RPS President Martin Astbury (second from left) presents the trophy to the London School of Pharmacy team
Teams from the University of East Anglia, the London School of Pharmacy and King’s College London took the stage earlier this month to take part in the first UK Intercollegiate Pharmacy Debating Championships.
This pilot event, organised jointly by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and King’s College London, gave participating students an opportunity to showcase their knowledge and exercise their eloquence debating complex, real-life clinical scenarios such as: “As a clinical pharmacist, would you support the unlicensed use of the most expensive drug currently available through the NHS for the experimental treatment of a rare but deadly disorder? Or what if you received a parental request to administer an unlicensed Chinese herbal remedy as a final effort to revive a child in a coma, knowing that the remedy contains traces of arsenic, lead and mercury?”
The scenarios chosen for the debate highlight both the importance of a solid scientific understanding to underpin decision-making in pharmacy practice, as well as the complex ethical issues that often confront pharmacists in their work. Beyond this, having to stand up in front of a group of professionals and peers to argue a point clearly and concisely illustrated to the students just how difficult, yet important, effective communication skills will be in their future.
Sue Ambler, from the Department of Health, and Colin Cable, from the RPS, the two expert external judges, were given the difficult task of evaluating each team’s performance and choosing an overall winner. Both were extremely impressed with the level of knowledge and rhetorical skill displayed by all teams and found it difficult to decide.
However, in a close run-off, the London School of Pharmacy won the trophy, presented by RPS President Martin Astbury, who is pictured (second from left) with the winning team, captain Pratik Thakkar (second from right) and team mates (from left) Ravi Morzaria, Shadan Somani and Karen Shah.
The success of the pilot debate has given increasing momentum to the idea of organising a truly national intercollegiate pharmacy debating competition.
This article is taken from the Professional matters section of The Pharmaceutical Journal, which highlights activities of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and the achievements of members
