June 13, 2021, by Lee Mei Kee

Alumni Testimonial – Elis Syafiqah Hamdan (2018)

This article is written by Elis Syafiqah Hamdan (BSc (Hons) Pharmaceutical and Health Sciences, Class of 2018).

Current Job Position

I am currently working as a Medical Laboratory Technologist at Synnova Compounding Pharmacy Sdn. Bhd.

Job Scope

• Compounding complex creams, gels, capsules, troches, suppositories, solutions and lozenges according to Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) and Good Clinical Practice (GCP). This includes compounding male and female hormone medications according to doctor’s prescriptions such as progesterone and testosterone in the form of capsules, creams, suppositories and troches.

• Pre- and post-compounding processes including prescription management, preparing worksheet, prescription labeling, recording and documentation, invoicing, filing, delivery, inventory control and other compounding related functions.

• Supporting sales and marketing team.

What Is The Skill Needed For This Job?

I would say that technical skill is the most important. We learnt the laboratory techniques during Pharmaceutical and Health Sciences degree from modules covering topics such as sterile and non-sterile preparation skills, total parenteral nutrition services, cytotoxic drug reconstitutions and aseptic preparations. In Malaysia, there is actually no legal requirement for special training in this field, as long as you are familiar in lab and have good knowledge in pharmaceutical drugs.

Why Did You Choose To Go Into This Line?

Honestly I was not sure that I was in the right line when I first studied Pharmaceutical & Health Sciences degree. But I believe that my career has been set in such a way that it prepared me for this line. I enjoyed my studies and love the laboratory work.

How Is The Work Environment? 

Work environment tends to be oriented towards compounding and dispensing roles and activities. The business setting requires us to work closely with the clinics as we mainly receive prescriptions from doctors and dispense medicines according to prescriptions.

Do You Have Any Advice To Those Who Are Interested In This Field?

If you are interested in compounding pharmacy, just go for it. This platform allows us to use our skills to make medicine from scratch, which is the basis of pharmaceutical field. So please do hone your laboratory skills and make sure you always have good ethics in mind as a pharmaceutical representative.

Posted in AlumniPHS