For the Pharmaceutical Society of Tanzania (PST) to attain the enviable height of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) and even surpass it, former President, PSN, Pharm.(Alh.) Ahmed l. Yakasai, has urged members of PST to learn from the PSN.
He emphasised the importance of good governance framework for all players in the group, as he charged them to use the framework to enable transparency, sustainability of businesses, attract capital and ensure fair working conditions.
Yakasai, who was the guest speaker at the 52nd Annual National Conference of the PST, in Dodoma, Tanzania, spoke on the theme of the conference “Crafting the Pharmaceutical Society of Tanzania for Impact and Influence, today and tomorrow, the learning from the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria”.
The successful Pharmacy leader further counselled members of the PST to embrace partnerships, collaborations, inter- and- intra-professional collaborations. “Initiate inter- professional forum of pharmacists, doctors and nurses for benefit of the patients”, he advised.
He continued :”Promote use of technology. PST to lead by example, calls players in other sectors for many interactive sessions and empower members to train and retrain.
” PST needs to promote the actualisation of Pharm D (Doctor of Pharmacy) which is globally accepted and will provide pharmacists with specialised clinical training that focuses on the development of professional competencies and confidence in the provision of evidence-based patient centric care”.
Reeling out distinctive qualities of his successful leadership, the PSN former president remarked that the Society achieved significant impact and influence during his tenure because of clear vision, resilience, commitment to excellence, humility and working with talented people with much personal sacrifices and many of his colleagues.
Desirous of the accelerated growth and advancement of the 52-year-old PST, Yakasai highlighted the blueprint every leader must follow in order to be successful in life and profession.
“No doubt, for a leader to be successful, he must have the following characters and characteristics : Inspires commitment by recognising others achievements; Motivates the membership; Acts with fairness; Delegates effectively; Wisdom for strategic planning by translating vision into reality; Manages resistance to change; Self awareness by recognising self limits; Be able to learn from mistakes and provides guidance and encouragement
“With all these attributes of a good leader, I believe the Pharmaceutical Society of Tanzania can achieve a similar feat and even surpass the achievements of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria by being at the forefront in terms of general advocacy, be it in public health issues, pharmacy education, champions of medicines security, pomoters of local production of drugs and indeed the general wellbeing and good health of all Tanzanians”, he stated.
He also tasked all zonal branches of the PST on mentorship, as he urged them to commence training programmes for the newly qualified pharmacists for proper guidance.
