Dear Editor,
The Pharmacy Council of Jamaica is shirking its duties, playing the blame game and, in the midst of it, messing with people’s lives.
The council is trying to separate itself from the licence/exam dilemmas. Dr Radcliffe Goulbourne was recently quoted in two articles about a change in the licensing process following the previous court action. Is this change a secret?
Can a one-week delay to the intended time to administer an exam cause the interns to wait four months for their results? Many individuals are complaining that the exam has taken on a clinical format, instead of the regular practical format it was known to have in years gone by. But not only that, candidates are unable to adequately prepare for the exam because there seems to be a syllabus to which they do not have access. The interns do not have the slightest idea what the exam will be like. And, what’s more, there is no set date for the exam. In this 21st century, other jurisdictions have a plethora of information that will help in preparation for a licensing exam.
The council wants to insult the interns and their competence by saying that they are not able to apply theoretical knowledge to practical situations, but what are they doing to address this? The council consistently outdoes itself with its abject failure in communication. The council says that it is supposed to be regulating the training of the interns, via internship, but fails to address the numerous inconsistencies that are confronted at the different internship sites.
The council, in the form of Drs Thelma Nelson and Radcliffe Goulbourne, has lost the confidence of the people it governs. People are afraid to talk up.
Another budding issue is that over 15 interns who are slated to complete the internship programme in August 2016 will have to sit at home and wait to compete with almost 100 other interns come September 2016 for a little over 70 internship spots across the island. The council now reportedly blames the University of Technology, Jamaica for taking in too many students.
The students/interns remain the victims and no one is communicating with them in a bid to find solutions to the problems. The Minister of Health Horace Dalley needs to step in for the betterment of the profession.
Paul Brown
candid.frank@aol.com
The Pharmacy Council of Jamaica is shirking its duties, playing the blame game and, in the midst of it, messing with people’s lives.
The council is trying to separate itself from the licence/exam dilemmas. Dr Radcliffe Goulbourne was recently quoted in two articles about a change in the licensing process following the previous court action. Is this change a secret?
Can a one-week delay to the intended time to administer an exam cause the interns to wait four months for their results? Many individuals are complaining that the exam has taken on a clinical format, instead of the regular practical format it was known to have in years gone by. But not only that, candidates are unable to adequately prepare for the exam because there seems to be a syllabus to which they do not have access. The interns do not have the slightest idea what the exam will be like. And, what’s more, there is no set date for the exam. In this 21st century, other jurisdictions have a plethora of information that will help in preparation for a licensing exam.
The council wants to insult the interns and their competence by saying that they are not able to apply theoretical knowledge to practical situations, but what are they doing to address this? The council consistently outdoes itself with its abject failure in communication. The council says that it is supposed to be regulating the training of the interns, via internship, but fails to address the numerous inconsistencies that are confronted at the different internship sites.
The council, in the form of Drs Thelma Nelson and Radcliffe Goulbourne, has lost the confidence of the people it governs. People are afraid to talk up.
Another budding issue is that over 15 interns who are slated to complete the internship programme in August 2016 will have to sit at home and wait to compete with almost 100 other interns come September 2016 for a little over 70 internship spots across the island. The council now reportedly blames the University of Technology, Jamaica for taking in too many students.
The students/interns remain the victims and no one is communicating with them in a bid to find solutions to the problems. The Minister of Health Horace Dalley needs to step in for the betterment of the profession.
Paul Brown
candid.frank@aol.com