Pharmacy Faculty from Egypt’s Future University Visit Fisher

In the small conference on the second floor of the Wegmans School of Pharmacy, four faculty members from Future University in Cairo, Egypt sat with Dean Christine Birnie to debrief their three-week visit to Fisher. The conversation was fast and the ideas were flying.

The visit was part of a memorandum of understanding between the Wegmans School of Pharmacy and Future University with the goal of sharing best practices in clinical pharmacy education and pharmaceutical research, and fostering faculty and student exchanges between the two institutions.

At the end of August, faculty members Dr. Hayam Ateyya Abdelkawee Moussa, Dr. Naglaa Samir Ahmed Bazan, Dr. Ebtissam Abdelghaffar Metwally Darweesh, and Maha Magdy Mahmoud Ibrahim Sallam came to Fisher to shadow faculty and preceptors and observed clinical rotations at local experiential sites in the Rochester region, including hospital, community pharmacy, and ambulatory care settings. They also had an opportunity to visit classes on campus and meet with administration and students within the School.

Future has a strong pharmaceutical science program and is currently expanding its clinical pharmacy practice, a trend that is in the early stages of development across Egypt. With the launch of a new Pharm.D. program at Future, the four faculty members were most interested in Fisher’s curriculum, team-based learning models, and preceptor development program.

“I was interested to see, in the clinical setting, how the whole team is working together for the benefit of the patient; this is a good system,” said Ateyya Abdelkawee Moussa. She also added that the automated electronic systems seemed to work well in the hospitals and clinics she visited.

The Future University team has done extensive research on curriculum and programs from around the world, but Abdelghaffar Metwally Darweesh noted that seeing that curriculum in action was a completely different learning experience. As head of the Clinical Pharmacology Department at Future, she was also interested in how Fisher assesses student performance during clinical visits and how Fisher precepts students in clinical practice sites.

“As we are shifting to a Pharm.D. program we want to offer certain experiential learning programs, and we want to ensure our students meet high standards and can compete with other schools in Egypt and the Gulf area,” she said.

From here, the team from Future University and Fisher see further faculty exchanges and opportunities for research collaboration.

“We look forward to continuing to partnership with Future U as they continue to grow their Pharm.D. program and expanding our international footprint,” said Birnie.