort zone but another part of me felt empty as we just got close and comfortable with each other, but it was time for us to say goodbye.
I feel lucky to be part of a Nottingham student and being able to get together with everyone was the greatest highlight of the year. This one-week program had been exhausting but exhilarating. Despite the sleepless nights and packed schedules, it was totally worth it! This conference had inspired me as much as I wanted to inspire the others. To our future juniors, my advice would be “Go grab this once in a lifetime opportunity and enjoy those moments!”.
Article by: Anthea Hong Ming (MPharm Year 1 student)
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